Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Song of the day

"Long", by Daphni.

I have this theory that every great synth-pop album from the late seventies / early eighties ended with a quiet, evocative piece of instrumental music. These instrumentals were perfect for those of us who could dance like a robot and be reduced to tears by the sounds made by machines. The funny thing is, I can't conjure up an actual example, and I am forced to concede that I may in fact have invented the idea.

This tradition, assuming it to exist, is brought up to date by "Long", the final track on Daphni's very fine "Jiaolong" long player from (what is now) last year. Daphni, as you already know, is Dan Snaith, who is the evil mastermind behind Caribou.

Hey, where the heck did that harp come from?