As a little aside, we've been listening to a lot of old Björk albums lately and the one that we keep coming back to is Post. So, it seems fateful that the excellent Stereogum have assembled quite a cast to record a special tribute to it. Acts including Liars, Atlas Sound, Dirty Projectors and Xiu Xiu have all attempted a track each and you can download the whole thing for free form here.
Dave Longstreth has this to say about why his band, Dirty Projectors, picked the amazing 'Hyperballad': “I think what I took from Björk when I was obsessed with her in high school was her way with deconstruction. She writes these classic melodies but breaks them apart so that it’s sort of up to you as the listener to put them back together. The song ends up meaning so much more because of the effort you have to give to it. Out of a perverse habit, I tried to do the opposite with this recording: present the song like the unbroken stone it might have been. But I think I probably just arrived at a new deconstruction: Björk’s essence remains elusive!”
Not many albums avoid pigeon-holing as keenly as Bitte Orca. Like the album’s title, things seem to have been thrown together because frontman Dave Longstreth thought they might sound good together and it’s to his infinite credit that they nearly always do. So, we get modern-day R&B as performed by four white folk from Brooklyn in the shape of ‘Stillness Is The Move’, cinematic chamber pop (‘Two Doves’) and discordant guitar noise peppering an otherwise sombre harmony-lead ditty (‘Temecula Sunrise’). Unlike most albums that try everything but master nothing, Bitte Orca works because the ideas never swallow the songs. ‘Useful Chamber’ may have undulating keyboard riffs and strange, backward noises, but it also has a brilliant melody and somehow all the fragments are held together. Plus, they’re Bjork’s favourite band, so, you know, it stands to reason that they’re amazing.
Let's have a little look at what's been playing in the Musick office* this week shall we? * By office we mean house in North London, but it sounds less prosaic.
Chew Lips 'Salt Air'
Arty three piece alert! Chew Lips probably live together in a basement flat in Shoreditch, tripping over various drug paraphernalia and generally being MUCH COOLER THAN YOU OR I. But, they also make killer electropop nuggets like this one, which is a). very catchy and b). very catchy. Singer Tigs has a voice that is simultaneously detached and weirdly soulful. We reckon she's pretty scary 'in real life'.
Dirty Projectors 'Cannibal Resource'
We've mentioned this lot before but we've only recently found the time (and the money) to purchase they're new album, Bitte Orca. We deeply regret the time we lost with this album as it's one of the better things 2009 has birthed. Full of angular time signatures and glorious harmonies, it's a captivating listen, even if on first listen it all sounds like a bit of a mess. This version of 'Cannibal Resource' was recorded for the David Letterman show, which is amazing when you think our equivalent is Reverend & The Makers on Jonathan Ross...
The Raveonettes 'Last Dance'
The Raveonettes have always been one of those bands that you listen to and are automatically confronted by their influences and rather than continue to listen you go off and play songs by those bands instead. Luckily, 'Last Dance' (which you can download for free from here) is a lovely, typically moody four minutes that seems to be about the perils of loving a junkie. We've all been there, right? It even features some "oh, oh, oh" bits, which sound AMAZING in a hospital ward when you're loved one slips into a coma.
Oasis 'Don't Look Back In Anger'
We will not forget. It was a sad day for music when Oasis decided they could no longer muster the strength to re-hash their former glories and schlep the dead horse around festival sites across Europe. We literally can't believe they're gone. Fingers crossed bands like The Courteeners, The Enemy and The Twang can continue their legacy and deliver the music we all deserve. Thank you Liam, thank you Noel.
We like to think we've constantly got our fingers on the musical pulse, but sometimes we need a helping hand. On this particular occasion our guiding light was none other than Bjork. Always one to pick the best collaborators, Bjork announced a few months back that she would perform at a charity gig with New York's Dirty Projectors.
Who are this motley crew we asked ourselves? Well, they're fronted by a man called Dave Longstreth and there are five other people in the band (although not in the photo), some of whom are women and some of whom are men. Fascinating so far. They also make music that is difficult to categorise, relies heavily on vocals and can sometimes sound on the brink of collapse but beautiful at the same time. Sound familiar?
They have a new album coming out next week entitled Bitte Orca and from said album, this is 'Stillness Is The Move':
Below is some slightly dodgy footage of Bjork performing with Dirty Projectors on a song Longstreth composed especially for the one-off gig. Fast forward through all the talking and tuning up and get to the part with those amazing backing vocals and Bjork's passionate rasp, blurting out lyrics about whales and love.
As a little aside, we've been listening to a lot of old Björk albums lately and the one that we keep coming back to is Post. So, it seems fateful that the excellent Stereogum have assembled quite a cast to record a special tribute to it. Acts including Liars, Atlas Sound, Dirty Projectors and Xiu Xiu have all attempted a track each and you can download the whole thing for free form here.
