venta

I regularly claim that it takes me multiple listens to form an opinion about an album. In general, I think this is true.

However, every so often I run into an album which immediately grabs my attention and utterly delights me. The last time this happened was when I finally acquired my copy of 69 Love Songs, by The Magnetic Fields.

Today, a parcel arrived from Amazon, bringing me the CDs I purchased in order to get a chance to use the free voucher Amazon had given me after they cocked up my Baader Meinhof order earlier in the year. And it brought me Please Describe Yourself, by Dogs Die In Hot Cars[*].

I love it already.

I had been lumping DDIHC in with the general ruck of guitar-led, slightly retro-sounding bands which seem to be proliferating all over the show. And that was most unfair of me. The album is quite varied in sound - something of the noise I was expecting, but also a playfulness that reminds me of The Coral, plenty of melody, some harmony, and a gentle, laid-back summer sort of vibe. Celebrity Sanctum could almost be The Beach Boys, and Paul Newman's Eyes comes within walking distance of risking being accused of being Country. Add a nice blend of wit, fun and silliness in the lyrics, some slightly offbeat sleevenotes, and bingo.

The great thing about swivel chairs is that you can boogie at your desk :)

[*] Not, as someone mis-read over my shoulder, Dogs Die In Hot Cats. However, I may never manage to think of them by the correct name ever again.