Burly Gates – 6/7
Genre: Garage Rock
Similar artists: Vundabar, Thee Oh Sees, Twin Peaks, Black Lips
We all understand the world around us by the stories we tell and the ones being told to us. This is simply how our minds work, how communities have stuck together, and how the world has managed to evolve.
We are, however, in modern times, especially, interested in stories of poor luck and disaster involving other people, especially ones that we know, but with which we don’t have too much for a connection. It’s particularly interesting to note that while, for some of these folks, their calamity seems obvious in hindsight, most of them felt like things were going smoothly right before their cruel fate befell them. Or, at the very least, all of these future victims believed whole-heartedly that their luck was bound to soon change.
This is what Burly Gates’ single 6/7 sounds like. It’s the exuberant chapter where the main character is living it up with no fear of consequences unable to see what lies for them shortly. The group provides the garage-rock muscle and the gritty storytelling on this tale of misery. This makes it official. Sad stories are the best kinds of stories.
Julia Daigle – Sur la haute colline
Genre: Lo-fi Rock, Dream- Pop, Wave
Similar artists: Paupiere, L’artiste, Premier, A Plus, Robert Robert
It’s amazing to consider that pop music under its many guises has become a language spoken by the entire world. Blues music is no longer restricted to the South of the U.S.A. Reggae is not merely made in Jamaica. Even Krautrock has disciples across this great, large world. And, many of the people taking up these styles do their work brilliantly well.
Having said that, it is true that by default, certain languages and places lend themselves to particular forms of musical expression. For example, it’s no coincidence that the aforementioned Kosmische Musik, known to some as krautrock, was created with the German language in mind. Similarly, the likes of Serge Gainsbourg or Jacques Brel could have not created their poetry in any other language than French.
There’s a certain moodiness, melancholy, and sophistication that this Romance language provides. Julia Daigle’s blue, mysterious daydream of a single, Sur la haute colline (On the high hill) could not have worked as well in any other language. The ethereal production, the chant-like vocals work to create a luring, cryptic siren song, and no other words would have worked better.
