Songs of Brilliance #14

Ladyhawke - Paris is Burning

A gift from our regular Antipodean guests Steph and Renee, this album has been spun a fair few times on the ClubRees wheels of steel. Loved so much, that this song even got played twice last time...I played it as part of a Parisian set I'm developing (with Friendly Fires, and Maximo Park's 'Parisian Skies'), but it works just as well on its iown and has a lovely electro-y, rock-y party vibe which we at ClubRees like VERY much. On the fantastic Aussie record label, Modular (along with CR favourites Cut Copy), Ladyhawke's album is another to add to your collections...

Songs of Brilliance #13

Clor - Outlines

For me, this is one of the forgotten tunes of the past few years; much overlooked, but instantly recognisable - I see it as a song which signals the start of the evening. It's got a pretty basic electro-y vibe, but a lovely singalong chorus, and an undeniably happy party feeling. The album is also a must listen, as there's a couple more singles which we quite often throw out there. A future classic? Perhaps not, but it's a feelgood favourite at ClubRees and went down very well on Saturday. Catch us later in the month; if you want to join our mailing list, just drop us a line at clubrees@gmail.com. Cheers! 

Songs of Brilliance #12

Duran Duran - Notorious

Familiar to many from films such as Donnie Darko and - surprise, surprise - Notorious, this tune's staccato opening always gets cries of joy from the ClubRees crowd. I'd venture to say that Duran Duran's classic is one I'd play at any stage of the night, but it's particularly good at about half 1, when other, lesser Duran songs might not have the same power (I'm looking at you, 'A View to a Kill'). Anyway, the music video is pretty special as well, and you can be sure that we'll be belting this one out come this Saturday night...

Songs of Brilliance #11

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

It's taken me quite a while to warm to the 4th KoL album; initially dismissing it as a bloated, stadium-filling, lazy rock album, a few months and a few special performances have really changed my mind. Watching them play this at the BRITs, and feeling that tingle down the spine in the chorus has confirmed that this is a tune, and one that'll be remembered for a long time. And definitely one that'll get some play at the next ClubRees Long Live the Kings!

Songs of Brilliance #9

Friendly Fires - Paris

It's been awhile since the last update, but we've been busy travelling, moving house and variously causing mayhem. Paris is certainly a ClubRees hotspot, and I feel it's hight time we got a gig there - this song sums up my love for that city, and also serves as a delicious hors-d'oeuvre for the absolutely essential Friendly Fires album. Écoutez et Répétez - Les Friendly Fires va sauver le monde!

Songs of Brilliance #7

Pulp - Disco 2000

An oldie but a goodie, with an intro that is guaranteed to bring back memories from the good old 90s. Jarvis cocker has always been on of my heroes, and this song represents some of his finest and most partylicious work. We may have a concept involving an element of 90s theme coming up, so watch this space...

Songs of Brilliance #6

Lykke Li - Little Bit

Another pop gem from Sweden, in the vein of the brilliant and frankly criminally overlooked songstress, Annie. Li is a recent darling of one of my daily fixes, DrownedinSound, and her brand of minimal, electronic pop is absolutely brilliant - perfect for wandering around in the greyness of August. We've yet to drop this on the ClubRees crowd, but I reckon it could be firm favourite over the next few weeks - it's definitely got potential...

Songs of Brilliance #4

Jamie Lidell - Another Day
Sometimes you just need a song that brings instant happiness. This is it. Opening with birdsong and a beautiful set of melodic chords, whiteboy Soul supremo Lidell is guaranteed to brighten up your day, even if you spent the entire last day in a field in East London wearing a cagoule and listening to minimal techno and nu-folk.

Songs of Brilliance #1

Estelle - American Boy
Yes: Music Television still exists!
Yes: The Top 40 Singles Chart still exists!
Yes: Physical CD singles still exist!
And when the brilliance achieved is as glossy, catchily-sampled, beat-led, KanYe-featuring and downright brilliantly feelgood as this, we praise them.
All hail that charts!