The latest and greatest sounds making waves at ELLE in January:
In Fashion
Any daughter of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin would have impeccable style, but Charlotte Gainsbourg has also managed to become a singer with impeccable taste. Produced and mostly written by Beck, IRM is a record that’s confectionary but compelling, with her girlishness and ennui (mais oui!) wrapped in ’60s-inflected kaleidoscopic pop.
Oh My God
Patty Griffin’s new record, Downtown Church, is an album of gospel classics and originals that access her bluesy, earthy side. She presides over these songs with the authority of a lady preacher who can deliver the lines, “You won’t tell me where you’ve been/ You’ve got whiskey rolling down your chin” with a wink and a smile.
Fishing in the Dark
Eels’ Mark Oliver Everett is an L.A.- stranded Leonard Cohen in a flannel shirt and an Old Testament beard. His latest record, End Times, is a quiet stunner; even when he sings about the deep, dark holes people sink into, his rough and yearning voice, combined with the swirling, hushed music-box arrangements, turns these songs into comforting companions.
Listen Up: February Music
The latest and greatest sounds making waves at ELLE
By Carlene Bauer | January 20, 2010 11:00 a.m.
Photo: The Watson Twins: courtesy of the record label; Rae: courtesy of EMI; Hot Chip: Bevis Martin & Charlie Youle
Double Your Pleasure
Talking to You, Talking to Me is the second solo record from the Watson Twins, the sister act who came into the spotlight singing backup for Rilo Kiley front woman Jenny Lewis, and it’s stronger than their first. Their soulful harmonies are at the center of a sparkling pop sound that has a Memphis-meets- L.A. texture and hooks that work their charms on you instantly.
Feel the Beat
Since Hot Chip came on the scene, the band has inspired many imitators of its lo-fi, high-IQ electronica. On One Life Stand, the British group again proves to be a pro at making dance music that moves you and makes you want to move. The songs expertly draw you into their melodic, melancholic loop, but Alexis Taylor’s secretly plaintive vocals add an extra layer of ache.
Girl, Put Her Record On!
With The Sea, the follow-up to her 2006 debut, Corinne Bailey Rae makes an impressive leap forward. Rae’s husband died in 2008, and here she makes loss a theme, but never a maudlin one. Her ability to write and sing gracefully of sorrow and hope turns the record into modern soul music that channels Curtis Mayfield, Van Morrison, and Minnie Riperton.
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