I wasn't very impressed with my first encounter with El Perro Del Mar. It was the song, Candy, which is actually still one of my least favorite EPDM songs. I generally like sad, slow songs but this one was just too mopey, even for me. My opinion of her changed once I heard God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get). God Knows is like a slice of heavenly pop. The horns and strings give the song a sweet and elegant feel while she repeats her mantra. I know some people who have complained that her lyrics are too simplistic and repetitive, but I feel that she's using her words to evoke a feeling rather than try to create a lyrical masterpiece. This especially shows on her first album. I felt the second album, From The Valley To The Stars, wasn't nearly as strong but that's a whole other post.
Back to the song, I love how the sad, guilt-ridden lyrics that are wrapped up inside this gorgeous pop song. Musically, it's a bouncy number that harkens back to 60s girl pop, and maybe even a little ballroom style in the middle section. Easily one of my faves from this past decade, I love this song. The video is very sweet, as well.
El Perro Del Mar > God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get)
I'm outta here for the rest of the week. Bringin' it home is El Perro Del Mar, with a lovely take on the classic, Auld Lang Syne. Be sure to check out her blog, as well. Be safe.
I recently ran into these mp3s of El Perro Del Mar's set at the Bowery Ballroom, from the spring tour earlier this year (with the awesome Lykke Li and Anna Ternheim). This is the full-band version of God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get). I really like this, it feels so natural and joyful. It makes me happy. Check out her blog while you're listening to this.
El Perro Del Mar > God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get) (Live at the Bowery Ballroom)
Just as a last mention, for a while; I just found this broadcast over on the NPR site. It's Lykke Li, El Perro Del Mar, and Anna Ternheim on NPR's World Cafe. The Program runs just over half an hour. This is just in case anybody is actually interested in this stuff, I know I have a healthy infatuation with them right now. Okay, so here are some links and then I'll shut up before someone tells me to STFU.
Hello, music lovers. Clickety click and celebrate Christmas in mopey style, with the gorgeous El Perro Del Mar! And in case you were wondering, El Perro Del Mar has a new album coming in 2008, and I quote...
El Perro del Mar's second full-length album titled 'From the Valley to the Stars' will be released on February 27th. The album will be preceded by the single 'How did we forget?' which will be released on 7" as well as a digital download on February 13th. More trivia on the album and things related can be found in the journal.
As usual, check out more tunes on her myspXXX page, or just buy the goddamn album, because it's that good. Also of interest is her blog (man, I hate that word, it sounds like a euphemism for vomiting or something; "Duuuuude, I just blogged!" Gross.), which you can find here. I may or may not post for the rest of 07 (not that anybody will miss it), but I hope anyone reading has cool cool holidays.
The exchange started off as usual. I noticed that my buddy, Jen, had marked a date to go check a gig by El Perro Del Mar. Knowing what I know of Jen's musical inclinations, I was a bit surprised that she'd be into EPDM, and I mentioned it to her. She was more into the whole Swedish pop singer thing, really, than she was into EPDM. In fact, she hadn't really heard any of the songs at all, so I steered some her way. Jen quickly decided that, yes, EPDM was not her cup of tea. I thought the album was okay, but it didn't really grab me the way I thought it would. We talked a bit about the things we didn't like on the album, her whiny-ass voice, the dreary pace, the tunelessness. Jen said it best, the girl sang like she was about to have a nervous breakdown, and I agreed. That should have been the end of it, but it goes on slightly.
For some reason, I thought I'd give the album, "Look! It's El Perro Del Mar!", another listen and so I dropped it onto my iPod. This time, it completely hooked me. She does sound whiny and like she's about to have a breakdown, but her voice is very pretty if you can get past those pitfalls. Musically, it's kinda like the soundtrack to a dark, twisted fairy tale. The backing vocals lend this eerie quality to it, sometimes conjuring up an image of a choir of disembodied children in a horror movie musical. Also, she reminds me of Julee Cruise quite a bit. You may remember her as the singer of the Twin Peaks theme song, "Falling".
So the moral of the story is that I am now a fan of the album and Jen is gonna give me shit the next time she drives past this page. Which is fine on both counts. I've been known to change my mind when the mood strikes, and even though our tastes are frequently on opposite ends of the spectrum, they collide every once in a while.
This is one of the more upbeat tracks from the album, I love it long time. Maybe you will as well.
*P.S. >> I'm trying this filesharing site called zSHARE.net. At zSHARE, the files are up for unlimited downloads, but the file gets deleted if it's not downloaded for ten days. Also, it says you're able to listen first before downloading, unlike yousendit.com. So yeah, I'm gonna try it too, but lemme know if it's cool or not.
I wasn't very impressed with my first encounter with El Perro Del Mar. It was the song, Candy, which is actually still one of my least favorite EPDM songs. I generally like sad, slow songs but this one was just too mopey, even for me. My opinion of her changed once I heard God Knows (You Gotta Give To Get). God Knows is like a slice of heavenly pop. The horns and strings give the song a sweet and elegant feel while she repeats her mantra. I know some people who have complained that her lyrics are too simplistic and repetitive, but I feel that she's using her words to evoke a feeling rather than try to create a lyrical masterpiece. This especially shows on her first album. I felt the second album, From The Valley To The Stars, wasn't nearly as strong but that's a whole other post.
