At the start of 2007, I would have never guessed Id fall in love with Glass Candy. Despite their impressive reinvention with the single "Iko Iko, Id pretty much written them off as no wave hipsters hell bent on producing tuneless art-damaged noise. And yet continuing their transformation into a divine medley of 30-year-old hipster funk, Italian soundtracks and Italo disco, here they are with one of the years loveliest tunes. The lead track off Italians Do It Betters stunning After Dark comp (cant say enough about that one), "Rolling Down the Hills is a throwback to the score that enamoured early 70s cinema and its fixation with romantic fluff. Imagine Ryan ONeal and a healthy Ali MacGraw gracefully roller-skating in Love Story 2, or for that matter, even Annie Hall and Alvy Singer stumbling all over the rink. Johnny Jewels production recreates an authenticity that is rarely met these days: dreamy disco-lite grooves with horn samples and orgasmic synths oscillating heavenly harmonies, all corresponding to Ida Nos breathy, elegant whispers. Oddly enough, I actually prefer the comps slower, gliding demo version, with the crackles and lush near-porn production over album B/E/A/T/B/O/Xs hastier turn, which is unsettling by comparison the first few times you hear it. Nevertheless, I love everything about Glass Candy at the moment, especially their frustrating tour-only releases, which if you can pick up here if youre both quick and smart enough.
Glass Candy "Rolling Down the Hills"
Glass Candy "Rolling Down the Hills"
