All posts tagged The Smiths

Dancer In The Dark – All I Ever Wanted

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As I look back across my musical life, Vancouver’s The Organ became important to me around the time I first moved to Manchester and I started to engage with artists outside of the mainstream. Those initial experiences of flicking through the records in Piccadilly were the beginning of my love for discovery and I still cherish much of that period’s collection. The Organ released only one LP ‘Grab That Gun’, seemingly due to both label and touring pressure, but it’s fair to say their recorded output deeply ingrained itself on me. I heard from a friend a while back that after taking a break from music, guitarist Debora Cohen had started a new project and have been keeping an eye on things ever since…

Taking her name from the Lars Von Trier film Dancer In The Dark (probably one of the most depressing films I’ve ever seen) Cohen is displaying all the magic that made The Organ so special. It’s certainly clear she was one of the creative forces behind their ability to write great pop melodies, along with singer Katie Sketch whose vocal ability was a driving force, but All I Ever Wanted is evidence enough that Cohen is more than capable of holding her own. At times the subtle and arresting arrangements remind me of Interpol, guiding us to a breathtakingly beautiful and melancholy conclusion.

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http://dancerinthedark.bandcamp.com/

Horsebeach – What Problem?

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Horsebeach are a new Manchester band with echoes of *takes deep breath* The Smiths
There.. I said it. But its pretty clear they are also influenced by the surf-pop scene currently so in vogue round these parts. If they added a little more indie-disco spirit they could well be pushing into Craft Spells territory… now that I could get behind.

This is a band in development – their online presentation is amateurish, a challenge any modern band must get to grips with – and I’m not sure I could ever really LOVE a band called Horsebeach. I could, however, love a band that makes songs like What Problem? which is utterly charming, lyrically deft, with a melody to die for. Listen here:

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She said “How could I fake my own death?”
I said “My love, how could you die if you’ve never lived”

She said I was wrong and she’s probably right, she said I was wrong.

I apologise for I can no longer pay my way round here.
I apologise for anything i might say from here on out.

Patience is a trait that appeals to me.
It’s a mind that’s so distracted and so quick to hide.
You could tell me why, but you won’t say. How long now?

I apologise for I can no longer pay my way round here.
I apologise for anything i might say from here on out.

I apologise, I apologise, I apologise FOR NOTHING

http://www.facebook.com/horsebeachband

Phill Young