a whole load of wednesdays

Polly Scattergood – Nitrogen Pink

You know when an artist’s moniker just fits the music so well?  I might not normally be drawn to an artist by the name of Polly Scattergood, but when I heard this song it made a heap of sense.  She’s from England; she’s young; she’s been compared to Kate Bush.

And by the way, the song is huge.  It’s a big song.  It’s not trying to be epic by any means, I don’t think, but it ends up being a sweeping journey. It’s got the feeling of “All My Friends,” the slow-burn that burns away faster and faster until you find yourself surrounded in a landscape of fire.  The electric drone and the piano pulsate and buzz in the background as more and more instruments reveal themselves.  You notice the drums and the IDM sensibilities far too late — before you know it there’s a dance song where there was once a ballad.

On MBV Music, a new blog brought to you in part by the guys from Said The Gramophone and the place where I found this song, the singing of Polly Scattergood was said to recall Dan Bejar.  I hear it, but I also detect hints of Bjork, Joanna Newsom, James Murphy, Patrick Wolf, Avril Lavigne — even Meredith Brooks.  It’s all here.  It’s strange and wonderful — references to “the real Captain Redbeard” and tragedies and ketchup on ties and, overall, a long narrative which builds on itself like a collage pasted together from little magazine cut outs.

And I think the phrase “Nitrogen Pink” is what really allows the song to succeed.  You couldn’t just stick anything in there.  It’s puzzling in a juicy kind of way; you want to start attaching representations to it immediately.  And the repetition! And the assonance!

She doesn’t have an LP out — that happens in March 2009.  I’ll be waiting for it to show up, and hoping that “Nitrogen Pink” finds its way on, or, with any luck, something even more dazzling.