She & Him – Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? – Single Review
M. Ward of She & Him
When She & Him first appeared onto the musical radar back in July, they seemed a bit like every publicist’s dream. The boy girl duo consists of actress Zooey Deschanel (She), who appeared in every music fan’s favourite film ‘Almost Famous’ and M. Ward (& Him), every music critic’s favourite all-rounder.
M. Ward’s blend of country tinged soft indie mixed with Deschanel’s sweet, creamy American drawl is a throwback to an imagined era where lovers sang to each other openly about their love in simple pop songs. Current single ‘Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?’ now also recalls the sweet harmonies of 60s girl-group pop.
‘Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?’, is She & Him’s second single from their first album Volume One (does this mean they are obliged to bring out a Volume Two?) and it is exactly this type of pop/country record. Simplistic, outmoded lyrics such as “Why don’t you sit right down and stay awhile?”, backed by shifting piano and faint acoustic guitar describe the sense of longing and self-doubt that permeates the whole song.
Creating these little gems is She & Him’s speciality, and they do it again here on the new single. However, largely due to my bias towards the Him half of She & Him, I do find the single rather She heavy.
The limited 7” on which ‘Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?’ is released via Double Six records also contains a show-stealing cover of Neil Young’s Lotta Love.
Still Alive – the main theme to the forthcoming computer game Mirror’s Edge - by Lisa Miskosky has been given the remix treatment by such luminairies as Armand Van Helden, Paul van Dyk, Benny Benassi, Junkie XL and Teddybears, and will receive a digital download release on 17th November to coincide with the release date of the Mirror’s Edge game itself.
The Still Alive EP includes the title track Still Alive – The Theme To Mirror’s Edge performed by Swedish pop star Lisa Miskovsky, followed by remixes from Armand Van Helden, Paul van Dyk, Benny Benassi, Junkie XL and Teddybears.
Mirror’s Edge is the highly anticipated first-person action adventure from the creators of the award winning Battlefield franchise, and has already won both the Leipziger Messe ‘Best Of GC’ Award and the prestigious ‘Best Original Game’ Critics Award at E3.
Still Alive has been recorded exclusively for Mirror’s Edge and is written and produced by by Rami Yacoub and Arnthor Birgisson, best known for their chart-topping work with Pink, Britney Spears, Danity Kane and Kelis.
Lisa Miskovsky has recently earned international acclaim for her #1 self-titled debut album and #1 platinum follow-up Fallwater, and has won Sweden’s top music awards including Best New Artist, Best Female Artist and Artist Of The Year.
The complete track listing for the Mirror’s Edge Remix EP is as follows:
Still Alive (The Theme from Mirror’s Edge) – UK radio edit
Still Alive (Benny Benassi Mix) – radio edit
Still Alive (Paul van Dyk Mix) – radio edit
Still Alive (Armand Van Helden Mix)
Still Alive (Benny Benassi Mix)
Still Alive (Junkie XL Mix)
Still Alive (Teddybears Mix)
Game Trailer
The Camel’s Back is the third album from the dynamic duo Carim Clasmann and Galia Durant aka Psapp.
Psapp are renowned for collecting sounds and creating music out of them. Their popularity has been enhanced since the general admiration for ‘Cosy In The Rocket’, the theme tune to Grey’s Anatomy, and this has boosted their own particular brand of ‘toytronica’.
Their sound lies somewhere between pop, bossanova and electronica and this odd mix continues on their new album ‘The Camel’s Back’.
However, on ’The Camel’s Back’ there is undoubtedly also a nostalgia that underpins their upbeat rhythms and the jaunty Fisherprice keyboards.
The title track itself ‘The Camel’s Back’, with its blippy xylophone, sounds like the music from one of those musical boxes, and gives the whole thing a feeling of childhood reminiscence. This is reiterated in some of Psapp’s lyrics: “Let me ride upon your handle bars” (Fickle Ghost).
With this nostalgia, though, comes a certain amount of resignation, and Galia Durant’s vocals certainly have this melancholy tinge to them. The Spanish style of guitar and drums on ‘Part Like Waves’ is very much upbeat, but Durant’s vocals lazily float over the top of them, flattening the bustling rhythm and adding melancholy into the mix: “We all fall down / We are scattered on the ground”.
And Psapp are undoubtedly at their best in these moments. ‘Screws’, by far the most downbeat song on ‘The Camel’s Back’, is a slow piano ballad into which Durant’s voice really fits well, and the plodding tempo and dark line ‘There is a shadow / Every mile we go’ portrays Psapp’s leaning towards the dark paranoia of childhood as opposed to pure nostalgia. This is echoed in current single ‘The Monster Song’.
When Psapp exploit their jaunty rhythms, the results are mixed. The single is by no means a classic, and the funky album opener ‘I Want That’ becomes repetitive and messy.
On the other hand, the instrumental ‘Marshrat’, ‘Part Like Waves’, and parts of the excellently titled ‘Somewhere There Is A Record Of Our Actions’ are actually very interesting electronic mixes. This is the crux of the problem with Psapp.
When their ‘found sounds’ are interesting and original, they create successful music, but the predominance of normal guitars, organs, pianos and drums means that their music can often sound like a poor version of contemporary pop songs.
‘The Camel’s Back’ is out now on Domino Records and promises both fun and sorrow in varying amounts over the twelve tracks.
Psapp will release the first single from their current album “The Camel’s Back” on the 3rd of November.
‘The Monster Song’ is a swinging pop number that contrasts its upbeat edge with sad lyrics of loss and depression. It will be released on 7” vinyl with two B-sides and as a digital download.
The ‘found sounds’ that the duo is well known for using are more conventional than usual here, with simple guitar-like chords directing the trajectory of the song. In fact, the best part of the song is when a violin joins the mix.
This is certainly a shift towards the pop side of their normally electronic songs, and they do it very well with Galia Durant’s vocals sounding insuppressibly perky instead of her normal cold harshness (more The Corrs than The Knife). The change may cause some controversy, but I guess this is all part of Psapp’s quirky experimentation and non-conformism.
Psapp’s lyrics are perhaps somewhat inhibited by their desire to rhyme, but in this single where both lyrics and music are wilfully immature in order to create the dark comparison between childhood and adult fears, it kind of works. “I still believe / behind the leaves / there’s something waiting for me.” The paranoia of childhood is no different to the jealousy of adulthood.
‘The Monster Song‘ is accompanied by a video illustrated by Psapp themselves.
Now That’s What I Call 25 Years is a very special release marking the brand’s silver jubilee this year.
The Now compilations have sold a staggering 75 million sales in the UK alone; and with the last two albums providing the biggest first week sales in the history of the compilation series, the Now releases continue to be the most popular pop compilation CDs in the UK.
The concept was the brainwave of a number of Virgin Records executives (Then Head Lawyer; Stephen Navin, General Manager; Jon Webster and Managing Director; Simon Draper) with the first Now… released in December 1983.
Interestingly, the name, “Now That’s What I Call Music” came from a 1920s Danish Bacon poster, bought for Simon Draper by cousin, Richard Branson.
Branson explains “He was notoriously grumpy before breakfast and loved his eggs in the morning, so I bought him the poster, framed it and had it hung behind his desk!”
EMI’s special anniversary edition of the hit albums, Now 25 Years, is a fantasic triple-CD with top UK hits from some of the biggest names in pop from the past 25 years including Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Boyzone, Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, Oasis, Queen, Wham!, U2, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, David Bowie, and more recent pop acts such as Coldplay, Duffy, Leona, Mika, Rihanna, Sugababes and the effervescent Kylie Minogue.
Now That’s What I Call 25 Years will be released on 24th November; and to celebrate its release, Buzzin Pop Music has 5 copies of the 60 track special anniversary triple album.
To enter the competition all you need to do is correctly answer the following question
The NOW compilations have sold how many copies in the UK?
Send your entries to freecompetition@buzzinmedia.co.uk with Buzzin Pop Now 25 Competition in the subject line with your answer and your full address and contact telephone number.
The Buzzin Pop Music Free Competition ends on 30 November, 2008. The editor will randomly choose 5 winners. Each will receive a copy of Now That’s What I Call 25 Years triple CD.
