If you've come across Graingerboy before (oo-er, steady, etc) you will already know that he is jolly adept at putting together innovative slices of dance music that are both respectful to the influences that permeate his songs & forward thinking in terms of ensuring they don't just sound like a 90s rehash. It's a delicate balance, but a line he straddles ever so well - as the single above, Vintage, will demonstrate. There's a new version of it on the EP (see below) but actually Vintage really is a brilliant statement of purpose for Graingerboy. It mixes down & dirty fuzzy beats with a soaring synth swirl, whilst blending a sweet, delightful male-female duet vocal over the top that guides the mellifluous verses into a chorus that 1997 would be proud of. At the one minute mark, the song just sparkles with an effervescent pop sheen that not only evidences how to deliver on glorious pop majesty, but radiates a love of the craft - and for me that's all too important in music. Indeed, it's almost like Pet Shop Boys & Kylie reunited with an updated version of the 1994 collaboration. Just lovely (just like his speaking voice introducing the song!) - and bodes exceedingly well for the full release of the EP (which you can preview here). Here's what you all are in store for...
- Cheaper Than A Taxi Home ~ the EP preview kicks off with a funky, pulsating beat and a 90s indie band vocal. The live sounding aspect of the music mixes brilliantly with the hazy vocals, vividly recreating the atmosphere of some dark, salubrious pub that makes your tummy feel a bit naughty just for being there. And rather than shimmy, the beats make you want to grab the one you're with and grind. Not so much a song - more a way of life :D
- Trainsurfing ~ a shuffling beat gives a feeling of anticipation while the song emerges from the chrysalis of the verses into the blossoming chorus with effortless grace & poise. Rippling synths cascade like glitter, giving an exquisite beauty to the sorrowful vocals that mask a wistful pain (note: there are carefully nuanced vocals throughout the EP that really bring the lyrics to life). Also the song that gives the EP it's title...
- Flying Solo (Another Version) ~ there's no denying that Graingerboy knows how to make synths come alive and be part of the emotion of the music. It works particularly well against a conversational vocal that details the collapse of a relationship - where one partner just feels entirely trapped. The all too relatable lyrics mean that there is a listener connection to the song that makes it feel like you are having an intimate, private discussion where the world just fades away until it's just you and the music.
- Be Forever ~ Human League influences abound here and the song is all the better for it. There's an optimism in the lyrics that gives the vocals a somewhat yearning quality that makes them seem even more emotive against the wall of sound synths & drum loops that percolate to compulsive effect around every word sung, every note delineated. Erasure, Pet Shop Boys and many others have shown the electronic sounds can have real heart & Graingerboy continues that tradition here...
- Summersend (St Etienne remix) ~ the savvy amongst you will already be all to aware that the group who did Hobart Paving can do absolutely not wrong. So of course their remix of Summersend is a highlight of an already incredibly accomplished EP (it's after the brief interlude of Last Shop Standing on the sampler)... It's a wonderfully evocative mid-tempo disco track saturated in string effects, percussive beats and a throbbing bass line. It's not just song composition - there's a musical alchemy here that indicates something quite wizard indeed...
- Vintage (Extended Mix) ~ As Sinitta once said let's get right back to where we started from - and it's an extended mix of the pop gem, Vintage. Anything that prolongs the exquisite beauty of this track is a-ok with me - and a splendid way to end such an inspiring & enjoyable set of music. Heavenly...
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