Double A-side: Black & Blue/Indian Hill by The Tamborines
Record Label: Softpower Records http://www.softpowerrecords.co.uk
Black & Blue
Lead guitarist Henrique Lurindo’s soft ice cream vocals provide an interestingjuxtaposition to his Buzzcocks style of speedy, distorted explosions and trademark fuzz-tone guitar. Lulu Grave provides the solid drumming which carries the song over every crescendo. ‘Black & Blue’ is indie pop with psych/punk fusion and retro elements of Fleur De Lys and Velvet Underground. It’s a catchy tune with rich, thickly-textured sound and no unnecessary clutter.
Indian Hill
The wistful vocals of Lulu Grave are vaguely reminiscent of ‘Twinkle’ who had a hit with ‘Terry’ in 1964. ‘Indian Hill’ displays respectful and simplistic guitar-playing with a keyboard doodle that hangs nicely in the background. This song could be worthy of Debbie Harry or Nico’s vocals, but Lulu does a more than admirable job, offering a suitably vintage innocence to this ethereal and melodic tune.
This catchy double A-side is the band’s first new material since last year’s acclaimed debut album Camera and Tremor. They also have the welcome addition of bass player Chokis Costa. This single lends itself to a more honest sound as opposed to some of the over-produced studio recordings on offer today.
Double A-side 7” blue vinyl, in a limited edition of 300 on Soft Power Records.
