I just spent a week away from this city and it felt very good. i'm listening to The Black Heart Procession's "2", it's a message to my neighbours: i'm back and blue, motherfuckers. I'm a bit worried about the girl living in the apartment above mine. Everytime i hear music through the ceiling it's either Cat Power's What Would the Community Think, Jeff Buckley -at 9 am (NINE A.M.)- Radiohead's Kid A or some Jacques Brel. I'm pretty sure she's worried about me as well considering my love for weird sequencing. Here's a test:

An appropriate follow up to The Black Heart Procession's "2" would be: 

a. The Black Heart Procession's Three
b. Tom Waits' Mule Variations
c. Wham's The Final
d. Lisa Germano's Lullaby for Liquid Pig
e. Cat Power's What Would the Community Think

there is no such thing as a perfect follow up to "2" but:

if you answered "a": you are boring and/or almost dead
if you answered "b": you are Humphrey Maurice
if you answered "c": i'd like to meet you somewhere dark
if you answered "d": you are SEB WOOd's friend
if you answered "e": i live in the appartment below yours, i really think we should talk, come over at four we'll drink tea and listen to Yo La Tengo.

This Mice Parade album is pretty good. Not an appropriate follow-up to "2", but quite good nonetheless. It's filled with collaborators from the fat cat rooster, and i can't help but like the tracks featuring Múm's Kristin Anna Valtysdottir better. "Two, Three, Fall" is made out of delicate cloth and fits her tiny, fragile voice perfectly. Somehow i wish i could sing like that but then again living in Iceland sounds like a shitty idea. "Spain" is a one minute and a half acoustic shoegazing piece, no lyrics, just ethereal singing reminiscent of pop queen Belinda Butcher. 

The album sounds a bit more like summer than like winter. Mellow acoustic guitars, laid back beats and good ideas. "Focus on a Roller Coaster," issued as a single back then in 2003 is reminiscent of Hood, a bit too long but still quite good. Electronics are there but don't really get noticed, some of the tracks sound like hip lounge material but then again others are much more than that. "Milton Road" is probably my favourite track after "Two, Three, Fall", with contained guitars knocking against the quiet surface and an acoustic guitar intertwining melodies after each interruption. It sounds alive and organic, and if i weren't that biased about Kristin Anna Valtysdottir (or her sister, they look the same anyway) I think I would say that it's Obrigado Saudade's best track. But unfortunately i still have a heart. It's a shame to release this warm, lazy album in January. Summer is so far away. 

-Barbara H

/jan 15th 2004/