Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Best Albums Of 2008 #14


The Long Blondes-Couples

Over the short span of four years, Sheffield’s The Long Blondes plied a Pulp-meets-Blondie style that felt both retro and right now. Their second full-length, Couples, was released earlier this year and is an album full of glittery lo-fi disco rock numbers that could be at home in any of the last four decades. But the dance party didn’t last long, unfortunately. In June, guitarist Dorian Cox suffered a stroke that essentially put a kibosh on any future work. In October, The Long Blondes called it a day with the release of a singles compilation.

As it stands, The Long Blondes never really had much of a shot at success. Their sound veered from too sexual to too distant to too dancey for most. They had some minor success in Britain, but never made much of a dent in America, much like their spiritual grandpappies Pulp. Couples remains as a snapshot of a band that was growing into its skin, full of sexy ideas and loads of glamour.

“Guilt”

No comments:

Post a Comment