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[Popfrenzy: 2009]
Technically, the debut release from Brooklyn duo The Drums is an EP but it comes with a very generous eight tracks. Summertime! is a fitting title for this collection of buoyant pop tunes. The opening track and first single “Lets Go Surfing” conjures up images of sun, sand and surf like something out of a Sixties surf poster – complete with floral shirts and ten foot surfboards. For those of us lucky enough to be in the southern hemisphere right now “Let’s Go Surfing” would have to be up there as one of the summer’s best theme songs (even if it is a slightly obvious choice). And for our northern-hemispherical pals out there, dancing to the jumpy guitar jam will help keep you warm at night. The retro surf-rock feel also flows out of “Make you mine” - all twanging guitars and Beach Boy falsettos, as well as the forlorn break up ballad “Down By The Water” - that wouldn’t be out of place at a Grease-era school dance or on the soundtrack of a John Hughes’ Eighties flick starring Molly Ringwald. Not all the tracks lean toward summer days and good times - the stand out track “Submarine” sounds more like the expressive pop gloom of Robert Smith than the sunshine of Brian Wilson. As the band themselves have stated "We only write about two feelings: one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. The other is when you're walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever." There’s no mistaking that dichotomy in the bipolar moods created across this selection of songs. But, in the end, this release is short, fun and addictive…kind of like summertime itself.
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People are unusually vocal about cover songs. It's kind of like the 'chicken before the egg' debate or the 'what was better - the book or the movie' argument. People totally back their opinion and are prepared to fight to the death about it. That's why we're feeling a little bit afraid about posting this list. Look folks: once you get started on thinking about the best or lamest or funniest or favourite cover songs of all time, it's like opening Pandora's box. One minute we were stuck on The White Stripes' cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene", then suddenly they were spilling out of our heads faster than I can type. Here's our Top Twenty-one Covers (limit ourselves to ten - are you serious?). If you don't like the choices, abuse / email us at info@albumoftheweek.com.au and we can organise a time and place to punch each other.
PS The film of The English Patient was better than the book. Bring it…
In no particular order:
1. "Foxy Lady" - The Cure (originally by Jimi Hendrix)
Absurd cover of the Hendrix classic, complete with puppy dog yelps and - what we're fairly certain are lyrics that are being made up on the spot. No idea who is actually singing either - if it is Robert Smith then I'm Batman. It's so badly punk that it's good… Hello, Commissioner Gordon?
2. "Hallelujah" - Jeff Buckley (originally by Leonard Cohen)
That voice. That incredibly angelic voice like something that was too beautiful for the world, so it was taken from us all because it belonged to a better place than earth. We hate to wax poetic, but this is Buckley at his most haunting, trembling, devastating… Hallelujah indeed.
3. "Bizarre Love Triangle" - Frente (originally by New Order)
Truly wrenching, melancholic version of the New Order dance floor favourite. You know you're onto a winner when you hear a cover of one of your favourite tunes of all time and it sounds like an entirely different song - that you love just as much. Angie Hart's sweet voice and the gentle finger-picked guitar line takes you into the terribly awkward love triangle to hear the sadness, the yearning of a love lost.
4. "Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon" - Urge Overkill (originally by Neil Diamond)
Neil is one of the great american songwriters, so when the long haired, metal-lovin' dudes from Urge Overkill took to this song it already had the midas touch attached. But it's the sexy, twanging rock slant that they put onto it that gave this cover its own identity. Hell - have you seen the Pulp Fiction scene where Mrs Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) are coolly perambulating around the sexual tension before Mrs Wallace's unfortunate heroin overdose? This song is playing and it's like an aural boner.
5. "Wonderwall" - Ryan Adams (originally by Oasis)
Noel Gallagher was reportedly pissed off about this cover - because he wished he could have made the song this beautiful. Strong words, coming from the music industry's biggest prick. Before they broke up for good, Oasis would play "Wonderwall" as per Adams' arrangement - high praise indeed.
6. "All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix (originally by Bob Dylan)
The. Greatest. Cover. Ever.
7. "Heartbreak Hotel" - John Cale (Originally by Elvis Presley)
Intensely dark homage to Elvis and possibly one of the greatest tracks Cale recorded sans-Velvet Underground. The arrangement moves along at a snail's pace with terrifying gothic synthesisers and gloomy guitars. The result is both hilarious and horrific - and a damn fine cover.
8. "Wuthering Heights" - The Decemberists (originally by Kate Bush)
The incredibly, incredibly difficult to sing Kate Bush classic - responsible for coining the musical sub-genre 'Lit-rock' - is done very nicely (and with great respect to the original) by The Decemberists featuring Petra Haden (from Nineties band That Dog) attempting Kate's rangy soprano vocal line. For the most part, they stay true to the original, but somehow still manage to sound distinctly 'Decemberists-ish'. Nice.
9. "Hey yah!" - Tilly and The Wall (originally by OutKast)
Tilly and The Wall are off the hook because their percussion comes courtesy of tap-dancing feet. Button-cute gimmick, but their version of the Outkast song that, quite frankly, never gets old is joyous and energetic and makes us want to chuck on the taps and jump upon a hardwood floor.
10. "Insane In The Brain" - Richard Cheese (originally by Cypress Hill)
LA lounge singer Richard Cheese has gained legend status for his swingin covers of songs from every genre of popular music - from rap to rock to hardcore to grunge, but there is something particularly special about his version of the Cypress ode to naughty stoners. With mariachi fanfares and the 'n' word gently crooned, it's so very wrong and at the same time kind of right.
11. "Crazy In Love" - Antony & The Johnsons (originally by Beyonce)
David Byrne also did a great version of Beyonce's deliriously catchy "Crazy In Love", but the haunting, wrenching cover by Antony & The Johnson's turns the song on its head into a desperate orchestral ballad with Antony's gorgeous voice so desperate you can tell he means "crazy in love" in the actually CRAZY needs-to-be-institutionalised sense. Stunning.
12. "Light My Fire" - Jose Feliciano (originally by The Doors)
A fruity blend of Spanish influences, classic flamenco guitar, and pop chords a la Americano. Put this record on and at once girls dance sexier and guys become better conversationalists. It's just a fact.
13. "Get Ur Freak On" - Eels (originally by Missy Elliott)
Absolutely insane nu-metal cover of the awesome Missy track "Get Ur Freak On", complete with heavy riffing, grinding bass and wailing static. This is Eels doing Missy Elliott via Korn. Hilarious.
14. "Halo" by Florence and The Machine (originally by Beyonce)
Flo takes on this insanely difficult vocal track from Captain Talent herself, Beyonce. Does she succeed? Hell yes. It says a lot of the songwriting prowess of the chocolate thighed one and the hefty lungs of the young Florence. Gold.
15. "How Will I Know" - Evan Dando (originally by Whitney Houston)
Mister Dando pouring his heart out, pounding away on a guitar reminds us why chicks dig him so much. The highlight is when he dips down into his Johnny Cash-esque lower register all quiet and naughty... Sexy as hell.
16. "Redemption Song" - Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer (originally by Bob Marley)
Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer covering one of Bob Marley's greatest songs - need we go on?
17. "Ghosts" - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists (originally by The Jam)
Ted Leo nails the British new wave rock n roll vibe that Paul Weller pretty much invented. The addictive guitar riff has a timelessness that reminds you what a great songwriter Weller is.
18. "Jolene" - White Stripes (originally by Dolly Parton)
It's been endlessly covered but no one has quite matched Jack White's ballsy, feedback-laden cover wrought with desperate emotion. You can't top the original though - we salute you, Dolly.
19. "Hounds of Love" - The Futureheads (originally by Kate Bush)
Totally addictive singalong version of Kate's love ballad. The excited yelps of frontman Barry Hyde sound as if the words were of his own imaginings. Post-punk fun.
20. "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometimes" - Beck (originally by The Korgis)
Morose, moody and beautiful. Beck made this extraordinary cover for Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine For The Spotless Mind" and perfectly evoked the atmosphere of Gondry's neosurreal study of memory and romantic love. Beck's quiet, reserved vocal performance is breathtaking.
21. "Hurt" - Johnny Cash (originally by Nine Inch Nails)
You were afraid we wouldn't put it in, weren't you? You idiot.
We've thrown down the gauntlet. Let the games begin...
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[independent: 2009]
Bedroom musician Andrew Chen sent Album of The Week his EP "You Just Might" that he released entirely independently a while back, and until recently we hadn't really given it due props. This dude writes the songs, sings the words, plays guitars, bass, keys, synths, drums, makes the beats and performs the samples all on his lonesome lone. Boyfriend got a bit of free time on his hands. But clever hands they are. This record is a nice little slice of neo-soul, r & b goodness direct from Andrew's boudoir studio straight to your ears. These tunes are definitely an acquired taste - so tune out now if R. Kelly ain't your thing. He starts off with a nice, under-the-moonlight Nineties-style r & b track "You Just Might" - very "soulful crooner's gonna get laid tonight missus" type shit. The second tune, the groove-driven "Come On Down" wears an obvious heart-on-sleeve Michael Jackson Off The Wall-era influence. You could definitely hear Usher (dance man, pants man and all round beefcake) singing it. This stuff is good finger clicking stuff, people. Our favourite song on the album is "Higher" - a neo-soul pants dropper that reeks of D'Angelo's best known track "Untitled" - the one which had that epic shirtless, pantsless, throbbing groin muscle music vid? He also pulls out some throaty Tom Waits style croaking on the lower register which is pretty awesome too. This guy has genuine songwriting talent - the stuff gets in your head and you can sing along to it almost immediately. So there's a few typically embarrassing r & b moments: "Stranger Girl" and "Fall Behind" are kind of gross - cliched romantic balladry with over-earnest 'love hurts' lyrics, and the first few tracks are infinitely more interesting than the second half of the EP, but Justin Timberlake would definitely sing this stuff. PS JT is cool. Andrew Chen will soon be discovered and be attending Puffy's White Party in a couple of years and that is pretty freaking cool.
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[Popfrenzy: 2009]
Remember when you had a passionate, fleeting relationship with that girl you met on holidays one summer? She was wild and unpredictable, one minute was french kissing you in the street for all the world to see, the next minute had you in desperate tears?
That isn't Songs.
Songs is that girl that you meet at a party and in under five minutes you are sharing personal jokes and making knowing eye contact. She's beautiful and interesting but she doesn't scare you or make you nervous. It's effortless.
That is what Songs is.
Songs sound is effortless. They sound just like a band should sound – it’s not pretentious or trendy or gimmicky. It has an easy rock n roll swagger with simple rhythms that you already know – but ones your ears already like. It’s as summery as sunshine but perfectly geared toward indoor listening on a rainy afternoon. The albums rolls over a bunch of influences: the 70s New York sound, fuzzy garage-punk, Eighties and Nineties shoegaze rock, Go Betweens-style post-punk… but even with a bunch of music history touch points, it still manages to sound like nothing else released this year.
Max Doyle’s vocals are proof you don't necessarily have to have the best voice to be a great singer. He knows his range and uses it perfectly to create a laidback, “i-don't-care” style that is a big part of the Songs sound. The gorgeous natural voice of bass player Ela Stiles is also heard throughout the album, backing Max up on tracks like 'Something to believe in' and 'Oh no', featuring on the track 'Retreat' and sharing duties on the wonderful call-and-response track 'Clouds' and one of the albums highlights 'Pain'. Balancing Max’s more darkly edged lyrics is guitarist Jeff Burgh’s fuzzy chords and echoing pop riffs, as well Steve Uren's addictive classic garage-style drumming.
No fleeting summer romance this one, we sense the start of a meaningful, long term relationship. “Songs” by Songs is not only a killer debut but is easily one of the top three Australian releases of 2009.
Album of the week was lucky enough to have a chat to songs drummer Steve Uren, here is what he had to say:
Album of The Week: Hey Steve - so what are you up to at the moment?
Steve: Right now I am actually at home, I work from home so yeah, couple of the other guys were busy so you got stuck with the drummer so i apologise if it seems like an awkward conversation, I will try and do my best. [cut to us loving him already]
AoTW: So how are you feeling on the eve of the album's release?
Steve: It's exciting, I think for all four of us it's a new experience - a new place to be at, to have a record and the support of a record label behind it.
It's exciting. We've had one review which, well the only review I have seen, which to be honest was almost embarrassingly gushing - it was kind of a sigh of relief as it came from a critic we respect probably more so than most so that's a really nice sort of start to whatever happens from here. But it's nice to get it out, we've sort of had it for a while and I guess we feel like essentially it's the end of that chapter and we an move on - even though people are hearing it for the first time. Having said that, it's great I'm not jaded enough or old enough to not be excited about having a record out, it's fun for us… so yeah its a good feeling. Don you have a copy?
AoTW: yeah we got it the other day - it's got the cheese on the front.
Steve: Right (laughs)
AoTW: Whats the story behind the artwork?
Steve: It's funny I done a couple of interviews and it's always the first question. Well, I think it's something that we'll get a lot and we think it will probably be called "The Cheese Album" now.
I guess we were asking for it. But essentially a photographer who is a friend of the band knows a sydney artist called Max Priestly and he had shot the still life for an art exhibition. We had this conversation about it because all four of us come from a slightly - you know - an artistic background, we have jobs and positions in the creative industry and so we decided it's nice to hand it over to someone else and work with other creative people and not just do it ourselves. But I can't remember where I was going with that but… the cheese.....oh....you know, aesthetically, for me I like it. It has this sort of eerie, sinister sort of undertone to it.
If you want to stretch it and find an angle, I actually think the music of the actual album has this unashamed pop moments and jangly melodies but there is a lot of themes or lyrical content that has been masked lightly by these catchy tunes. A lot of the themes Max [lead singer and songwriter] addresses are these ageing-rocker, darker, mysterious reflective themes about growing old, which if you want an angle that's sort of how I though about it… you know: this sort of harmony between this still life and cheese and maybe Max is this forty year-old songwriter who's talking about growing old. My point is, we're talking about artwork and I guess maybe my favourite album covers are ones which have iconic imagery on it - whether it be due to their good taste or bad taste. Some of my favourite album covers are probably the most cringe-worthy pieces of artwork you've ever seen, but they're recognisable in a record store and - if anything - what we have got going for us is that people will know that the "Cheese album" is our album. We sort of shot ourselves in the foot by calling ourselves "Songs" and making a record called "Songs", so you know if anyone has any problems with that at least we can point them in the direction of the "cheese album" cover.
AoTW: You all [the members of the band] come from different backgrounds. How'd you all meet up - have you known each other for a while?
Steve: Jeff [lead guitarist] and I grew up in the same town in New Zealand. We went to high school together, played in bands at high school, at art school in NZ and we both ended up in Sydney not motivated by music but more for creative reasons - we're designers so we can work here. So Jeff and I ended up in Sydney and have always known each other. Max is the editor and chief of a cultural/fashion magazine called Doingbird. So he owns and runs that. So Jeff met Max through that and they sort of talked about their mutual love of Flying Nun bands of New Zealand in the Eighties. Max is in his forties and he actual grew up in that era. And they sort of kick-started a relationship where they wanted to start writing music together and then they asked me if I wanted to play drums and I originally was like "you know what: I don't" (laughs).
…But they ended up sending me a song which I really liked so it started from there. And Ella [bass player] was um… she doesn't actually like me telling this, but she was actually a model. Max was shooting her one day when he was looking for a bass player, and I think he was generally asking anyone he was meeting at that stage. And she said she could play guitar - which she couldn't. She played the guitar really badly - trust me: i had seen her (chuckles). But Max gave the bass to Ella and it worked out... And that's how we met each other.
AoTW: nice.
Steve: Sorry that was probably really long...
AoTW: ha! No it's all cool. So how long ago was that?
Steve: About two years ago now - I lose track, but we have probably been playing together as Songs for about a year and a half.
AoTW: How long did the album take to record?
Steve: We we hired a studio in sydney for six days, and then we....do you know much about Casey Rice who recoded it?
AoTW: Only a little - I know he was involved with Dirty Three recordings...
Steve: Yeah - he's an American guy who lives in Melbourne via Chicago and has worked with Tortoise, but we basically flew him up. I would have loved to have gone to melbourne or maybe - you know sounds painfully cliched - but it would have been nice to have escaped to some rural New South Wales spot, but because of other commitments we couldn't.
AoTW: It sounds pretty rad...
Steve: Casey was great. He builds bikes, so he lent us two bikes and on the weekends we would bike to the studio then back to the city. It was a really lovely experience.
AoTW: What were the main influences for the band?
Steve: You know I think the EP was a real sort of small chapter for the band and it served a real purpose and that led a lot of people to believe that we had come from the same cloth as Flying Nun bands, but i feel that with the new album we illustrate that individually between the four of us we've got a tonne of various influences. I think we have a mutual love of, well like Jeff described to us, or quote another NZ musician called Bruce Russell, this idea of rock stupidity and art smarts? A combination of these two different approaches - this sort of juvenile activitiy which is plugging guitars in and making lots of noise, and there is nothing more juvenile than that but approaching it in a artistic way.
I think that more than any other influence is the idea that guitar music is nothing new and has been done a million times and will continue to be done, so I guess what influences us is knowing what we are playing and how to play it - whether its essential or not, whether its relevant or interesting on any level. You could probably bunch all our influences together and if you drew a diagram, at the top of the food chain it would all stem from a band like the Velvet Undeground.
AoTW: Yeah its an easy thing - and a good thing in a way - to reference bands that sound like "bands" so people can stick a label on you, but for bands it must be like 'oh we sound like us nobody else'.
Steve: For me the most unique thing about it is what the Songs sound, is probably the vocals which is the shared duty between Ella and Max. If you see the band live it unique to us - i mean we have a twenty-one year old lush quiet naturally talented female vocalist and Max is a forty year old with a kind of limitation on where his voice can go, but knows how to use it quite effectively… and that combination of those two vocalists is probably what makes Songs.
AoTW: So being from Album of The Week we always ask if you have an album of the week - do you have one or something you are really into at the moment?
Steve: (whistles)
AoTW: Yeah its a big question...
Steve: okay… I just downloaded the Nigerian artist Fela Kuti. I have been listening to it on repeat - its called"Zombie" [at this point, Steve runs to his computer to double check the name of the record]. Yes "Zombie": with an amazing master drummer in the band called Tony Allen - he's just a machine. That would be my album of the week.
AoTW: Awesome. Also, I really like the fact that you have an eleven minute song on there too - ballsy.
Steve: yeah well you know it seems like people don't do long albums anymore but we just thought lets do it (laughs) I think we are going to try and release it on vinyl as well which probably means its going to be double LP.
AoTW: Well the album cover will look awesome on vinyl.
Steve: Yeah… we could do a whole series of cheese shots, which would look awesome...
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[Pod/Inertia: 2009]
When your writing about music it's generally a rule of thumb (whatever the fuck that expression means - please enlighten me if you know the back story, by the way) that you approach the record or the song in an entirely objective way - purely based on the merits of the music itself in isolation of anything else. T his is virtually impossible. Especially, if - like some people we know - you have a highly biased obsession with the artist (see Prince, Animal Collective, and Kylie Minogue in this reviewer's case) or are slightly enamoured with members of the band (see Jason Swilley from Black Lips or Mos Def in this reviewer's case). Take for example, this week we've seen Susan Boyle - the lunch lady-esque singer from below-average reality tv talent show, X Factor UK, release the HIGHEST SELLING DEBUT ALBUM OF ALL TIME in England in the last week or so. Good lord - I mean, the lady can obviously carry a tune, but she ain't no Maria Callas. The truth is, that people love a story (Susan Boyle is a toothless wrong-side-of-the-tracks kind of gal, as far as we know) and you can sell a lot of records if your story is good enough. Where the feck was I going with this…
Girls - Yes! There is a story behind San Francisco band, Girls, and I'll tell it to you, but unlike the Susan Boyle's and whoever-the-hell-else's out there, Girls carry with them an interesting story but their hazy, sunny, lo-fi brand of California garage pop doesn't need an angle - it's beautiful, honest, punk, fuzzy, breezy, baked, grand, grunge, simple, experimental, and… yikes - I feel like I've just accidentally told someone I "like like" them while drunk instead of just staying cool and letting some subtle body language get the message across...
So, the story: Christopher Owens - lyricist and songwriter - was born and raised in the Children of God cult and spent his childhood praying in controlled seclusion from the outside world. According to his bio, his years in Children of God were fairly fucked up - with stories of suicide, prostitution and eventually a dramatic escape at the age of 16, he fell into the punk scene in San Francisco and it was here that he eventually met the Johnny Marr to his Morrissey - JR White, the other half of Girls who covers the production/studio side of the outfit. The heart-on-sleeve songwriting of Christopher combined with the neo-grunge cool of JR's producing is heart-rendering garage pop synergy. Various similarities have been cast - the Pet Sounds era Beach Boys surf-pop of "Summertime", the late 80s shoegaze whine of "Laura", and the super catchy new wave Elvis Costello-sounding "Lust For Life".
Album sounds so young and fresh and like it all comes so easily to these two Californian cats. I hope it stays that way. Girls - one of our absolute favourite new bands with one of the best albums (debut or otherwise) from this year.
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Fergus Brown is a man that we've become fond of here at Album of The Week. He's an Australian singer-songwriter whose debut record Burgers Frown has had a fair amount of play time around our office and who has been generating some buzz for his intimate, narrative brand of cleverly-worded indie pop tunes. Recently we chatted to Fergus who was in his home town of Sydney to play a few shows between supporting fellow Australian troubadour, Josh Pyke, on tour. He riffed articulately on the nerdish delight of nailing a killer lyric, the ups and downs of the dynamic Sydney music scene, and "putting across the fun" when performing. It went a little something like this:
Fergus on the response to the album:
"The reactions have been great and lots of nice things said, as well as a few tours on the back of it. Everything I've hoped for has come through - which is nice because it took a while to make my record to be honest and you can be really proud of it inwardly to yourself, but until it gets out there it's all a bit "make-believe" in your head. So it's nice to have the reality that when someone says "hey I'd like to hear your album" you can actually say to them: "here it is" - rather than getting crazy looks from your mates who suspect you've just been wasting time in the countryside somewhere."
On his local music scene:
"The Hopetoun [legendary live music venue in Sydney's Surry Hills precinct] has closed. It's really sad because it's sort of where me and all my mates' bands… they pretty much had all their first proper gigs at the Hopetoun. And even if they all moved on, or moved upwards or broke up it was always the emotional heart of the scene. There's a lot of new places where you can play, but the Hopetoun closing is still sad. It's closed before my time once before, so hopefully someone will re-open it someday soon."
The musical influences on his record:
"Somewhere between classic singer-songwriters from decades past - like Randy Newman and Paul Simon and Harry Nillson. But I suppose I listened to a lot of American Indie stuff as well while I was making the record. Mainly Nineties stuff like Pavement and Weezer and later on a lot of Grandaddy and Mercury Rev… That whole family tree of music slowly filtered through my music. So I guess you could say I love the classic songwriting structure, but maybe through a slightly more modern filter."
What comes first - lyrics or music?
"At the moment I'm writing a lot of music without lyrics, but I don't know whether or not I should be a bit worried about that because I've always done it in the other direction - start with the lyrics and build it slowly from there. I love playing around with words. It sounds a bit wanky but it's a really fun thing when you come up with something that you're pleased with - a little lyric that you love singing cos it sounds good coming out of your mouth… And if other people like it too … well that's good!"
On his backing band - is there a solid line up or does he just play with whoever's free?
"It's getting solid - I've been playing with Holly [keys, loops, back vocals] for quite a few years now. I've got a new bass player who's been with us for a year, and he's an absolute legend. Because we're quite independent often people have to disappear and do their own projects, but for most gigs we're the same line-up."
On Holly:
ha ha ha! She's cool man. She comes from a theatre background and nothing worries her - so once she steps on stage you just have a good time. That's something I've learnt from her: you've gotta have the fun to put across the fun."
On being a "natural performer":
I've never been shy. I was probably the annoying kid at school who was cool with public speaking. I like the stage but the confidence does come and go. Having a good band there and good mates to play with makes a massive difference to your confidence."
On touring North America:
"It was surprisingly good! I didn't know what to expect - I thought the venues might be a bit random - you could be in some biker bar or have two people standing in the corner. But the crowds were good, the venues were good… I was surprised to be honest. I thought we'd have a few brilliant gigs and a few clangers, but we had a lot of great gigs. Chatting to the locals there, they were like "how did YOU get this gig?" and I was like "shit I don't know! I'm not complaining!"
Fergus Brown's album of the week:
"There's a couple of things I really liking… Can I just choose a song instead of an album? The song "My Moon, My Man" by Feist. Feist is an artist I never really got into before and sometimes with artists that everybody loves at the same time you instinctively get turned off it a bit. So with this song I really like the spareness of the record and the way her voice is sort of put in front of everything - the simplistic arrangement. It's a really cleverly graceful sounding record."
Fergus told us that next year he'll get back on the overseas tour circuit - with an appearance at South by South West in March, and also do some recording early in 2010. He is about to kick off a few dates on the east coast of Australia, so if you're in area and you're into pretty, clever Jens Lekmann-style folk-pop tunes, check out the dates and make yourself available for some of the sweet sounds of Fergus Brown. - That almost rhymed.
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[Popfrenzy: 2009]
