2003-08-21 - 12:24 p.m. Have been experiencing a Hugo Largo nostalgia trip recently. I found an old cassette of their second album in my rarely-touched cassette collection a while back and then recently purchased it again on CD. It's hard to explain why I love this record so much, but I just light up when I listen to it. It resembles nothing else in my pantheon, and in fact I'm embarrassed to put it on in the presence of others because it's incredibly fey. I don't mean it's self-consciously twee like a good portion of indie music out there nowadays. These aren't Beach Boys-derived songs served up tongue-in-cheek by skinny lads in trucker hats. This is hardcore, skipping-on-the-sidewalk, drinkin' lemonade, wearin' Keds childlike whimsy. And I think that's why it speaks to me--cuz the people who made it clearly were in touch with something pure when they recorded it. These songs don't seem so much composed, or modeled after music of another era, as naturally-occuring, like the songs just fell out of their bodies. It is the sound of unfettered joy and sorrow. Meanwhile, I just learned you can stream GbV's new album at Matador's site. I like what I hear. thoughts? (0 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact