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[Sostie]

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[Kick in the Head]

HELLO DARLING - WIFE OF ROLEX

Once more Wife of Rolex doth deliver the exceptionally well-crafted artwork for the first (from my perspective at least) installment of the new loop, and a solid entry it is too. Few tracks of the barnstorming variety, but consistent in terms of quality and sound for the most part. Track by track...

01: Eastern flavours aplenty (and the compilation title) which may or may not be authentic, but its still a light, short but decidedly cool opener.

02: Blippy bleepy chilled electronica is soon joined by relaxed vocals that evoke the 80s. It's overlong, certainly, but nice enough all the same.

03: This has all the hallmarks of a 60s guitar band, with a bit of a spacey feel, but the quirky trumpet noise in the background makes it really interesting and that little bit different. An early highlight.

04: A good transition from the last track to this not so much in terms of genre but in keeping a swinging theme running. Funky beats, breathy flute-tooting and whacked-out organ riffing combine for some great party music.

05: Bit of a mis-step this I'm afraid. Pretty standard dancey-wancey that wouldn't seem out of place in a futuristic racing game on the Sony PlayStation circa 1997, but a tad naff here and now.

06: The opening doesn't do this track any favours, but once it launches into the tune proper, I was greeted with a winning off-kilter melody, with a spiky attitude and vocals that are simultaneously brash and a teensy bit vulnerable. Bold and brilliant.

07: Plips, plops, beats and snares. It's dance remix territory! Unfortunately, this offers nothing more to the original version than unneccessary padding length.

08: One of my favourite constantly evolving duos currently out there. I would probably rank their most recent album as their best, with their debut second, and the album this track is taken from third - but that is certainly not to diminish the quality of said work. Even then, this is not my favourite off that album, but it's still ahead of the competition in nearly every regards.

09: Pretty ineffectual acousticness that picks up considerably once the drums kick in, but it takes too long to get there. A bit dull.

10: A slow-burning song with rumbling percussion and gradual orchestration that builds and builds, lending an epic quality at odds with the singer, but all the better for it. A lovely piece of work.

11: The tinny drum loop and guitar-piano combo sounds a little Eels-esque, but not quite as good. There's just something lacking that leaves it being simply 'nice' rather than actually very good. Shame.

12: Kind of cool and spooky at first, but come the chorus it just turns into rather unexceptional pop fare. Hmph.

13: Despite this tune not really changing much at all throughout the track length, its filled with plenty of pleasant surprises and has a chirpy bouncy loopy feeling like spinning slowly in a circle until you're nicely dizzy but not enough to feel horribly ill. Gorgeous.

14: Choir, organ, cymbals! Then, ack! What is this? Backing music for a new National Lottery gameshow hosted by Tess Daly? Ludicrous.

15: This final track sounds like it would be included as the retro piece on the soundtrack of a quirky indie comedy-drama in which it would be played over the end and the following credits as the characters accept themselves and each other for who they are. That sounds a bit mean, but that it is not a pop at the track itself, which is a fine closer indeed.


Soooooooo...Hello Darling scores...


7/10


A tracklist pur-lease!