Greetings! Hello, hello, hola or whatever U2 would say.
'Tis the season for great pop albums with both Erasure and Sophie Ellis-Bextor giving birth to new CDs recently. Isn't that too polished and commercial for the Dude I hear you scream in disbelief! Actually - no. There is so much unbelievably horrifying crap being released these days under the banner "pop", you've got to appreciate those artists who can still deliver solid pop tunes that make you want to dance just by listening to the music - no MTV required. Incidentally the original video for Erasure's latest single was shelved by the record label due to quality issues, so that kind of took care of that. There was only the music (and an alternative video which didn't get shown much). Anyway when it comes to classic pop, Erasure just cannot be beaten. As for Ms. Ellis-Bextor she hasn't had Erasure's 20 years on the circuit to prove herself, but she's demonstrated with most things she's done that she is determined to churn out quality pop (or indeed indie pop/rock in her earlier days). A great new album, lots of fun. Saw her live kind of by accident a few years ago at the tiny Scala venue near King's Cross and she was really good. Recommended.
On the more alternative side of the music world, there is new material from Katharine Blake coming out this year. Yes, I would have to say something related to Miranda Sex Garden wouldn't I? Katharine was one of the founding members of Miranda Sex Garden and The Mediaeval Baebes and has experimented with many different types of music from madrigals, over cabaret to industrial rock. You can love it or loathe it, but it's never boring that's for sure. New tracks are available on her MySpace page and an album is set to be released at some point in 2007. One track is a duet with her partner Nick Marsh of Flesh for Lulu, which should make it equally exciting for all the Flesh fans out there. If you put the sound on Carnival of Souls (the last album by Miranda Sex Garden) together with the sound of Nick Marsh's recent solo album A Universe Between Us in a big cocktail shaker and toss it around casually for a while (with ice), you end up with a sound remarkably like that track - now that's a duet!
For those Miranda Sex Garden fans who still haven't got themselves a copy of Stories From The Moon (Ben Golomstock's project) from last year - what is wrong with you? Support the man and treat your ears, go get that album now, it's truly terrifying, experimental and tasty all at the same time and it has some great collaborations on it from both usual and unusual suspects.
Oh and just a quick note about my pick of releases: I try to mix some of my all time favourites (which I may rotate from time to time) with interesting new releases. The newer ones may disappear later depending on whether they obtain classic status or not in my twisted musical mind!
Over and out for now...
