We Never Asked For This is our short review of a band who thought (or their label/manager/agent/girlfriend thought) that it would be a good idea to send us an email saying “like me! like me! like me!” (more or less).
The internet streets must be talking, because after a long drought our inbox is filling up with blind submissions. Damn it feels good to be a blogsta. Today’s blind submission is the electronica soul pop of Tito Ramsey.
Punks And Criminals shot us the new e.p. from Tito Ramsey called Hi Lo, and it’s proven to be a delightful trip outside of our usual listening patterns. Just as how for a brief time in the late 90’s the sonics of trip-hop were being applied to everything and everyone from singer-songwriters to hardcore rappers, Ramsey pulls a similar trick with atmospheric electronica and skittering beats. Using it as a backdrop for white boy soul, hypnotic Radiohead-esque guitar spirals and the patchy common ground between the two. With a voice that can sound quite a bit like Win Butler, Hi Lo at it’s most epic moments sounds a bit like what Arcade Fire might have sounded like if they had come out in the synth heavy 80’s. The opening track goes into techno and track two’s white boy soul gets a little cheesy, both which may turn listeners off as it initially did us. But for those willing to stay with it the e.p. delivers some pleasant surprises and a few moments of genuine beauty. Check out what we’re talking about with album closer “Room For Making” below, and check out the album here.
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