Who Knew?

Sure, I already knew that Scarlett Johansson was a beautiful, talented actor. I’m a big fan of hers. But I had no idea that she could sing as well. And not just a mediocre voice that a good producer transforms into someone who can sell records based on their name. This girl, er, lady, can sing. She’s performed with the Jesus and Mary Chain and has covered a bunch of Tom Waits tunes. And she’s recorded with Peter Yorn and David Bowie. Not too shabby for a 27-year old. She’s got quite a range, from soft and dreamy to sultry and sexy. I guess you could say I’ve got a case of Scarlett Fever.

The XX Files

Jamie XX is a side project of Jamie Smith of the lo-fi group, the xx. Jamie started his career as a drummer, but has expanded into using electronic percussion pads and heavy sampling, which create a totally unique sound. He’s become a much sought after remixer for a number of artists including Adele and Florence and the Machine. His mixes are beat heavy and are very trance.

Nudge. Nudge.

Elbow has been around for a while, yet I haven’t really gotten into them until I heard a couple tracks from their stunning new album Build A Rocket Boys! It’s the group’s first release since their Mercury Prize winning The Seldom Seen Kid. It’s full of catchy tunes and features a somewhat stripped-down sound. The lead singer, Guy Garvey’s voice reminds me a lot of Peter Gabriel. A lot. His songs are catchy, poppy and have great earworm potential . I just can't get the song, With Love out of my head. The group describes their sound as prog-rock without the guitar solos. Now I’ve got to hunt down their older releases to see what I’ve been missing.