Eminently tasteful music is always in great danger of becoming the soundtrack to your next car shopping experience, or given the staggering decline of the auto industry, your next brush with an iPod commercial on a transit shelter.
Chairlift's
Bruises* or the career of
Feist, for example. Give me a softly strummed guitar, a beat you can clap along to, and a woman with a voice that shifts between tender and listless depending on the listener's mood, match that with an animated silhouette dancing on a picnic bench and we've got a campaign.
Victoria Bergsman had already proven her music licensing credentials, having sang on
Peter, Bjorn & John's
Young Folks, as well as with
The Concretes, so felt that rather than establishing her own brand of fair trade coffee, she'd make some more music. With production duties handled by
Dan Lissvik of
Studio, we have the second album from her solo project,
Taken By Trees'
East of Eden, recorded in Pakistan and heavily referencing Sufi music, trance states and maybe even a
John Steinbeck novel.
Yes, of course there's a
National Geographic short film about her "journey." The album will be released by
Rough Trade on September 7th.
Dan Lissvik has also recently paired up with
Fredrik Lindson (of
The Embassy) under the moniker
The Crêpes to release a super-limited LP (& much more available mp3/CD release) called
What Else? that's a soft and subtle homage to dusk, summer pop & (I'm assuming) the
Traveling Wilburys.
Chairlift Bruises (Juan MacLean Remix)Speaking of iPod commercials, here's the Juan MacLean remix, which only becomes recognizable at about 3 minutes in, and is far superior to the frightening 8-bit work-over that Passion Pit treats it to.
Ms. Kelly, applying sunscreen
