« Martin Van Buren Bone | Main | Orange Felt Juice »
October 13, 2004
Standing on a Levee
the Double - Blanket on the Beach
There's something about the title of this song, and the way the guitar rings out, that makes this track insanely heartbreaking, and it's tricky for me to pinpoint why that is. Anythough, the Double = baroque 60's pop song-writing, transitory peripheral noises, and inexplicable melancholy. I was a little obsessed with this record, 'Palm Fronds', when I first heard it this past May, mostly because the music so well accompanies that time when spring is grudgingly giving way to summer, when mornings and evenings are still cool but mid-day is like a thick orange brick of heat. 'Blanket on the Beach' reminds me of nothing so much as what the song depicts: lying next to a girl at the shore, a breeze blowing between the both of you, and nothing to look at but legs, sea, sky, hair, eyes; resigned to contentment.
The Double is now a four-piece, after adding two new members to the original sqaud (now the double-double?) of Jeff McLeod (drums) and David Greenhill (guitar, vocals). Weirdly enough, 'Palm Fronds' is apparently almost wholly unrepresentative of the band's live show, since prior to the recording sessions for the album, McLeod broke his hand. The band decided to forge ahead, using drum machinery and electronic loopery. I'm interested to see how their next album turns out, with (one hopes) a fully-operational drummer.
N.B. This is easily one of my favorite songs of the year. You can buy the gorgeously packaged album directly from Catsup Plate HERE.
Posted by matt at October 13, 2004 10:28 PM