Local Strangers - Gasoline

Buy Gasoline on The Local Strangers album, Take What You Can Carry, here (Local Strangers website)
Read my review of here (MyFestivePop)

I may have discovered Local Strangers via their radiant Christmas single, Under Mistletoe (review above), but a trip to their Take What You Can Carry album has elicited my undying loyalty. The lead single, Gasoline, may be nigh on two years old now but it is exactly the type of composition that doesn't age - favouring talent over technology by eschewing fading fads for a concentration on heartfelt lyrics and memorable melody. Gasoline is a perfect introduction to the musical talents of Aubrey and Matt (and a lovely companion piece over the holiday season to the delicious Under Mistletoe). The narrative is one that celebrates how love can change your life, despite how messy and mixed up our intentions, emotions and passions can often be. It is set to an intoxicating blend of instruments that demonstrate how the band contribute to the texture of the story with their evocative playing. Guitar strumming dances alongside the prominent percussion whilst electric guitar brings a frisson of excitement and drama to the music. Aubrey sings with a knowing wisdom that feels like she reaches into your soul and pulls out your most intimate of thoughts; Matt is equally adept at bringing a resonant aura of pensive introspection and projecting it in a way that sends your spirits soaring. It is a slow burn song that lets the lyrics, music and singing linger in the listener's mind; yet it propels itself to an ebullient crescendo of a song with an anthemic call to arms in the last choruses that will have you flinging your hands to the sky in emphatic agreement to the mellifluous testimony they sing. It becomes a communal singalong for anyone who has either found love in a hopeless place - or who clings fervently to the belief that it is just around the corner. Do investigate their album for it is just as rewarding - and Under Mistletoe is one of the unheralded gems of this Yuletide season. Local Strangers = new musical best friends.

Top 25 songs of the week:

25 ~ Pet Shop Boys, Burn
24 ~ Fitz & The Tantrums, Hand Clap
23 ~ Debbie Gibson, Wonderland
22 ~ Tom Chaplin, Quicksand
21 ~ Sophie Ellis Bextor, Crystallise
20 ~ Roxette, Why Don't You Bring Me Flowers?
19 ~ Christie & The Dreambeats, Learning To Dance Again
18 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Hanging Onto Your Love
17 ~ Sean Smith, Turn Me On
16 ~ Michael Buble, I Believe In You
15 ~ Robbie Williams, Love My Life (NE)
14 ~ Louisa Johnson, So Good
13 ~ Olly Murs, Grow Up
12 ~ Bright Lightx2, Little Bit
11 ~ The Heydaze, Hurt Like Hell
10 ~ Kylie Minogue, Everybody's Free (To Feel Good) (NE)
09 ~ X&Y, Secrets
08 ~ Jakil, Truth Is
07 ~ DNCE, Body Moves
06 ~ Fitz & The Tantrums, Roll Up
05 ~ Maroon 5, Don't Wanna Know
04 ~ Paul Varney, Kiss and Make Up
03 ~ Little Mix, Shout Out To My Ex
02 ~ Robbie Williams, Party Like A Russian
01 ~ Vaults, One Day I'll Fly Away (NE/1 week)