Data Romance “The Deep” by Fred Hystere
To be completely honest, this song caught my eye because of the band name, Data Romance, which OF COURSE I’d like being a lover of all things robots and data.
Anyway, it’s one of those songs you should listen to during your commute because it’s so relaxing for that time as the fog starts to burn off.
And then what does iTunes move onto immediately after this song? Mr. Little Jeans’s cover of Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs”! Oh, musical perfection.
The first thing I have to write is that I keep thinking that I have a friend named Alex Winston. Then I remember that I don’t. :/
Anyway, before I research her beyond the little blurb on Neon Gold Records‘ blog, I want to give my initial response to her song “Sister Wife.”
Alex Winston’s voice made me think of Ke$ha. I don’t mean that in a bad way either. (I know that Ke$ha doesn’t necessarily have the best reputation in the music world, and even less so in the indie music world.) It’s just that Alex Winston’s voice has that high-pitched, staccato sound that also gives her a 1999-2001 European electro, semi-trip hop (but not low and breathy enough) feel. Essentially, when I don’t think of Ke$ha, I think of various European singers such as Sia.
Like Ellie Goulding, Alex Winston has that electropop + an occasional acoustic guitar riff style.
“Sister Wife” is an airy electropop-based ballad toward Winston’s competitor for an object of affection. The heavy use of bass and floor tom beats is balanced out by the cloud of tinkering piano notes combined with stronger chord loops, the barely audible guitar riff repetition, and Winston’s high-pitched voice.
Going beyond my “First Listen” notes, here’s a few bits about her from her Wikipedia page :
Apparently, despite the very European feel of her song and voice, she’s actually from Michigan. Also, she’s working with the Knocks, a pretty big name production team that, when not making their own songs such as “Make It Better,” does tons of remixes!
I can’t wait to see her perform at SXSW this year!
Take a listen here: http://www.myspace.com/AlexWinston
If you haven’t already figured it out, I love covers. There’s just something about one band performing another band’s song, especially if it’s done in a style vastly different from the original band’s.
When I bought the Passion Pit CD, I was lucky enough to find the Limited Edition version that has “stripped down” versions of two songs and the band’s cover of “Dreams” by the Cranberries!
Just the concept of Passion Pit covering a Cranberries song made me squirm in the Amoeba Records aisle. One of my current favorite bands covering a song by a band I’ve loved since I was a little 4-year-old was a collision of my personal musical history!
Passion Pit’s electropop style made the song’s beginning, especially the synthesizer riff repetition, sound like an 80s hit. The drums were done in basically the same style as the original. However, you are reminded that this is a Passion Pit cover made in the time of bands like Arcade Fire at the 1:30 point when the choir-like wails combine with the layered synthesizer chords.
“Dreams” as covered by Passion Pit took sounds from the 80s, 90s, and today to piece together an opus of auditory and musically historical pleasure.
The first thing I thought when I heard “Something I’m Not” was “this sounds like an 80s band whose name I can’t think of right at this moment.” When I listened to “The Worse it Gets,” I thought “IT IS SOOOOOOOOOO 80s!!!”
It’s seriously all in the synths of the two songs. Okay, I lied. It’s also in the singer’s voice. Doesn’t he sound like some 80s singer from Style Council or maybe even Duran Duran, particularly in the song “Rio” but higher pitched? The song “The Worse it Gets” really has a Hall and Oates feel (particularly their song “Your Kiss is on My Lips”). “Animal Animal” has a slowed-down Culture Club feel.
Essentially, Penguin Prison is an amalgam of various 80s electopop bands, creating a band that fits into today’s 80s redux pop culture that has brought back the Member’s Only jacket, acid wash, and spandex pants.