View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (42 ratings)
- Date Released: November 6, 2006
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Rough Trade
Breathless and brainy girl group punk rock from Sheffield.
-
We Say...
So what, exactly, is the sound of Sheffield? Heaven 17 lit up New Romance with cool blue neon, Pulp excelled in brainy lampoons of the upper crust and the Arctic Monkeys pulled punchlines from pub life and set them to beery, blown-out punk riffs. Is this what's meant by cultural dissonance?
Add now to that mosaic the Long Blondes, a Sheffield quintet that sounds nothing like the ones that came before them. A giddy mixup of girl group sass and punk rock snarl, the Long Blondes bounce rubber ball basslines across panicked guitars, turning out songs that are both breathless and brainy. The record was produced by Pulp's Steve Mackey, and it's not hard to pick up traces of that band's cultivated disdain in Kate Jackson's plummy alto. "Looks are the first weapon," she coos in "Only Lovers Left Alive," "Charm is the second/ I reckon that she doesn't have much of either." The group is expert at segueing from roughshod verses to big, gilded choruses. "In the Company of Women" starts out dark and stormy and suddenly the clouds part and it turns into a sunny song-and-dance. "Giddy Stratospheres" goes from throbbing dance-punk to somber streetlight serenade. It's like they memorized 900 Girls at Our Best singles, fused together the best parts and swapped out the scalding sociopolitical satire for romantic foibles and raw longing. "I've painted myself into a social corner," Jackson laments in "You Could Have Both." "Well, that's what happens when you listen to/ Saint Scott Walker / On headphones/ On the bus." A bitter truism, indeed.
What’s most winning about Someone is its take-no-prisoners recklessness. Some albums build to a big finish but in this case the whole thing heads for the panic room early, with Jackson howling "Nag! Nag! Nag!" two and a half minutes into the first song. That line, by the way, is a direct quote from a great late-'70s single by Cabaret Voltaire. Maybe you've heard of them? They're this noisy little industrial band. They're from Sheffield. -
They Say...
Following in the shabbily glamorous footsteps of fellow Sheffield residents Pulp, the Long Blondes' debut album, Someone to Drive You Home, is a snappy pop album of quintessentially English vignettes about how growing up is hard to do. The quintet, which is fronted by femme fatale vocalist Kate Jackson, will make you fall in love with their girlish innocence, then steal your boyfriend and break your heart. The Long Blondes make it all seem dangerously romantic, but in a coquettish kind of way -- the joys of being a girl have never seemed so lovely or sexy, hence the impure thoughts of "Swallow Tattoo" -- "Give me a good film noir and a bottle of gin." Pulp alumnus Steve Mackey adds the perfect amount of polish to these 12 playful, guitar-driven songs. Just one listen to "Once and Never Again" will make you a believer: its girlish harmonies and cheeky outlook suggest that leaving that guy behind won't hurt too much, after all, "You're only nineteen for God's sake, you don't need a boyfriend." Singles such as "Weekend Without Makeup" and "Giddy Stratospheres," and B-side "Lust in the Movies" arrive in new form, with Jackson growling and cooing alongside Dorian Cox and her jangly, Smiths-like guitars. Meanwhile, their ballads, such as the cinematic "A Knife for the Girls" and "Heaven Help the New Girl" are equally convincing in sound and style. Defining what it means to be in a pop band might prove difficult in 2006, for what is pop music anymore? Lucky for us, the Long Blondes have figured it out for themselves. Someone to Drive You Home is one of those albums that's honest to goodness fun, and pulling it off with as much pastiche as the Long Blondes makes it one of the year's nicest arrivals. Jarvis Cocker and co. would be proud.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
| 01. |  |
Lust In The Movies |
3:05 |
|
| 02. | |
Once And Never Again |
2:55 |
|
| 03. | |
Only Lovers Left Alive |
3:59 |
|
| 04. | |
Giddy Stratospheres |
5:06 |
|
| 05. | |
In The Company Of Women |
2:39 |
|
| 06. | |
Heaven Help The New Girl |
3:53 |
|
| 07. | |
Separated By Motorways |
2:19 |
|
| 08. | |
You Could Have Both |
4:47 |
|
| 09. | |
Swallow Tattoo |
2:31 |
|
| 10. | |
Weekend Without Makeup |
4:11 |
|
| 11. | |
Madame Ray |
3:30 |
|
| 12. | |
A Knife For The Girls |
5:08 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 44:03 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like The Long Blondes, check out these member playlists
Credits
- B.J. Ben Mason - Assistant Engineer // Jeff Teader - Layout Design // Richard Flack - Producer // Richard Flack - Mixing // Guy Davie - Mastering // Serge Krebs - Assistant Engineer // Dorian Cox - Guitar // Dorian Cox - Keyboards // Dorian Cox - Vocals // Dorian Cox - Group Member // Kate Jackson - Vocals // Kate Jackson - Artwork // Kate Jackson - Group Member // Screech Louder - Drums // Screech Louder - Group Member // Emma Chaplin - Guitar // Emma Chaplin - Keyboards // Emma Chaplin - Vocals // Emma Chaplin - Group Member // Matt Bolton - Logo
Choose from over 6 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC