Sunday Morning Duets

Nancy Sinatra & Lee Hazlewood - Some Velvet Morning

Billy | MySpace Video

And even though this isn't a duet, I just saw this video for the first time and couldn't resist sharing it!

NEW: The Alps - Le Voyage (2010)

RStB just posted up a couple of tracks off the new album, 'Le Voyage' from The Alps and I look forward to hearing more! The album is the follow-up to 2008s awesome 'III' and looks to continue in similar fashion. As I type this, I just realised that the band have posted up most of the album's 10 tracks on their myspace! I first got into these guys after Piccadilly Records (Manchester!!) included 'III' on their end of year list for 2008 and they had this to say on the new album:

"Still comprised of the core threesome of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (Tarentel), Alexis Georgopoulos (ARP) and Scott Hewicker (Troll), The Alps return to Type in full force for their fourth sprawling long player. Buoyed by the praise lavished upon its predecessor "III", the band were adamant that "Le Voyage" would be bigger, brighter and better than anything in their catalogue to date, and we can report that they have been successful in their quest.

With propulsive, break heavy rhythms sure to appeal to any diggers out there and a blissful, sunny outlook to wipe the frown from the faces of all you dour experimental types, "Le Voyage" is a crack of light in a dark room. A mysterious record, it is punctuated by the same energy that gave us space rock and psychedelia, and while the band are quick to demonstrate their wide-ranging musical knowledge, there is something incredibly unique about their sound. This is not a lazy soundtrack to a film which might never be made, rather "Le Voyage" is a journey for the listener and one you will want to take over and over again.

The sun-bleached movie soundtrack sentiment that underpinned their previous records is still here in full force, but it comes rolled up in something defiantly more psychedelic, and in turn more unpredictable. Sewn together by vignettes which bring to mind everything from Popol Vuh to Delia Derbyshire's Radiophonic hiccups or Luc Ferrari's tape collage, the band have put together an album which genuinely takes you on a journey. Surely it can't be a mistake calling the album "Le Voyage" then, a title which simultaneously brings to mind the work of Serge Gainsbourg and Alejandro Jordorowsky - something deep visual but effortlessly beautiful."

Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM (2009)

I never really got round to listening to Charlotte's last album, 2006s '5:55', even though it received generally solid reviews (3.46 on Rate Your Music). As with her first album, this one also features help from  another fan of Serge Gainsbourg in Beck. 2002s 'Sea Change' was heavily influenced by Serge's 'Histoire de Melody Nelson', with 'Paper Tiger' sounding almost identical to Serge's 'Melody'. It is still probably my favourite Beck album and I love Serge Gainsbourg, so I thought I had to give 'IRM' a chance. It's finally on Spotify and definitely has hints of both Beck ('Heaven Can Wait') and Serge's (the cover of Jean-Pierre Ferland's 'Le Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes') sound, with Beck co-writing as well as producing throughout the entire album. That's not to say the album isn't diverse, as it covers a mix of styles and there are even hints of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs ('Trick Pony') and Marc Bolan ('Dandelion'). I think it'll take a few listens before I can fully make up my mind on it, but at this early stage, it definitely sounds promising.

Listen to 'IRM' on Spotify