SONG OF THE DAY (#167)

'car fiction,' by echobelly

fronted by the pint-sized pixie sonja aurora madan, echobelly was literal surge of electricity when they burst on the scene back in the 90s. their first album, 'everybody's got one' (cleverly referred to as 'ego') was a good old-fashioned corker. massive guitars, massive hooks, massive vocals, and not a studio effect to be found. it was all rock all the time, and in some ways was a sister record to suede's eponymous l.p. and it was awesome. it's follow up, 'on,' was like an uppercut after suckerpunch to the stomach: massive on all fronts, but slightly less aggressive and slightly more polished [which can be either good or bad, depending on your p.o.v.]. they released 'lustra' in 1997, but by then they had already, for some inexplicable reason, fallen out of favor with the record buying public. they're continued to release records, but none caused so much as raised eyebrow. a huge tragedy.

sonja touched a lot of somewhat taboo themes [some early song titles included 'i can't imagine the world without me,' 'sleeper hitler,' 'give her a gun,' and 'father ruler king computer'], and i think she's horribly underrated as a lyricist [i.e. there's a special ring to his cuban heels and his six-pack swing, his mother's clothes are his new disguise and his good advice when he says, 'vanity's a virtue, let no one in to hurt you']. she's got a real knack for great imagery. but even given the songs' sometimes challenging nature, they were pretty easy to digest given the elegance and beauty of her voice [she could wail with the best of them. even the mozfather would be proud] and glenn johannsen's hook-laden guitar wizardry. they were absolute masters of the single [much like franz ferdinand is today]. say what you have to say and then get off the stage. there's a lot to admire in that.

check out these vids: king of the kerb, dark therapy, here comes the big rush, the world is flat, and insomiac. sonja is just absolutely stunning, isn't she?

who wants a 'save echobelly' shirt?

��� echobelly: car fiction [from 'on']
��� echobelly: here comes the big rush [from 'lustra']
��� echobelly: i can't imagine the world without me [from 'ego']

if you like those, try these:

��� echobelly: bellyache e.p.
��� echobelly: everybody's got one [+ 'insomniac b-sides]
��� echobelly: on [+ 'king of the kerb' b-sides]
��� echobelly: lustra [+ 'the world is flat b-sides]
��� echobelly: gravity pulls