You know it's real

This track is so incredible that I'm literally writing this post as I listen to it for the first time - it's that good. Regular readers may remember me raving about Florence and the Machine's cover of You've Got the Love - now hotly buzzed about London band the xx have done their own cover/remix of it. The xx's trademark sparse sound is in full force - in fact, only the harps and a looped vocal remain from Florence's original. The result is spell binding. I'd been reluctant to jump on the xx bandwagon, but having had their track Islands stuck in my head for about a week I have just bought the album, and I'm being won over. The tracks are all of a fairly similar melancholic, late-night vibe, but I like it - it's chilled out, it's urban and it's very modern.

Florence and the Machine - You've Got the Love (The xx remix)

The xx - Islands

{Artwork courtesy of ethoss on flickr}

Remember me?

Sorry for vanishing for so long there... Life took over for a while, not that I didn't have time to post, but I just got really frustrated feeling like I wasn't really finding any good new stuff to listen to.



Well, now that's changed, thanks mainly to the guys over at Neon Gold. Their blog has been my go-to place for fresh cuts for a while now, ever since their blog Good Weather for Airstrikes ceased production, and with alumni including Passion Pit, Marina & the Diamonds and Yes Giantess, they are excellent at discovering bands/artists who produce interesting sounds with a strong pop sensibility.

Their latest protege, Gotye, is someone I've heard about for a while, a good couple of years, but I've been reluctant to jump on the band wagon, until I heard his latest, Learnalilgivinanlovin. Perfect late summer stuff, fun and poppy, sounding fresh yet familiar, I love it!

Also, thanks to their rave review of Florence & the Machine's album, I picked it up a couple of days ago, and am really getting into it. My initial misgivings about her songwriting talents have been well and truly put to rest, as she seems to no longer rely on that booming voice as a crutch. My particular faves from the album, the aptly titled Lungs, are Cosmic Love and her latest single, Drumming Song.

Here is the video for Drumming Song - I think I like it, although, strangely, she seems be taking inspiration from Beyonce's Single Ladies video...



Check out the Jackbeats and Boy 8-Bit remixes of this track too, they're both pretty sweet.

I'll be posting about some more stuff I'm loving hopefully later in the week, but for now, enjoy the rest of the bank holiday!

Florence and the Machine

You Got the Love
Recently featured on MTV's 'M is for Music' adverts, Florence's outstanding voice grabs you instantly on this extraordinary cover (the B side to her new single, Dog Days Are Over). It seems strange that Florence only allows her vocal talents to shine on her cover versions (see the breathtaking Hospital Beds for further reference) - you almost can't help but wonder if she's afraid that her voice will outshine her songwriting abilities. Or perhaps its only that by contrasting her voice against the either Candi Station of the Source or Cold War Kids' Nathan Willett that the sheer skill, power, and strangeness it of really comes to light. I'm really excited to see what new material Florence will give us in the new year - here's hoping she'll write a song that demonstrates her voice rather than looking to other peoples to do it for her.

The MTV advert that first brought this track to my attention is nowhere to be seen on youtube or anywhere else, but here is Florence and the Machine doing it live at Bestival this year (admittedly this live version is a bit patchier than the recorded one!)

How bloody cool is she?!

And perhaps further proof as to my cover version theory, I just stumbled across her doing Kelly Clarkson's Since You've Been Gone with Mark Ronson on youtube. That voice is nothing if not powerful.


Sorry for the week-long hiatus by the way - that was one of the weeks without internet that I mentioned earlier...

Seasonal treats coming soon!