Hyperspeed pop/dance track of the week is Helen Love “It’s My Club” from “It’s My Club and I’ll Play What I Want”. This is truly awesome. It sounds like one of those hypervelocity Shibuya-kei bands, except the singer has a strong English accent. Helen Love have a Ramones fetish, and there’s nothing wrong with that. “Two turntables and a microphone, a 30-foot inflatable Joey Ramone…” That sums up this track perfectly.
By way of contrast, Kate Rusby’s version of the old folk lament “Blooming Heather” from her album Awkward Annie is quite lovely. She gives a beautiful performance, and the chorus features a plaintive Scottish male vocal that just tears your heart out.
I heard both these fine pieces on the always-good On The Wire from 17 November 2007.