the shortwave set - "is it any wonder?" (from the debt collection lp, available for purchase as an import here.)

in brief: humperdinck '78 + saint etienne '92 + beta band '01 = autumn '05

this is another that goes into my mooted soundtrack, "what london sounds like to me," though "what i imagine london sounds like" may be more apt, since it's another chief failure in my life that, despite my rampant anglophilia, i've never been to england.

the shortwave set is another one of those sampler + band collectives that england produces so often. this, it needs to be said, is not trip-hop--there's no hard contrast between beatz & vocals; they co-exist quite naturally, one element not drawing from, or to, the other. the st. et it reminds me of is the early material, viz. "london belongs to me" or "mario's cafe" in its airiness and even in its title (st. et., remember, asked "who do you think you are?") the beta band influence is from the "late" period, so to speak, "is it any wonder?" sounds like "squares," but not in the i monster way. foxbase beta, then. and since those bands have stopped being what they were (or plain stopped being), the shortwave set's sound--on "is it any wonder?," it's like leaves changing color--is a good, good thing to have, especially as autumn's not so far away.