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Dear friends,

Sitting at my desk at work last year, surrounded by piles of checks and invoices, I heard a song on Uncle Peel's show the day after he passed. That song was called Chargr. 1 minute and 44 seconds of what sounded like the overture to a chaotic twee punk musical. After it was over, I stared out the window in a confused state. The song made me feel flushed and slightly panicked, like I didn't have the answers to anything but maybe if I ran outside, something might be clearer. So I did. Run outside. I felt better. Then I went back inside, did some more work, and surreptitiously googled the band responsible for this rush and push slice of hyperventilation.

Their name is Bearsuit and they are a multi-piece ensemble from Norwich, England. The most perfunctory research - 'cause nowadays I find the less I know about a band personally the happier I am, revealed that their other musical efforts also walk the same fine line betwixt preciousness and genuine ferocity that Chargr does. What impresses me about their music and what I think grabbed me about that particular single is that I've heard some elements of their sound (child-like girl/boy vocals, experimental freak-outs BUT NOT recorders and cash registers as essential song elements, for example) in other bands but have not felt the pull because it sounds like full PUT-ON, like the calculation of cool. You sense those bands are doing amazing art projects but wouldn't talk to you at the gallery unless you came dressed for the event. Bearsuit, on the other hand, SOUND like people rehearsing in a cold room, fingerless gloves on, visible breath, everything, making music 'cause they have to PLAY in all senses of the word and it makes everything brighter and warmer, for them and for you. There's no sense of hip at all, just joy. I miss that in my music. The sense of the possible, that enthusiasm and that come in, have a drink, put your feet up and check out the latest insanity we've created! Yay! Let's get drunk, start a gang and run real fast in the street!

Ok. Maybe not the last part. I'm a'rambling so I must stop typing. If I haven't put Chargr on a mix for you yet, go to their site, they happily provide you with some free downloads, give it a go. I have heard most of their new album, Cat Spectacular! (Is it any wonder I love them? I mean, come on!) If you like their singles, their album is a worthwhile investment. And after you get the album and love it, you can take it that one insano step further and make your own bearhead to wear on those special freezing winter nights you sit at home and enjoy America's Next Top Model marathons on the tube. Who's to know?

Love, D

Song to Seek: Chargr, Itsuko Got Married, Snowshoe, Cherryade

Album to Seek: Cat Spectacular!