A Midweek Pick Me Up

So, in my next attempt at a mini-post during the run up to exams I shall let you in on one of my favourite singer songwriters, the wonderfully surreal folk outfit known as Sue and the Unicorn.

Photo by Matthew Cotton

Now you may have seen this quirky mademoiselle, aka Sue Denim, in chaotic electro duo Robots in Disguise, but what you may not be aware of is that for the past year or so she's been extending her talents to the realms of folk.

Sue and the Unicorn has been a not so guilty pleasure of mine for some time now, always meant to post about her but never quite got around to it. Sue's songs are brilliant due to their sheer simplicity: It literally is just her and a guitar, and there's no better song to highlight this than 'Like Brewster McCloud.' The acoustic guitar is a perfect backdrop for her slightly otherworldy lyrics about wanting to be free to laugh and live and, errm, fly. A more Ska-influenced version of the track also fails to disappoint. The song sounds entirely different to the original, the Reggae lilt creating a much brighter and chilled tone, which is in itself quite an impressive feat seeing as the original is more than a little bit wistful in comparison.

My favourite track, and what I think epitomises everything I like about Sue is 'Til the Sweat Dries.' Sue's vulnerable pleading for more than just a one night stand almost mystifies. There's no pretentiousness here as is with some musicians of this calibre; what you hear is more certainly what was intended, and there's definitely no smoke and mirrors. Just simple chords and Sue's soaring vocals, enough to give me goosebumps. And then, just when you think it's getting too sappy, Sue changes her mind and cheekily commands to get inside me. Brilliant.

My only qualm with Sue.. is that even with two mini tours under her belt, she has yet to release an EP of any sort and most of her songs are still in demo form. Get a move on woman!

However, in the meantime there's always this upbeat and thoroughly cute track, recorded in some random park in Germany. Enjoy.

SUE AND THE UNICORN : PICK ME UP from brian belukha on Vimeo.

For the mentioned tracks and more, visit
www.myspace.com/sueandtheunicorn