I have many theories about how people relate to music and which elements combine to create an enduring hit, most of which are highly subjective and based on absolutely nothing other than a pattern I think I recognized first and thus claim as my own as the closest I will ever get to a Nobel Prize in Mathematics. With this is mind, as well my favoured approach to new ideas which is throwing them against a wall until one sticks, I present you with this week’s tonal thesis, all the way from sunny Shoal Bay; the phrase ‘heartbreaker’ guarantees you success in music. Seriously, I do not know one song called ‘Heartbreaker’ – and I know many – which hasn’t become a critical or commercial hit. Whether its Led Zeppelin or Metronomy, Dolly Parton or MSTRKRFT and John Legend, for some reason those two words in this exact permutation just work. The flow of Heartbreaker as compared to ‘Dont go Breaking My Heart’ is undeniable. And so it is with this deep house gem from the artist formerly known as Crazy Penis.
Here is an outfit which I believe I’ve seen accidentally at least five times at music festivals over the years without ever putting a name to a sound. This Nottingham quintet like our country so much they they’re here pretty much annually and in 2008 released an album here exclusively, which is a big deal. Their deep house, smooth sound is the kind that tops off a great night of entertainment/drug-taking/sex/playing World Of Warcraft without ever becoming obtrusive but also without actually putting you to sleep, a hard balance to strike if ever there was one. A digital copy of their seminal sophomore release, The Wicked Is Music has followed me from compute to computer and now they have written a song called ‘Heartbreaker’, which, like it did for Ryan Adams with an album of the same name, will mean that I’m preaching to the choir because you all already know who they are.
There is nothing better on Gods earth than well-performed live dance music. It’s the same reason I will always defend Jamiroquai to the death even after everybody has written that band off; seeing it made on stage rather than simply played just adds a level of release that cannot be made by a guy with two cd players. Crazy P do it all with the slightest of movements: a delicate guitar line which oscillates around one chord but shifts and adds notes subtly and jazzily (if that’s not a word, it now is) while the band set the groove and continue it through the entire progression underneath that looped vocal sample. It seems like there’s nothing to it, but that’s the same when you watch Roger Federer play tennis. All the charm and intelligence is in what you cant see. This song was actually discovered care of what I believe to be a man with one of the best set of ears on the Internet, Lazzydigger, whose Paris-based blog matches great music like this with pictures of beautiful women and pretty much saves the day without saying anything. Celebrate with me then, that a band called Crazy Penis who can celebrate their ten year anniversary in the age of Rick Santorum. It’s all good
Crazy P – ‘Heartbreaker’
Leave a comment: