8 Bit Society ft Dean Lennon and Elizabeth Ajao - Cruel Summer

Buy Cruel Summer here (iTunes UK)

While the musical collective known as 8 Bit Society prepare for the release of their original music later this year, they are giving us a sneaky peek at how they mix classic sounds with contemporary rhythms on their rather splendid cover version of Bananarama's Cruel Summer. Surely released to celebrate the return of the original line up of that trio, the song has always been achingly cool despite its balmy hot subject matter. Vocalists Dean Lennon and Elizabeth Ajao bring out the seductive allure of the song, their expressive performances focusing on the nuances of the lyrics; mostly that there is something about the crazy soaring temperatures that seems to heighten every emotion, especially the irrepressible itch of your bae not being by your side. They keep the buoyant, infectious charm of the original yet ably inject elements of their own passions and personalities into the production - a Cruel Summer for the balearic beats crowd. Elizabeth ensures the lyrics consume her performance during the first verse, and is particularly effective at toying with ad-libs and playing with the melody to change the emphasis of the words (yet not so much that it is a jarring juxtaposition to the original). I love when guys sing songs originally sung by women, so Dean brings a whole new level of pent up angst and sexual frustration to his verse (so much so that the tension is palpable). It is bound to send your temperature soaring, particularly when their vocals entwine with a yearning that echoes the sentiments of the longing of the narrative; or the riveting r'n'b infused soul that comes during the instrumental break; oh and those addictive backing vocal ad-libs during the outro that have you panting for more.. Add to this a visual that is brilliantly done and contains dance routines, simultaneous sunglasses action and enough emoting to put the cast of Hollyoaks to shame and you have a full package that will have you shimmying along way past the first leaf fall of autumn. Bravo 8 Bit Society - I can't wait to see what comes next...