Having collaborated with Laura Marling and Will from the Mystery Jets at The BBC Electric Proms last Saturday, Kid Harpoon is starting to make quite a name for himself. Have a listen to ‘The Milkmaid’, taken from The First EP, released last week, and you will begin to understand why.
I first fell in love with this song when I acquired an acoustic demo version of it a little while ago. Even on the more stripped-down acoustic track, the dramatic use of guitar manages to create a song that makes you stop and listen, allowing the story of the eponymous milkmaid told in the lyrics to seem all the more powerful. The addition of strings and drums on the full band version featured on the EP, however, is stunning. ‘The Milkmaid’ has all the orchestral power of Arcade Fire without any of the darkness, allowing the song to be compelling and moody but at the same time vibrant and upbeat.

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Posted by laurasilver on Thursday November 1st, 2007 at 3:05 pm

Ever since we all fell in love with the moody crooners back in 1997, when they secured their rock icon status with OK Computer, Radiohead have been keen to shake off the status of ‘Superband’. Through their last three albums Kid A, Amnesiac, and Hail to the Thief respectively, they have flirted with controversy by moving away from the traditional rock style and experimented with a harsher electronic sound.
Releasing new album In Rainbows as a download, for which fans can choose how much they pay, certainly maintains the rule-breaking prowess Radiohead have so lovingly nurtured over the last few years. In Rainbows does however show the band returning to their more melodic roots, particularly on my pick for The Greatest Song In The World This Week, ‘House of Cards’.

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Posted by laurasilver on Wednesday October 24th, 2007 at 5:13 pm