It came on a recommendation from a ludicrously clued-in friend and it's one of those records that I'm sure I'm going to like within 10 seconds: smooth bossafied intro followed by a nice squelch of some kind of synthesiser. All that can go wrong now is for some whiny or whispery of shouty dumb vocalist to come and foul things up.
Not this time. "Couldn't You Tell" glories in the smoothest of voices - let's call him BC - telling you straight up that he's not to be trusted, under any circumstances. Meanwhile the Camplight rollick along in a pleasingly hangover-friendly way. Which is not very rollicky, I grant you. But it does seem to be the groove it hits towards the end that gets people asking what it is. It's "Couldn't You Tell" by BC Camplight. I think it's great.
This Sunday (18 October) we are thrilled to have Piney Gir coming along to play some records, as well as our regular third Sunday of the month Scrabble club... it'll be an extraordinarily relaxing afternoon...
As usual, we start at 2, and play records at a relaxed volume, while you enjoy the papers, the conversation, the roasts, the bloody marys, and whatever else it is you might care to enjoy.
A pared-down Claim featuring the Davids Read and Arnold are performing acoutiscally this Sunday. They'll be taking the stage at around 5pm. Amor de Dias will be playing either before or after that. They like to keep us guessing.
The Hangover Lounge's artist-in-chief has left the country for tax reasons, so the flyer has been botched by yours truly. Oh well. But it's the music that counts, right? And the beer. See you Sunday.
For those of you who missed The Claim's rivetting peformance in Rochester last month, there's footage below, which includes an exciting shot of the birthday boy frugging gently at the 2min mark.
I have to be honest: one of the reasons I'm particularly looking forward to this Sunday's Hangover Lounge is because it's doubling as my birthday celebration. And I'm celebrating a Big Birthday, one with a zero. I know it's hard to believe I'm 20 already, but there you are.
That's not all though. We are looking forward to hearing free acoustical sets from Amor de Dias (you know full well it's Lupe from Pipas and Al from the Clientele, two of my favourite groups of the last decade) and the Two Davids from The Claim, absolutely my favourite group of the decade before that. Here's the apropriately-named "Sunday": I love it.
You may have seen us advertise an appearance from Greg Webster, too - we're still hoping to see Greg play but (I have to be honest) we're not certain he is going to be able to make it. We'll see.
There is the vague possibility that I might have a drink or two, too. Purely medicinal, you understand. hair of the dog. That kind of thing. See you there, I hope.
L’accord Parfait is a wistful song with such a great melodic punch that it should have gone down in pop folklore. I can tell you that it’s from their 1994 debut album L'Échappée belle, which was produced in part by Michael Head, but not what it’s about, although listening to it is more fun than waving a dog's head on a stick at your mother.
In the interests of research, I should’ve played their follow-up album, Immobile, but some vague memory told me not to bother with it again. I don’t have any more of their records. It would be unfair to describe any band who can write such a magical desert island disc as L’accord Parfait as “average” – even though that’s what most of their songs are – because no average band ever wrote a song this good.
Today I've been thinking about that old " right NOW it's the greatest record ever made!" feeling - that sense that you're listening to the single most inspiring passage of sound ever passed from recording technology to human ear. It's familiar to most people with any kind of emotional investment in music, especially (it seems) the blogging non-community and a big part of the thrill is that you know it can't possibly be true even as it feels undeniable.
Mmmmm. Anyway.
The record which will most reliably give me that feeling is "Baby" by Gal Costa. Someone usually asks me about it if I play it at the Lounge and this Sunday was no exception, apart from the fact that two people asked me about it. Look, here it is:
Part of my continuing love and amazement about this record is, I suppose, that I don't know much about Brazilian pop, so it seems like it has beamed in from another (better) world. That also means I'm not going to burden you with lots of facts and/or trivia, but I do have four things to point out:
1. the way those strings swell around the thirty seconds mark! From that moment on you know you're in the presence of something special. 2. the way the reverb which surrounds Gal's voice all the way through completely drops off for a line or two around 1:30 is mysterious and oddly beautiful: for just a moment, she's right there next to you before spiriting off back into the world of reverb. (Apropos of nothing, I am reminded that I was once with the band The Clientele in Spain, which is the best possible way to find out that the Spanish pronounce "reverb" as "reberv". And apropos of that, and this, go and see Amor De Dias play with Damon and Naomi in early September in London and Manchester, do.) 3. "Diana" - what? 4. Gal's been going for forty years or more now and she has returned to this song several times, and cut some radically different versions, including one English language version which stomps rather hard on the mysterious poetry I imagine the Portuguese version brings. So on the off-chance that you were rushing out to buy yourself a copy of this, this one (from season '68/'69 I think) is The One. Right now, The Greatest Record Ever Made.
It is beyond doubt (at least among those who KNOW) that the number one highlight of this year's Edinburgh Fringe was the marvel which is Friend of the Lounge MJ Hibbett's brilliant Dinosaur Planet. You can see the trailer up there. And a review here.
We are delighted to say that MJ, having secured success in Scotland, is heading to the Hangover Lounge on Sunday for a victory lap. Entrance is FREE. He'll be on at about 5pm but you might want to come along earlier to delight in the HALF PRICE FOOD! And! In addition to the gently rockin' smooth sounds of the Lounge regulars, this week we'll be enjoying the pick'n'mix provided by friend of the stars and all-round grumpy good guy Steve Edmond. Come down, and come down.
