This is a great CD. The Pancakes music is somewhat minimal, and the lyrics tend towards the bittersweet, but I just can’t get enough of these catchy hooks and fun melodies. It’s cute, but not at all too cute.
The Pancakes is a one-woman band: the music shows a great DIY ethic, mostly just voice, synths and guitar with no production trickery at all. It might be a bit lo-fi for some, but it all fits the lyrics and delivery beautifully. And the song Martin has been playing on endless repeat in my head for the last two weeks.
This CD comes with a second CD called Friendcakes, consisting of cover versions of Pancakes songs by other, even less well-known performers. I haven’t yet listened to it because I don’t want to take PCP out of my CD player…
http://www.rathergood.com/moon_song/
And, Bennett, I hope you’re listenning to kexp.org. Jon in the morning, who is probably Jon in the middle of the night for you….
Happy Valentine’s day!! Pancakes, Friendckes… sounds yummy. Do you think I can get them in Japan?
Yep, John in the morning (or “Midnight John” as I like to call him) spins a mean platter, as nobody says any more. He’s not afraid to play interesting stuff. But he does have a tendency to not make any amusing mistakes… unlike The Master… John Peel. (See the Links section from my home page for details.)
And that Moon Song was very silly. But I laughed.
The Pancakes’ yummy CDs are probably not available outside Hong Kong. But you can download some songs from their website at http://www.thepancakes.com/MP3/MP3.htm
Happy listening!