Pop 'n Cherries

Hideki Spaghetti (Siesta)

On one side, Jez Butler. Firstly the man behind the seminal The Groove Farm, a band wrongly tagged C86 (because once on the legendary Subway Organisation) that was more into the punk/surf spirit. Secondly the man behind several out-of-time projects (on if...& Siesta Records) that lightened up my life, like "Death by Chocolate" and "Songs for the Jet Set", to name but a few. To say it in brief, Jez Butler is a semi-god.

On the other side, Hideki Kaji. Firstly the guru of Shibuya-kei, writer of the wonderful act Chocolat, who also collaborated with Neil & Iraiza, Cubismo Grafico, Yukari Fresh or...Sarah Cracknell. Secondly an exceptional songwriter for himself, far more melodic and easy-listenable than Cornelius, far more buzzing. To put it in a nutshell : Hideki Kaji is a semi-god. 

So, can we expect a miracle when 2 semi-gods are collaborating with each other ? A sort of, yes : this could be best described as a panoramic musical fresco, having an indubitable continuity with Jez Butler's works on Siesta with the Hideki Kaji special touch, ranging from happy lounge to cheerful sunshine pop. An inspired magnum opus !!!

=> "Over the Hill with her stick Legs"

 J-M

Rosemary's Children : Kings and Princes EP (Cherry Red)

When the holiday season brings a lull in the release of new pop gems to discover, what better way to spend one's time then to rummage through one's record collection and rediscover almost forgotten pop classics like the "kings and princes" mini-album by Rosemary's Children.

Rosemary's Children was the moniker of a foursome from Slough who first came to my attention through the release of their first rather mysterious ep on the ever wonderful El records label. While that first ep showed lots of promise marrying the melancholy beauty of early Felt with a little literate pop in the vein of early Lloyd Cole, nothing could prepare us for the brilliance that was their "kings and princes" mini-album on Cherry Red records. "Kings and princes" was a royal treat spiced with exotic soundscapes, folky follies and direct Englishness. It contains five melodic songs, sometimes trashy (the title track with its almost Buzzcockian overtones) but more often wistful (the utterly gorgeous "visiting a house" like a more downbeat cousin of that other almost forgotten gem "if she doesn't smile ..." by Fantastic Something, or the tragic tale of "the lighthouse song"), and all with a groovy jingle-jangle that could lead the Children to be termed "psychedelic" if one felt so inclined.

At the time of the release of "kings and princes" there was talk of a debut album which was promised to be "absolutely brilliant" by the band themselves, but alas to my knowledge that set was never released and Rosemary's Children were lost to the mists of time and never heard of again.
Don't let them be forgotten. The "kings and princes" ep can now be bought in download format only (sadly) from the Cherry Red record label.

==> Rosemary's Children : "Visiting a House"

Bart

Minitel Rose : The French Machine EP (Futur)

=> Myspace

=> "Elevator"

=> BUY !!!

Pas/Cal : I Was Raised On Matthew, Mark, Luke & Laura (Le Grand Magistery)

Today I need castles and not bedrooms, I need harpsichords and not melodicas, I need luxuriance and not sobriety, I need excess and not moderation.

After many... years of delay, Pas/Cal debut album is out and this is definitely not a joke !

But beware of the animal, listening to its roaring from the earliest to the latest breath will require the consumption of tonic substances to simulate uncharted parts of your brain... To grip all its resources and its every nuance seems to be a more arduous and long-range mission than with those 3 initial EP's indeed.

Rhapsody, overvload, sophistication, onirism, theatricallity, abundance, subtlety, deconstruction, magnificence... this is POP as we ignored it would exist one day...

=> Pas/Cal : "Glorious Ballad of the Ignored"

J-M