26 October 2005

acid house kings - "this heart is a stone" (from the sing along with acid house kings lp, import available for purchase here.)

in brief : contra the old velvet underground story, this swedish act formed, in part, after disappointment in an album, namely, morrissey's kill uncle lp.

if you've downloaded the song by now, you know they don't do acid house. (question: technotronic aside, has there ever been an act that included its genre in their name that was any good?)

if you're thinking of download it--and i'd give it strong consideration--you should know that they have more than a border and royalty in common w/ kings of convenience. they also share: harmonies, strings, fingersnaps, and acoustic guitars. the acid house kings, though, unlike erlend and the other guy, have a queen, and by that i mean a woman. she sings leads on "this heart is a stone," even though the song is about a girl. it doesn't mean she's gay--but so what if she was? (and so forth.)

it's twee, then. but it's also v. tuneful, as befitting the land of cheiron and abba. more than that, it sparkles, making the best use of glockenspiel this side of a springsteen record, feels like a warm, sympathetic arm across your shoulders, and sounds like the greatest piece of advice you've ever received from a best friend you never knew you had. caveat auditor, though: the guys also sing on the album, and it can all get a bit bjorn-singing-anything-but-"does your mother know," so tread cautiously.

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