Disco In Your Skull.

POLYPHONIC SPREE - WAIT EP


Mental Cabaret

The first piece of 2007's best album The Fragile Army has finally dropped (well, it's been ripped from the stream on their site). A new sound has been much-heralded and Mental Cabaret is definitely a step in a different direction length-wise (3 minutes sharp), production wise (very hi-fi) and instrument-wise (a synth takes front speaker over their roster's more orchestral components). So we're left with the most perfect 80's pop gem imaginable, decorated with trademark swooping symphonics, church choir and a tap dancing solo. It's the Spree song most likely to be played alongside The Killers and Arctic Monkeys at the discotheque, but they didn't sacrifice any of their originality or innovation in making it.

Mental Cabaret will be released on iTunes and selected indie retailers on Tuesday September 5th as part of a 5-track EP entitled Wait, as a stopgap until the full-length (which was originally intended to be released around this time). Other tracks on the EP include another brand new song and 3 covers - their renditions of the Psychedelic Furs' Love My Way, Tripping Daisy's awesome Sonic Bloom and the most incredibly super-duper thing you'll ever hear: Lithium, which Kurt Cobain was born to write for them.

Official Site
Recording Blog

Free Chips.

NACHO LIBRE


With Nacho Libre, the most perfect comedy pairing of modern times (only the cast addition of Leslie Nielsen could improve its connection with the Ulnar nerve) have shown us what A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man would be like had Joyce been replaced by a wrestling Napoleon Dynamite. Jared Hess' 2nd feature is almost as triumphant as its predecessor, sticking to the unflawed formula of awkward pauses, hilarious quirks and ridiculously innapropriate dialogue. But in between aches of laughter (mutant midget wrestlers, Nacho's "I DON'T WANT NO CORN" and the fat lady's secret method of transport being the highlights) and urges for nachos and mayonnaised corn, my ears were intrigued by the soundtrack.

Directly to the record shop went I, but the CD was nowhere to be found. Research informed me that it hasn't been released, something unheard of for any release these days (the rumour that Danny Elfman - who partially scored the movie - had removed his name from his work may be the reason). The movie's peaks and troughs were highlighted by Elfman, Beck and numerous really interesting Mexican 1970's psychedelic acts (one covered Os Mutantes). But the real nugget of the bunch is Mr. Loco, a band who contributed several tracks, including the wonderful theme tune Real Religious Man. I've been scouring the net trying to compile as much of the soundtrack as possible, so here's what I've found:

Mr. Loco - Real Religious Man
(Others at Some Velvet Blog.)

X-PRESS 2 WITH TIM DELAUGHTER


Witchi Tai To
You might remember X-Press 2 as that gang who got David Byrne to phone in vocals on a track called Lazy a few years back. As far as I can remember, that was the only single from their debut that really hit it big (and that REALLY hit it big). Well, their 2nd album is almost ready to be unleashed and this CD's "Lazy" is - apparantly - going to be their reworking of Harper's Bizarre's Witchi Tai To (which is itself based on an ancient Indian chant). The key to this cover is that Mr. Tim Delaughter is fronting it. Last time round, David Byrne's shares enjoyed a massive price increase and we can only hope that the Polyphonic Spree will be on the receiving end of a similar amount of attention in the coming months, as we approach the release of The Fragile Army early in the new year. Going by Tim's performance on what is likely to be 2006's crossover dancefloor hit, the masses may be in for a whole load of sonic fulfillment.