I picked up the CD of The Postal Service on sale at HMV decades ago after reading rave reviews & I enjoyed it – sort of low-key electronics with sweet slightly laconic vocals & wry songs of romance. A bit like Cake, Hot Chip, The replaced it with in this mp3 collection with the 10th Anniversary Edition, full of bonus live & remixed bonus tracks. Give Up is their only release but it made their reputation legendary.
I rounded out the mp3 cd with Hercules & Love Affair: self-titled, Blue Songs (with bonus live & remixed tracks). Affair is a house music dance tangent of Antony & The Johnsons. This is the fun side of the Johnsons who are noted for their slow paced & classical chamber pop.
Affair is not chamber pop unless the chamber is a neon lit bar somewhere in Soho (or where the hip people go to dance). House music is a slightly mellow version of disco – not as many bpm & warmer electronic sound. The songs are all uplifting – gender fluid & queer positive lyrics. Music that invites you to dance. Reminiscent of Book of Love, Charlatans UK.
The last addition to this is DJ Kicks: compilation featuring Hercules & Love Affair, Klubb Kidz & more. More house music & a great sampler, introduction to that sound & groups that are committed to it. The music on this cd collection doesn’t rely on power-house vocal to sell the the emotional content of the songs – you can actually hear lyrics without a forced emotional lock.
TOpoet 