Racket Hearing

There are all sorts of songs I'm desperate to post at the moment - the Boys Noize remix of 'Happy Up Here', the Starters remix of 'Thunderstruck Man', the CSK OK remix of 'Shooting Stars' ... but I've decided to change it up a bit. The Boys Noize and Starters tunes are all over Hype Machine at the moment, and I don't want to look like I follow the crowd. Because I'm just so incredibly eclectic and original. Like all bloggers.

As for CSK OK, I heard about him for the first time the other day on the ever-reliable hyperbole blogspot. He's pretty much my new favourite producer, sounding a bit like a more laid-back Danger. (A cross between Danger and The Twelves maybe? Not that I want to raise expectations too high.) I highly recommend that anyone with the slightest interest in electro checks out his myspace - there's a list on it of all the blogs he affiliates with and gives tunes to. Naturally, I don't appear on said list.

Sad face.

Anyway, I'm not going to post anything from him, as it's all ready available elsewhere, and well worth taking the time to find - look for his 'Final Punch' Reprise, the remix of 'Shooting Stars' and the 'Houston' remix.

It's probably time to talk about what I'm actually posting. First up... Housse de Racket, who's name I cleverly punned 'pon in the title, are a cheerful little French indie band - falling somewhere between Phoenix, Mystery Jets, Sebastien Tellier and The Beatles. Obviously, I don't mean that in terms of quality (although they are awesome), but in terms of their kind of sound. Their first album, Forty Love, was a rock opera about two tennis players fighting over a girl/man called Gwendoline (probably a girl). The lyrics might well be as hilarious as the general concept, but I wouldn't know because - quite refreshingly for a French band - it's all sung in French. In fact, the general style is about as French as you could want, and they've produced some very good songs, namely: 'Sur Le Papier' (see below), 'Oh Yeah' and 'Synthetiseur', all of which I highly reccomend. The rest of the album is pretty solid as well. 'Sur Le Papier' and 'Oh Yeah' are nice, cheerful indie jaunts, and 'Synthetiseur' is a bit more electric and powerful (think 'Eye of the Tiger'). Definitely worth a listen.

'Ursuline', by Malajube (who hail from Montréal), is equally French - in terms of lyrics at least. Or so I believe, though to be honest the vocals are so covered in distortion and sound it's difficult to make out if they are talking in any language at all. It sounds nice anyway. Overall the song is nicely balanced between highs and lows. Malajube are a bit more rocky than Housse de Racket, but equally good at song-writing. The drums are nice and powerful, with crashing cymbals and the like, but don't get in the way. In fact, there's a nice selection of instruments (I think a harmonica even creeps in at one point), and the whole song feels like a kind of musical journey.

Basically, I really like it. Their other stuff is good too, try 'Porté Disparu' if you want to hear more. Or try their myspace.
The Weakerthans are pretty cool. Everyone knows this. In fact, there is very little I could say about them that would be interesting or illuminating at all. Overall, they're pretty consistent and you either like them or you don't.
Vague, I know...

'Everything Must Go!' is a pretty cool song, if you ignore the exclamation mark in the title. The chord progression is melodic, pleasant, laid back. The drums are chilled (some tight snare work there), and the vocals float over the top in a kind of Death Cab-ish style.

Finally, I've linked some Chad VanGaalen. Now, Mr VanGaalen is by no means one of my favourite artists, but 'Rabid Bits of Time' is a beautiful song. Just listen to the way he sings 'You've been dead for years'. Great stuff. Bon Iver probably do the genre a bit better, but 'Rabid' is definitely a very good song, with the same kind of emotional power. (Slightly depressing.)

Housse de Racket - Sur le Papier Buy
Malajube - Ursuline Buy
The Weakerthans - Everything Must Go! Buy
Chad VanGaalen - Rabid Bits of Time Buy