Sam Florian – Sister Surround
“Always be respectful towards your elders” is a piece of advice that works well in any age and for any culture. It’s also something that Sam Florian seems to have taken to heart. Here’s his version of Sister Surround. The original belongs to The Soundtrack of Our Lives, a band that, I am told, was very important back in Florian’s native Sweden, and one that Noel Gallagher seems to have liked so much that he nicked them for a few licks.
The version from which Florian is quoting was instantly catchy and driven by a backbeat that had a lot in common with proto-punk groups like the Stooges. Sam Florian’s take is a breezy, dreamy affair that makes up the best of the already gorgeous melodies the song is blessed to have.
The lo-fi soul of the bass and drums give the tune an understated midnight-club vibe, while the echoey guitars add mist and mystery. Florian’s voice is well suited to the mix, and clearly, this is a song he enjoys earnestly and would like others to hear.
Distanza! – Mister Vermillion
I’m a fan of three-minute shots of catchy rock n’ roll, and I feel no shame for it. Yes, from the Ramones to The Kinks, to the Vines, I am inclined to take a short dosage of infectious guitar grooves and clever lyrics the way others dunk down cups of espresso down their throats in order to keep them awake.
Distanza! sound like a band that could have been playing just about anything. They certainly seem as if they’re anything but a one-trick pony. Still, they’ve opted to make their sound bouncy and their lyrics quotable which is, well… the purpose of releasing a single in the first place, we think.
Mister Vermillion sounds like a band that at one point was playing slowed-down, gloomy, post-punk before the drummer walked in with a disco groove and the rest of the band members followed suit and held on tight for dear life. If you’re just starting out your day, know that it will be difficult to find a tune that goes down as easily as this one by Distanza!
