Dañez vs Rifhes - "see u fallin". Sinead O'Connor as ice-sculpture, run through with a snowblower, scattered glittering into the street. This is a remix that's all shards - the pure chorus uttered only once, if that, and when it comes it's like a prayer that makes it through all that cloud; a love-letter that makes it through the slot. [thanks so much, Andrew - send more any time / free download / site]
Hop Along, Queen Ansleis - "Bay Area Baby". Hop Along's singer does everything with her voice: bends it, cradles it, throws it, tears it, strips it of bark, builds a lincoln-log house. It's the changes in her voice that push the song along, make it breathless. (Who needs the glockenspiel? The power's in that dusty roar.) I don't get what the song is about, don't get what the band name is about (though they've now abbreviated it to plain old Hop Along) - but there's an addictiveness to this complicated, peppery track, its slopes of changing tune. [thanks Luke / MySpace]
Posted by Sean at December 14, 2009 2:37 AMGlad to see your back. couldn't get onto the site for a while. Love the Hop Along song. Love Hop Along.
Posted by: Alex at December 15, 2009 5:27 PMthank god your back. down with script kiddies!
Posted by: ergosum at December 15, 2009 5:31 PMughhh the Hop Along song is so good!!
Posted by: John at December 16, 2009 3:54 PMWeird. Years ago, I saw Frances of Hop Along (at the time, she WAS Hop Along) open for a guy I know. They were an item for a while after that, actually. She had the audience play toy instruments along with her. It's cool to see musicians appear on this site who I know have really been dug up out of the body of truly obscure artists.
Posted by: Ed at December 17, 2009 12:28 AMI'm so happy to see this post!! I've been writing about Hop Along since 06!! Time to get this awesome band the attention they deserve. A ravenous fan base is not enough these days! Thank you Gramophone.
Posted by: Joanne at December 18, 2009 4:47 PM