David Byrne / St Vincent - Love This Giant (CD, Vinyl LP)

What is this unholy pairing? I have to admit to be kinda surprised these two were collaborating to make an album and I was equally fascinated by the chin mangled artwork. I feel bizarrely transfixed by David Byrne’s bumchin which has kept me awake for weeks now.

I’m on my second listen now and I’m getting my head around it. I guess I was expecting a sort of skewed classic pop sounding album with lots of varied instrumentation and that’s what we’ve got. Both artists share the vocals and on the opener ‘Who’ (which is a brilliant pop song) it works great with Byrne singing the trumpet laden verses while St Vincent nips in for the chorus. There’s a gentle funk to the whole album which is very evident on ‘Weekend In The Dust’ with the funky beats and brass section (many other tracks are like this too!). Also there’s a healthy dose of world music influence in there which I suspect comes from David Byrne. Aside from a handful of more downbeat tracks pretty much the whole album is upbeat and bouncy!

‘Love This Giant’ has some inventive arrangements and quirky beats along with the ever present brass section. That coupled with the vocals of two clearly talented musicians makes a thoroughly interested listen which is far from poncey (which it had every chance of being). This is essentially clever and very good pop music and it’s something you should check out if you’re a fan of either artist.