Listen up: TuneSmith’s musical recommendations for May
Posted by Anthony on April 30th, 2010Our TuneSmith, Rob Wood, the ears behind our sexy CD collection, selects the soundtrack to the bank holiday weekend…
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
The Optimist by New Young Pony Club
Why This pop comes with added bounce
When A pogo is in order
Pop music you can dance to is always a good thing. New Young Pony Club happen to make exactly that, and spectacularly well to boot. They marry the energy of dance music with the edge of indie and the zip of pop – ‘disco pogo for punks in pumps’ as Jockey Slut once described such a stance. A punk ethic can indeed be heard throughout NYPC’s latest long-player, but this is no joyless racket – its attitude and swagger are skilfully dressed up with enough hooks and riffs to give glamorous Tahita Bulmer and her band good reason to be so vital. With influences ranging from the B-52s to the Cure to My Bloody Valentine, their credibility will never be in doubt either. As tracks such as ‘Chaos’ attest, this is clever pop done brilliantly, with a fantastic groove planted firmly beneath its swaying hips.
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THE SMITH CLASSIC
The Source by Jimmy Scott
Why The voice of ‘Little’ Jimmy Scott is the ultimate late-night companion
When The wee hours of morning
It is extraordinary to think that one of the finest singers in the history of, well, ever spent a large part of his career working as lift attendant in Cleveland. Trapped in an unjust recording contract, Jimmy Scott was effectively forced to retire despite the fact that he had recorded some of the most graceful vocal albums in music. The Source is one such masterpiece: a collection of spine-tinglingly powerful torch songs. It’s a testament to this man’s talent and humanity that he conveys such meaning and hope through every lyric, despite a life riddled with hardship. Restrictive recording contracts aside, Scott was orphaned as a teenager and lived with a genetic condition that prevented him reaching puberty – all of which gives this album and all his work its characteristic mesmerising contralto vocal sound. With songs such as ‘Exodus’ and ‘Day by Day’, it is not hard to see why the likes of Lou Reed, David Lynch and Anthony & The Johnsons fall over themselves to work with Scott. He’s simply an intensive, jaw-dropping listening experience that has to be heard.
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