Tuesday, August 12, 2008

ROULETTE 23

"Nobody wants to see a beating heart."

Another roulette, though I do apologise for the scarcity of the posts lately.


The Chapin Sisters - Kill Me Now [Lake Bottom, 2008]
(BONUS: The Chapin Sisters - Borderline [Madonna cover])

The Chapin Sisters are a group of actual sisters, Abigail and Lily Chapin, and Jessica Craven, whose dark, sad and heavy folk here weighs down your heart beautifully. Their voices intertwine in a lovely way. Hear an original song, pleading for a lover to kill them; and their reimagining of a Madonna hit.

Bitter:Sweet - Take 2 Blue [The Mating Game, 2006]

A playful, satiric jab at modern life and its ease with antidepressants and other 'pills' as a curative for all the ills in life. A handy filter gives lead singer Shana Halligan the feel of an announcer or voice through a telephone, sweetly instructing us to bend to the pressures of life and 'take 2 blue'. See, now don't you feel lovely? Now good night.

Great Lake Swimmers - The Man With No Skin [Great Lake Swimmers, 2003]

There's something earthy and natural about Great Lake Swimmers, something about their music that, at a visceral level, sounds like the mountains singing. I think it's Tony Dekker's voice, which feels like the lines that run through a stone when you break it and draw your finger across it, or else like the wind echoing through the peaks. This song in particular is a beautiful look at the nature of vulnerability.

Los Campesinos! - Death to Los Campesinos! [Hold On Now, Youngster..., 2008]

Los Campesinos!, a Welsh band so fantastic they require an exclamation mark at the end! It fits, too, because listening to them automatically means I'm bouncing in my seat. A duet swinging between Campesinos Gareth and Aleksandra, this is a wonderful piece of dance-about music. Note that they have another album due out in a couple months, as well.

And don't forget, search for more at The Hype Machine; purchase albums or mp3's at Amazon, Amazon Canada, Amie St., cdbaby, or Insound.

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