I have a tendency to overly praise records on here, but I say this genuinely: this is my favourite 7" of all time. I saw it in Banquet one day and hadn't heard about it at that point. I was a big fan of The Arteries and Bangers already, but hadn't heard of Kelly or El. I thought it looked interesting and bought it along with a couple of other records. I was amazed when I took it home and played it.
It's not a normal arrangement for a split, but a great one nonetheless: four new recordings of two Kelly Kemp and two El Morgan songs with Bangers and The Arteries playing the music. Both singers have great voices and the times I've seen them live since have been really good. Given that they were written as acoustic songs (or so I assume) they all work incredibly well with a band behind them.
Bridges Over Broken Hearts is my favourite on the Kelly Kemp and Bangers side, but Still Our Dream is really good too. I've been told she used to play in No Comply, who are a name I recognise but little more. Either way, side A is great on it's own. However, its side B that I really love. The Arteries lend backing vocals to the mix, which works brilliantly. Miles only sings a few bits on Blah Blah Blah but it sounds great.
But I forget about all of this when Ballroom hits, a song I just can't get enough of. It starts off so slowly and nicely, but then builds into this incredible punk song and keeps going after that. The layered vocals at the end are perfect. I've listened to El's album on bandcamp a bunch of times (it's a go-to when I'm after streaming music on the internet) and the version there is great too. It's a great song done in an awesome way. It's become a staple of my mixtapes since I heard it.
I think the surprise added a lot to it as well. I had no idea what to expect when I took this record home, so had no idea how much I'd enjoy it. I realise I'm gushing praise once again, but the whole record is brilliant and has one of my favourite songs of last year on. I really can't recommend it enough. Banquet still have it in stock and I'm often tempted to get another copy in case I wear this one out.
Format: 7"
Tracks: 4
Cost: £4 new
Bought: Banquet
When: 17/01/11
Colour: Black
Etching: no
mp3s: no
