On “Excuses”, the first single lifted from The Morning Benders‘ sophomore album Big Echo, the Cali indie-pop band (previously given love here for their intimate re-imagining of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool”) offer a gorgeously executed riff off of Phil Spector’s oft-referenced “Wall of Sound” studio trickery to support an engrossing play-by-play of young “soulmates” bathed in the euphoric bliss of making love for the first time.
The track, co-produced by lead singer Christopher Chu and Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, will initially spellbind you with it’s faux-vinyl haze and a dreamy doo-wop sway divinely seasoned with acoustic guitar strum flickers, rumbling bass drums, shuffling percussion, twinkling piano notes, sorrowful strings and “dah-dah-dum” background vocals seemingly birthed from angels perched atop the clouds above.
But being blessed with such ornate grandeur isn’t “Excuses” only satisfying bid at timeless pop-crafting; it’s lyrics, sweetly brought to life via Chu’s languid croon, prove just as endlessly endearing in their impressive stab at classic romance novel text, whether describing key moments of passion (“When you try to taste me/ And I take my tongue to the Southern tip of your body…”) or dishing out swoon-worthy lines like “I put no one else above us/ We’ll still be best friends when all turns to dust”.
Pick up the studio-version MP3 below, followed by an equally magnificent live take lensed by Yours Truly.
Remember back in the day when hip hop dances used to be easy to master? When you can pull out a decent Wop, Cabbage Patch or Running Man and earn an onslaught of cheers from your peers? Nowadays, you can get tired just watching the way kids pull off over-complicated steps and contort their bodies in odd, almost in-human like fashions. Not to mention the fact that it seems like every other hour, a new dance craze is being birthed from some different corner of the nation.
Out of Cali arises the jerkin’ movement, an urban youth sub-culture that seemingly (if understood by the many You Tube posts revolving around it) consists of hyphy-esque beats, skinny jeans, knee bends, backwards Running Man moves and having a “geeked up” swagger.
Helping give it a push into the mainstream’s light is “You’re A Jerk”, a corny, though slightly catchy, cut by L.A. teen-rap duo/ future one-hit-wonders New Boyz (a sort of Cool Kids for the “Rugrats” set). Unsurprisingly, the track doesn’t carry much depth, but if you desire trunk-rattling sparse minimalism, goofy horny boy braggadocio (“Got your girl on my swag/ She lovin’ them jerkin’ songs/ Like the new iPod, just touch it and turn her on”) and a silly titular hook that will surely be echoing throughout your brain for hours after the track ends (whether you want it to or not), think of it as an early Christmas present (that you’ll likely forget all about come December).
“You’re A Jerk”: pure for-the-moment hotness, or the latest sign that hip hop is on the verge of dying…again? Discuss amongst yourself.
There’s not enough good things you can say about Sam Sparro’s still-fire “Black & Gold”. The 2008 (Grammy-nominated!!) breakout single from the Australian newcomer totally delivered what anyone would want from an electro-toned, blue-eyed-soul record (erm…about searching for God). Hell, we bet even Prince had to tap a high-heeled toe once he became aware of the jam.
With that being said, it’s come as a bit of a surprise that rappers haven’t fallen over themselves trying to tap into it as a sample-base “Paper Planes”-style, especially considering they seem to “bless” damn near everything else with a major blog following. Enter Shawn Chrystopher, a Cali-born emcee/ producer currently blazing through the mixtape circuit, to finally give “Black and Gold” a lil’ hip hop touch.
Interestingly, though, it’s not Shawn’s rapping contribution that stands out here as much as his production work. Cooking up a slightly jazzy, slower tempo-ed frame that’s all echoing synthesizer and frantic drum taps, Chrystopher’s work behind the boards is sharp and so complimenting to Sparro’s vocal that we wish it could’ve supported the whole of Sam’s song instead of just keeping the singer’s “involvement” to looped sample hook duties.
Ahhh, “Lovefool”, that candy-coated pop gem of ‘96. To any Top 40-raised child of the nineties’, just mentioning The Cardigans‘ big hit stirs up memories of those “golden” years, not to mention reminding one of the utter babe-aliciousness of the band’s frontwoman Nina Persson.
Cali indie-pop favorites The Morning Benders help revive some of those fond recollections on this lovely remake, part of their new Bedroom Covers EP (which you can download, for FREE, here) that also sees them taking on Paul Simon, The Ronettes and The Smiths among others.
Their intimate reading beautifully grasps the underlining darkness of the original, re-painting around it’s lyrical desperation with a spare tambourine jiggle, hushed acoustic guitar strokes, and some of the creamiest male harmonies this side of Simon & Garfunkel. When Nina dreamed for her ex to “love me, love me” again against her version’s bubbly disco rush, you got the feeling that her period of depression would be brief (hotties like her don’t stay single for too long); the nerdy introvert vibe given from the Benders presents a far more infinite emotional concavity, their downbeat swoons seeming to summon up the dour realization that if she doesn’t take them back, they’ll probably never get a shot at love with another live soul ever again.
As nice as it is to get free music, think of how much better your soul would feel if you purchased it the old-fashioned way.
*
Come on, use Amazon or iTunes and help support your favorite artists so they can continue to give us the great sounds we love.
*
(MP3 posts are for promotional and/ or previewing purposes only; if any artist or their representation wish to have the links removed, contact me and I will happily comply!)
On “Excuses”, the first single lifted from The Morning Benders‘ sophomore album Big Echo, the Cali indie-pop band (previously given love here for their intimate re-imagining of The Cardigans’ “Lovefool”) offer a gorgeously executed riff off of Phil Spector’s oft-referenced “Wall of Sound” studio trickery to support an engrossing play-by-play of young “soulmates” bathed in the euphoric bliss of making love for the first time.
Remember back in the day when hip hop dances used to be easy to master? When you can pull out a decent Wop, Cabbage Patch or Running Man and earn an onslaught of cheers from your peers? Nowadays, you can get tired just watching the way kids pull off over-complicated steps and contort their bodies in odd, almost in-human like fashions. Not to mention the fact that it seems like every other hour, a new dance craze is being birthed from some different corner of the nation.
There’s not enough good things you can say about 
Recent Comments