Eliza v Santi

I bought two new records today, both very good in very different ways, or maybe not so different really.

'Dreams Of Breathing Underwater' by Eliza Carthy

Eliza last graced my CD player with her excellent work with The Imagined Village project so it was with some trepidation that I got her new solo record but it's instantly enjoyable. Different musical styles all united by her vision and voice (and violin), from the raw electric guitar on 'Follow The Dollar' to mariarchi brass on 'Mr Magnifico' via some more traditional folk sounds and Indian-tinged 'Lavenders.'

I don't know how the 'folk community' has greeted this album but I like it. There's something here for everyone who has vague folk leanings and I'd love to see Eliza perform these songs. I saw her a few years ago on one of the Meltdown nights that Patti Smith curated and it was great to see Eliza on that stage singing her traditional folk songs unaccompanied and joking with the audience, ' you didn't think I'd do a cheerful one, did you?'. This collection of songs isn't a set of dirges by any means and deserves lots of listens.

'Santogold' by Santogold

Santogold (Santi White) is in a very different place to Eliza. I've resisted listening to Santogold because of the hype until I listened to a few songs on the Pretty Much Amazing music blog and fell in love with two tracks - 'I'm A Lady', a very classy pop song, and 'Get It Up' (Radioclit remix featuring M.I.A. and Gorilla Zoe). 'Get It Up' isn't on the album but it's full of powerful pow wow singing and I've fallen for the sound of the track - I can't tell who's singing at any given time but that doesn't matter, it's the sonic experience that pulls me in.

So, what about the album? It's a big record, lots of styles and sounds that showcase Santogold, great pop songs with bits of hip hop, electronica and reggae thrown in for good measure (and can I hear a bit of Blondie in 'Lights Out'?). It's well worth a listen. Play it loud.