By Jim Rowland
One of last year’s most distinctive albums was ‘Back In Mono’, the third album from Denmark’s The Courettes, which combined fuzzed up psyche rock with a Phil Spector ‘wall of sound’ 60s pop vibe to great effect. The album was highly acclaimed, and now to compliment it comes a new mini-album ‘Back In Mono (B-Sides & Outtakes)’, containing new tunes, B-sides and rarities from around the time of the original album.
Not surprisingly, there’s no radical departure from the sound of ‘Back In Mono’ here. The aforementioned Spector production influence looms large on ‘Last Dance With You’, and the opening cut ‘Daydream’, which bears a bit of a resemblance to Sonny & Cher’s ‘I Got You Babe’ in places. ‘Talking About My Baby’, ‘Only Happy When You’re Gone’ and ‘Killer Eyes’ are all swinging ’60s pop nuggets, with ‘The Boy I Love’ being a particularly catchy peach of a pop song.
The groovy fuzzed up psyche rock of ‘Tough Like That’ is another highlight, with an infectious guitar riff and powerful vocal, whilst ‘So What’ follows a similar path and has only previously been available on a split single with The Jackets, so is a pretty rare cut.
On the back of this release, it states “this is a mono recording. For best results please play LOUD on bad speakers and crappy stereos”. With that in mind I would strongly recommend the black vinyl 10” release, although it is available on CD too.
If you dug the groovy sounds of ‘Back In Mono’ last year, this is an essential companion piece to that album. If you’re new to the Courettes, but like the idea of fuzzed up psyche rock mixed with huge ‘60s pop sounds drenched in authentic Spector production techniques, recorded in mono of course, then it’s time to check them out.
- ‘Back In Mono (B-Sides & Outtakes)’ is released on Friday (27 May). You can get your copy HERE.
- The Courettes tour next month, starting in Bristol on Wednesday 1 June and finishing in Southend on Saturday 18 June.
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