Hurrah for Velvet Stream and their slightly delayed follow up to the gloriously summery (and still breathtakingly brilliant with every listen) Selfish Mind. Before we get onto that, let's just address that the effortlessly lovely guys and gal that make up Velvet Stream have not been sitting on their laurels (whatever they are). No sirreebob. They've been busy entertaining the world with stunning cover versions (Black Heart is still a corker) and doing live versions of their songs (including this new single). This as well as gigging around the country, becoming more fabulous with every tweet and generally being sickeningly good looking (note gratuitous picture of Dan above) :D The new song that already sounds like the soundtrack to summer 2013 is entitled Bitch. No beating around the bush with that one, eh? Now I love a good bitch I do. I was the only boy growing up whose dog was named Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan (after the character in Dynasty obv) and who insisted on the dog being called by it's full married names at all times :D And before you ask, this is not a cover of the Meredith Brooks "classic", but rather a Velvet Stream original. And what a bobby dazzler of a tune it is ~ Mati's wonderfully expressive vocals allow the song "Bitch" to have a gamut of emotions that are equally complemented by the vibrant instrumental that frames her oral artwork. Set to an energetic & propulsive drum beat, there's some hammond organ-esque synths & crunchy guitar riffs that make up the genetic DNA of this lively and catchy pop number - and all culminate in a chorus so expansive, so sing a long and so enormous that it cannot be contained by your puny earth speakers. It needs to be played loud and sung badly from your car, with the windows down to let it truly roam free. And therein lies the strength and appeal of Velvet Stream - they have an innate ability to create explosive choruses that embed into your head almost instantly married to quirky lyrics that sound great sung in the shower or chanted back at a live concert. They exist in a suburb of pop that refuses to conform yet is never anything less than totally satisfying. Their symbiosis as a band is a joy to behold - they emminate feel good vibes and you just want to be them because it looks such jolly spiffing fun.
UPDATE!! (21/6/13) Let's all celebrate summer solstice with the most sizzling video of the season ~ yes the visual spectacular that is Bitch is finally here. While you can no doubt watch for yourself above, here is a scarily detailed analysis of what occurs in those fast moving frames...
- The band are all sitting down (how very Westlife, although not really like Westlife at all because they are instantly quite visually arresting) in their own little compartments.
- (They look a bit like when Phillip Schofield sends over the non-famous spouse to the "listening booth" on Mr & Mrs. Except without the blindfolds.)
- Ant is getting well into the music. I assume they are pumping Bitch into their headphones. Who knows? For all I know it could be I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper by Sarah Brightman. That's quite a good song too, isn't it?
- Now they are all getting into it a bit more (35s). Dan is tapping his thigh with his left hand. I've never wanted to be his left hand more (though to be fair, I've never even contemplated being his left hand before at all, so it's bound to be more than before then isn't it? Ooo, I'm dead logical me)
- (That was a bit creepy and stalkerish really. I'm going to refrain from making such lusty comments. It's really his own fault anyway for being what my friend would call 'a tall drink of water'. Foxy git :D)
- 43s - Ant has the most amazing smile. I wish I had a zoom feature on youtube so I could look closer. They all do look genuinely lovely don't they? Mati is doing the cutest thing with her feet.
- VIBRANT ENERGY ALERT! Yay for the chorus. Everyone is on their feet and having a good old boogie around. At least that's what I'm blaming it on (as so many have before me). If you pause at exactly one minute, take out your contact lenses and squint, their silohuettes spell out BITCH. Amazing :P
- Dan dances like Ally Sheedy in the Breakfast Club while the two fellas on either end are doing more of a pogo-ing strut sort of thing in their own unique ways. (It's Freddy - left - and Isaac - right - by the way)...
- (I've just noticed the stools have gone - just like the key change bit of Westlife's You Raise Me Up but without my mum going "oh isn't that Nicky a lovely looking lad")
- DISCO LIGHTS! Ooo, everyone gets their own shimmering on the dancefloor colour. Pause at 1m31s exactly for some brilliant shadowery (yes it's a word, or at least it is now) that would put Britain's Got Talent winners "Attraction" to shame :) I personally like Mati working that tambourine something sickening :)
- For some reason, Isaac is now doing the running man. Well why on earth not. It burns off a few calories which is always handy, particularly if you practically inhaled one of those new peanut butter kit kats at lunch like I did. Plus it's a dance everyone can join in with. And at the 1m41s pause, Isaac is now clearly auditioning for Karate Kid: The Next Next Generation. Oh so wise, grasshopper...
- Now they have instruments! Amaze. They have appeared as if by magic. Perhaps the video is set at Hogwarts. That would make Mati Hermione and really she was always the best at magic. So chorus 2 sees them rocking out with the instruments and it looks bloody brilliant. Anyone who is going to see them at the festivals this year is a lucky lucky bugger. My back garden would make an awesome pre-festival gig venue :D Just sayin ;)
- (Though the dog isn't very welcoming of new people at first so might be a bit barky and try and hump Dan's leg. Notice how I refrained from inserting any further innuendo??! I like to think I've grown as a person during these bullet points!)
- I am also a keyboard player like Freddy and have just nipped downstairs to play Selfish Mind (the only Velvet Stream song I can play on the piano) while leaping around and jogging on the spot. It is much harder than it looks & even the simple as anything Heart&Soul was a hot mess. So kudos to Freddy and his ace keyboard skills :)
- The Hogwarts theme continues as members of the band apparate and disapparate in and out of their little cubicles at random will. This then leads to more chuck-yourself-around-like-you-just-don't-care disco light dancing. It's very contagious and I had to pause the video for a few minutes, go to the soundcloud stream of the song & go a bit bonkers.
- (I kinda wish I'd shut the curtains because Doris across the road was staring right in the window, nosy old bat :D)
- My favourite bit of the entire song occurs between 2m55 and 2m59s. It's Mati going up the scale with her voice, then wobbling back down it and it's FUCKING LEGEND. And yes, it did warrant the need for potty mouth.
- (PS, little secret. I've become more and more attracted to Ant as the video has progressed. That smile is bewitching, the little minx. God I'm a pop star whore :S) :D
- And then they are all back on their stools. Well they would need a bit of a sit down after that. It was both exhilarating and exhausting. God I LOVE THEM!
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