Tunes from Philly

Have you ever considered what life would be like without music? I watched Cloverfield in Philly and only realised at the end credits that there wasn't a soundtrack. A pal at work told me about it and I total forgot. Sometimes you need to go without to appreciate what you have... like when I walked alone on 6th Avenue... just enjoying the sounds of the city... Goldie on my iPod when I got back to the hotel sounded vibrant and new.

Anyway... I picked up some great tunes when I was stateside... so real gems, in my view.

First off, we have Peter, Bjorn and John with their 2006 album Writer's Block >> I picked it up for their song [Young Folks] which is so flipping Marmite its unbelievable - everyone I know either loves the song with its great beats and catchy whistling or hates it with a passion only reserved for fallen politicians. Its indie rock and very pop but in all the nice ways... singalong choruses... big guitars... funky beats... and I really like it. So much so... I annoyed my colleagues with the whistling riff and drove them to distraction and threats of physical violence. Not good... but secretly fun. Its a great album and one that will sit nicely in my collection.

Next up is the awesome Von by Sigur Ros >> this was a real find as I have never, to this day, seen it in Glasgow. It feels fresh and new even though it is over 10 years old. Its full of imaginative post-rock soundscapes... ambients sounds and jagged guitars over delicate vocals... the kind of thing we have grown accustomed to from Sigur Ros and just lap up. So much so that when Myrkur plays it feels odd... because its a more melodic, indie song rather than the post-rock we (certainly I) know Sigur Ros for. All in... its a fab album full of great potential.

Lastly... something completely different. I am a huge fan of the San Fransican record label Om >> I love their taste in house music and downtempo beats... as a complete escape from and antithesis of the more obscure and avant-garde electronica and post-rock that I love.

Samatha James has been getting some play with her debut album Rise. Its a collection of some of the most soulful and seductively chilled house music I have heard in a long, long time... with production credits going to Sebastian Arocha Morton aka ROCAsound. I heard of her via Aurgasm and really liked her voice. Reminded me of the first time I heard Bebel Gilberto. Well worth checking out... as indeed are the other two albums.