girls just wanna have fun

hello again.

following on from yesterdays splurge, here a list of albums by girls that are interesting and worthy of checking.

 

the like - are you thinking what i'm thinking

3 waif like young'uns raid the bible of 90's indie rock (the 4ad back catalogue), and forge a solid debut album. with production by wendy m (devoid of her prince sanctioned sidekick lisa for this release, unfortunately), the albums first half rocks along nicely. subtle shoegazing layers, nice bouncy basslines, and some sultry vocals make this album very easy on the ear. of course, several of the songs will become standard soundtrack choices for such teen dramas as the oc. and of course, there is the fact that all 3 of these rock chicks are offspring from various areas of the music industry, but that nagging whisper, along with the fact that there are several songs that are a little too middle of the road sounding, is soon kicked into touch when songs as strong as 'what i say and what i mean', 'under the paving stones', and the wonderfully innocently deceptive acoustics of 'you bring me down' get under your skin. as the website declares : i like the like.

link

c-mone - the butterfly effect

in case you missed the word on this debut release, c-mone was featured on the streets last album, and comes from nottingham. her debut album is straight up, no nonsense hiphop. no garage, no soul, r-n-b crossover, no grime, just solid beats and uk wordplay. c-mone has a definite power and control with her flow, and the production crews match her style in fine form. out on the excellent son records now. good stuff.

candi staton - his hands

you know those old dj shadow and soulsaver mixes in recent years such as brainfreeze, which dig out long forgotten soul classics and revive the love for proper old fashioned sounding music, well that case of 'they just dont make soul music like this any more' can no longer be applied. as this new album by soul legend, candi staton, is exactly as it should be, sympathetically beautiful production recalls those 60's classics perfectly (though of course in stereo as opposed to the mono scratched up discs of old), horns are treated with love and tenderness as opposed to being all digitally enhanced, strings (heart and musical) are pulled, and the central focus on the piano suits. for the mood throughout these 11 songs is downtrodden but not broken, down beat, depth of the night southern soul music, with new songs written by such names as merle haggard and will oldham.

a perfect perfect album for people who cant get enough of those $tateside reissues. out on honest jons records at the end of march.

sol seppy - the bells of 12

strange but utterly beautiful looking cover (b&w moody shot of sol aka sophie), ambient at the start, before sol starts dropping into joy zippers world, fuzzed up guitars and sunkissed studio enhanced harmonies all topped off with a distinct edge of heart stopping beauty. one listen reaction : very interesting. full review to appear later. available on the ever impressive gronland label.

 

that's all for now folks .

mark e

ireallylovemusic