HEAVENLY BEAT HONEST

What a catchy song. It's really nice. Great groove. Great everything. What's wrong with that? Nothing. It's anti-wrong: it's right. It's good. It comes from ex-Beach Fossils bassist, John Peña (I love an "n" with diacritical tilde), in actual fact known for his solo music as Heavenly Beat. And I'd say that he's chosen a suitable name for his project, at least going by 'Honest' anyway: heavenly beat, heavenly groove, heavenly yes.

It comes from his upcoming second album, Prominence (the first being his debut of last year, Talent), scheduled for release 14th October dis yeer on Brooklyn-based label Captured Tracks. Apparently it's a song that expounds on the admission of guilt after infidelity. Can't hear any lyrics that discuss it but that's all I know. Sorry. On the other hand, it sounds great musically.

Beginning with some frantic nylon-string guitar sounds - something that becomes the theme of the song, a skipping heartbeat that goes with a guilty conscience I suppose - it soon descends into a lush journey of sounds. The beat is fresh and understated, aided quite substantially by the constant shuffle of shakers and with the groove of a melodic bassline. Peña's vocals are breathy and faraway, soaked in reverb, nearly whispered.

There are some lovely little melodies in this. Sometimes they come from simple three-note ditties on guitars, palm-muted snippets of funk, and synth horns, other times they are plaintive tunes on a harmonica or drips of a steel drum. At like 2:11 there's a really nice acoustic solo that's all slide and string buzz, a small touch of wild-west folk in the midst of an indie-pop gallop. Lusciously flowing, it is as danceable and groovesome as it is nice to chill to - but it doesn't overpower you. It's understated throughout, strangely innocent in its resignation to guilt - 'Honest' is a good word for it.

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NINETOES FINDER

This is old this is old this is old. In terms of the internet anyway. A day-old song might as well be chucked in the bin for all some people care you get me. But when it was released it kind of had the oh-goodness-is-this-song-going-to-bring-the-sun-out vibe that everyone likes at the very start of summer, you know, when it's not quite summer yet. However, now that summer is actually in full swing it really fits and it's really nice.

It's a track called 'Finder' by a man called Ninetoes, from Stuttgart. Sometimes there are meanings behind names. Maybe he actually does have nine toes. Or maybe it's a mispronunciation of the Pokémon Ninetails. The song is a regular fever of calypso rhythms, percussion already frenzied by the time you push the play button. The claps sneak in, as do the deep subby kicks. There's a little taster of something to come, a looped sample of what sounds like some steel drums... and yes. It is. Your prayers are answered.

This wholly Caribbean sound is infectious. It has every bone in your body having a boogie. The melodic hook of the steel drums - which are technically labelled as steel pans from what I remember of steel pan lessons (yep, had em) but we'll leave that by the wayside - moves in an ear-pleasing wave from high to low pitch. But that's not all. More instruments pop in and the melody changes before the final third has the hi-hats clipping at the air like crazed dancers. Synchronised chopped up vocal samples begin to parade around like chanting mouths with dancing feet. You can see the party right in front of you.

And if it isn't a party, then it's just the soundtrack to a bustling holiday resort on a Caribbean island. It's a really great atmosphere, one held in place with images of palm trees and coconuts and cocktails and torches on the beach keeping everyone dancing until the sand wears their legs out and they have to lie down and look up at the unending stars. The expertise of Ninetoes in changing the groove of the song just when each particular part becomes second nature to your brain keeps everything fresh and exciting, like a free bar complete with a barman who can make every cocktail in the world.

I'm dreaming too much. But you understand now: this is a song for summer and summer is here. Celebrate! Um, oh, there's also the Finder EP with some remixes if you'd like to listen to that too (below). It's out on Kling Klong Records btw.

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