06 December, 2007

Chilled Tunes for Xmas

Exams, other writing commitments and a sheer lack of inspiration has meant that the popregister has been a little neglected over the past few weeks. Xmas is also a busy time for me, hitting up the USA West Coast hot spots, so updates will be scarce. So here's a nice one to keep ya going.

I've never really been a big fan of singer songwriters. I don't even know my Rufus Wainwright from my Willy Mason. To sound a little cliched, the whole solo acoustic/piano ballad is just a bit samey. There's only so much you can do with a voice and one of two instruments. That said, people like Patrick Wolf are really tearing up the genre, mixing electronica effects, multiple instruments and lots of editing. But there's a few artists proving that the down-to-the-bones recipe can still work. The following three maintain a simple sound but manage to stand apart. Expect big things from all of them in 2008.

Adele has the soulful tone of Amy Winehouse, the cockney twang of Kate Nash and choruses so powerful you'd think she was singing about the apocalypse. She's signed to XL records, home to popregister faves Cajun Dance Party and Jack Penate. Her first single "Hometown Glory" received a hearty amount of air time on BBC Radio 1 and her latest single "Chasing Pavements", released next month is likely to take the same route. Adele's sound is rooted in her voice. There's nothing wrong with her sound sonically, but the drums and piano or guitar really just provide the foundations for Adele to let rip with their careering vocals. She must have some hearty lungs because her voice is big.

[mp3] Adele - Chasing Pavements (link removed)
[mp3] Adele - Hometown Glory

Soko is the innocent girl down your street who actually isn't that sweet. With her French accent and playful acoustic guitar work she seems as pure as can be. But her songs are or of bitterness, revenge and even murder. There's a lot of depth to the little voice. Her tunes are wonderfully simple and poppy. You just want to look after her.

[mp3] Soko - It's Raining Outside
[mp3] Soko - I'll Kill Her

Lightspeed Champion is probably the oddest looking guy in the world. He doesn't do himself any favors with his Victorian Englishman dress and chunky framed glasses either. But appearance aside, his sound is quite refined. Simple acoustic scores, the odd violin and a bit of backing represent the Lightspeed construct. Think black version of Patrick Wolf, minus the electronica. I think his "Midnight Surprise" is the only song over 9 minutes to ever break into my top25 most played.

[mp3] Lightspeed Champion - The Flesh Failures (Let the Sunshine in)

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I also have to say. The new Wu-Tang Record is immense. Have a listen.

[mp3] Wu-Tang Clan - Rushing Elephants

3 comments:

WEB SHERIFF said...

WEB SHERIFF
Protecting Your Rights
on the Internet
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208-323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com www.websheriff.com

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Hi TPR,

On behalf of XL Recordings and Adele, we would kindly ask you not to post copies of "Chasing Pavements" on your site (or any album / new versions of other tracks from Adele's forthcoming album - "19", release date 28th Jan 08). Regrettably, should you do so DMCA notifications shall be forwarded to your site's ISP and take-down action shall follow (and, in extreme / persistent cases, site closure) : naturally, however, we hope that this shall not prove to be necessary.

On behalf of both Adele and XL, we do appreciate that - of course - you are fans of / are promoting Adele but, by the same token, you must also appreciate that, by posting a pirate copy of the album or tracks from the album pre-release (or linking to pirate copies), you are potentially causing considerable inconvenience and we are sure that you would not want to be personally responsible (or liable) for all of the resulting damage and disruption.

Thank you for respecting the artist's and label's wishes and, if you want good quality, non-pirated tracks, earlier versions of songs from "19" and the video version of "Chasing Pavements" are available for you to link to on Adele's MySpace page (check-out http://www.myspace.com/adelelondon for full details and the latest info on "19").

Whilst writing, we'd add that XL and Adele are not at all against free music but, at the end of the day, it should be (and is) the artist's decision as to whether or not she effectively allows the unauthorised distribution of her album on-line before its release - as it's HER MUSIC !! Thank you, again, for respecting her wishes.

As you will appreciate, this e-mail is written on a without prejudice basis and, as such, all of our clients' accumulated, worldwide rights remain strictly reserved : please excuse this required formality.

With Thanks & Seasons Greetings,

WEB SHERIFF

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