April 20, 2009

Bell X1 - "The Great Defector" (2009)

Alright, so I have no idea who these guys are except for the fact that Bell X1 is an Irish indie band and their latest release is called Blue Lights On The Runway. I was driving home late at night and stumbled upon "The Great Defector" on this barely audible NYC indie rock station and absolutely loved what I heard. So much so, in fact, that I tried to memorize some lyrics so I could go home and google the song to find out who sang it. Of the few things worthy of mention, the lead singer totally sounds like David Byrne and I actually thought that maybe the Talking Heads reunited and no one had bothered to even tell me about it. The lyrics are super quirky and even the music sounds like classic Heads, maybe even what they would sound like if they came about in this era, or put out new tunes. Normally I might have been annoyed with this shameless musical pilfering, but I love the Talking Heads so much that I could care less if some other band borrowed their style 'cuz at least someone's willing to pick up from where they left off. "The Great Defector" definitely makes me want to give this album, as well as Bell X1's other records, a good proper listen.

Here's a video clip of the song in case you're equally curious:

2 Comments:

awmercy said...

This sounds like a forgotten Talking Head's B-side for Little Creatures.

I agree with your assessment, I like it, but it teeters awfully close to a caricature.

In fact, in honor of this song I am going to go listen to Little Creatures.

Mona said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one, I find their sonic resemblance almost disorienting. I almost want to ask them "Are you trying to sound like the Talking Heads, or is this all just coincidental?" I still haven't heard the rest of the album... I wonder if they all sound like the Heads, or if it's just this track!