Ladyhawke - 'Back Of The Van'
Don't be fooled by the title. By rights this should be called 'You Set Me On Fire', as this is the hook upon which the entire song rests. It's not clear whether this has been changed for reasons of generating an air of enigma around Ms Hawke - y'know, the uncompromising artist who won't give in to audience demands that her songs are easy to find on the internet - or because she's worried about health and safety officers shutting her down before she's even had a chance to get her feet under the table.
If it's the latter, she has done well, because this kind of moody '80s electropoprock is a very nowadays sort of sound to make, it would be a shame for her to lose momentum over safety concerns - although, to be fair, the Kings Of Leon got away with it, and they weren't even TRYING to be enigmatic.
(. MTV would have KILLED for these visual effects in 1982.)
Besides the swooning glory of the chorus - which should be used to soundtrack several teen-based US TV dramas, if it hasn't already - you forget how long it has been since it was mandatory for every guitar in a pop context to be heavily-chorussed and doing that muted chuntery thing you can hear in the verses. I could explain how it's done, but there's more stuff to read under this bit and I'd like you to keep going before skipping to the star rating.*
Anyway, the sound is VERY 1987, specifically the Pretenders in 1987, although not so specifically that it spoils the song. There's another musical reference point which manages to do that, for me at least. And it's not really Ladyhawke's fault.
You see, the song starts on a very familiar wash of synth chords, basted in white noise, a sound which is close enough to the wash of synth chords - basted in white noise, natch - at the beginning of 'Jump' by Van Halen to trigger about fourteen different childhood memories. I'm jumping up and down at a wedding! I'm asleep on a pile of coats! I'm upstairs and the sound of my sister singing is coming through the wall! I'm on a long car journey and bored of staring out of the window! I'm working in a music shop and wannabe Eddie Van Halens are in every day!
Needless to say, the reminiscence bubble pops fairly brutally when the rest of 'Jump' fails to arrive. She loses a star for that.
What? It's my blog...
Download: Out now
CD Released: May 18th
´óÏó´«Ã½ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
"It's a nice, laid-back piece of synth-pop cheese which is full of nostalgic hooks."
"I get that the '80s was the musical education for a big chunk of today's artists, but c'mon... Try something a little different, already."
* You pick the guitar strings while resting the edge of your hand along the bridge, which partly mutes them, but allows the picking noise to cut through, so the notes to appear in a slightly muffled form but with a sharp articulation at the beginning.
Told you it was boring.
Comment number 1.
At 12th May 2009, fluffyfinches wrote:I've had this on my ipod for months and still haven't listened to it. I've just got through half of it and I needn't even have tried. It's just meh. and rubbish. My delerium and paris is burning are the only songs by her I like.
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Comment number 2.
At 19th May 2009, shannondun wrote:noone is gonna be better than n-dubz eve
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