August 2009

1. MSTRKRFT & John Legend – Heartbreaker

This is massive. Imagine an elephant on a Space Hopper. Now imagine that the elephant is this song, and that the little bouncy globe is every other dance track around. Crushed.

2. Phoenix – Lisztomania

If this doesn’t make you happy then you are dead inside. That’s all there is to it.

3. Discovery – Osaka Loop Line

Holy Moses, this is radical. Discovery, for those who don’t know, are a tasty little side project from some of the boys who brought us Vampire Weekend. So make yourself a tasty little sandwich of Vampire vocals (let’s call them the bacon), Au revoir Simone loops (farmhouse white roll), a bit of Autechre crash noise (tomato), poppy genius (lettuce), and slurpy RnB vibes (mayonnaise). Now a lot of people don’t like mayonnaise and a lot of people don’t like RnB. My response to you people is in the form of a question. Would you eat mayonnaise on its own? I rest my case. I am aware there may be people out there who cannot (or choose not to) eat bacon. I’ve got one thing to say to you people. Make your own fucking sandwich.

4. Grafton Primary – I Can Cook

Step up, Australia’s answer to MYLO. Yes yes yes, MYLO is “like totally frickin passé”, and will forever be remembered for the legions of shocking ‘Drop The Pressure’ remixes. But do you remember hearing it for the first time? Do you remember your mind literally exploding when that bar/psi/mbar/mb/N/m2/Pa/hPa/kPa was finally dropped? It’s hard to erase the other 41,563 I know, but have a go. Can’t do it? Listen to this, loud.

5. Chairlift – Evident Utensil

If I could bottle the key ingredient of “stickinyourheadiness” in a song, I’d be a rich man. Maybe it’s the “Aqua – Barbie Girl” style macho commentary in the background, maybe it’s the little “Wooo Oooh” she does, maybe it’s the fact the song is only 2.51 long. OR maybe (this is my strongest theory), it’s the fact that they’ve realised how killer the chorus is and have decided to just repeat it again and again until your ears are addicted. Mine are.

6. The Horrors – Sea Within A Sea

Tough to pick a track from this album given that they’re all verrry good, but I’ve gone with this one. I didn’t really like these jumped-up little goth-monkeys at the beginning, but you can’t argue with this album. Joy Division with dying synths and hairspray. Dark, sombre and fucking good.

7. Soap and Skin – Cynthia

From one spookfest to another. This cracking little Austrian is 18. Pah! How can she produce music this haunting? The only Austrian I know who could possibly make music this dark spent her life in a cellar. Do I want to go there? Not really. Just to clarify though, Anja Plaschg, the genius behind Soap and Skin, is no relation. And it’s no laughing matter.

8. Middle East – Blood

Before listening to this track, consider the band’s name, the track’s name, and the fact that it’s on SPUNK Records. Nothing will prepare you for the explosion of beauty that will bundle your poor, tired ears into a cotton-wool cloud and feed them grapes and love noodles (except perhaps the fact that you have just read this). Arcade Fire/Fleet Foxes/Bon Iver fans, jump on this Australian folksy bandwagon. What is a folksy bandwagon? An applecart? A wheelbarrow? And what the fuck are love noodles?

9. Class Action - Weekend

I’m going to keep my playlists to 9 songs. All killer, no filler. 9th song will always be the track from leftfield. The doosra for all you cricket fans, the curveball for all you Yanks, the ………… for all you people more able to think of comparisons than me.

This track is a little slice of disco pie. Short(crust) and sweet. I couldn’t resist.

Please enjoy this playlist responsibly. If you aren’t good at controlling your limbs I would recommend avoiding listening whilst driving. May cause uncontrollable beat spasms. There’s the disclaimer, now my ass is covered. See you in September for the next instalment.

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