This CD came out in Spring of 2008, and was so consistently high on all the lists I read that I figured I'd give it a go. I've been really pleased with it. One thing that I love about my favorite albums is that the artist can cover a multitude of styles while still sounding like themselves. It makes for an interesting listening experience, and Satntogold definitely fits that bill.
Bees!
Santogold often gets compared to M.I.A, which is, in my opinion, lazy and not a little bit racist. People see "eclectic ethnic pop singer female" and somehow think the two are analogous. M.I.A is much more dance / club oriented, while Santogold is pretty entrenched in New Wave pop. Check out the best song off this CD - "Lights Out", which sounds like a lost collaboration between The Cars and Blondie circa 1981:
"My Superman" (to my point about stylistic diversity) apes another New Wave / Punk sound. It's practically a tribute to Siouxsie and The Banschees, one of the originators of Goth.
Here's "Red Light" by Siouxsie and the Banschees
and here's the song of the week - "My Superman" by Santogold:
Uh, yeah. In fairness, she herself acknowledges her song as "based on" "Red Light" and gives them credit in the liner notes.
This, honestly, is not one of my favorite songs on the album, but I still recommend getting it. I like it for it's obvious tribute to its influences, but the lyrics are pretty vague and mostly just seem obligatory. The purpose here is to get the sound of S & TB, which she does well, and approximate Siouxsie's vocals, of which she does an outstanding job. It's spot on, really. I like the loping bass in the track (reminds me a little of Concrete Blonde's "Bloodletting", actually) and the sparse instrumentation. It gives it an eerie feel, which I guess it what she's going for after all.
5 comments:
I have enjoyed this record very much on your earlier recommendation. I would give it another listen. The comparison to M.I.A. (which is how you sold me on it, BTW) is pretty valid since at least one or two songs sound exactly like her.
One of the others (I'm a Lady?) sounds like Sinead O'connor
The song I am talking about is called "Creator".
Great album.
Did I really sell it that way? Well, fonk me. We love
"Creator" around our house - especially the beginning chant, which one of the boys claims is a dog (?)
That first song (Lights out?) is really good.
The S and the B song is either completely awful or slightly crappy depending on whether my eyes were open. Santogold's version isn't great, but I like her vocals better.
"Lights Out" now a Bud Light commercial. Wooo!
They also copped one of my favorite Curamin songs, and the Black Keys are shilling Lee jeans.
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