tremble clef

Friday, April 21, 2006

Little Birdy, "Six Months In A Leaky Boat" (2005)

I was never much for air guitar. But then again I didn't meet this song until recently.

"This song" being: Australian band Little Birdy -- of which I know very little, and therefore will lazily compare to Garbage, just because they're a rock band fronted by a cool sneery woman -- covering Split Enz's "Six Months In A Leaky Boat." Covering it by adding a more propulsive beat that relies on electric guitars, rather than the acoustic ones (and new wavy synth sounds) on the original, in a manner that will recall, in this day and age, The Veronicas or Kelly as produced by Max Martin. But smartly retaining those divine handclaps: six months in a leaky boat, plap-plap, plap-plap! And with a sneaky middle bit where you think it's all over, only to find that we're coming back for an encore.

Taken from She Will Have Her Way: The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn, a compilation that finds "Australian and New Zealand's finest female singer/songwriters paying tribute" to the Finn Brothers. I'm not sure why that condition was imposed, but it means that the majority of the songs get reinterpreted as slightly wet and overly-sensitive ballads. On the plus side, that just means that this energetic track stands out even more.

Now I'm off to smash a hotel room. Air smash, that is.

2 Comments:

  • No likey that one. I also cannot take the record seriously if it doesn't have Bic Runga, who is so close to the band. I mean, how could she not be there?

    And Natalie I chose "Pineapple Head" from all the other GEMS on Together Alone? Strange.

    By Blogger xolondon, at 8:10 PM  

  • You, sir, obviously just hates rock. And puppies. And fun. (Actually, I do too, usually -- hate rock, that is, not puppies or fun -- so you're forgiven.)

    It is weird that Bic doesn't appear on the tribute album, but I'm guessing that since Neil often plays and sings backup on her records anyway, it might have seemed redundant for her to cover any of his or his brother's songs.

    By Blogger Brittle, at 4:31 PM  

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