Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys
Here’s a cool connection between my two favourite British things: Alex Turner’s only solo EP was written for a movie directed by Richard Ayoade, who played Moss on The IT Crowd. Though it’s technically a soundtrack, the EP could effortlessly be imagined as being released as Alex Turner’s debut album. In spite of that, the album fits the movie Submarine, perfectly. You can almost picture Turner recording this on the sea floor in a old school diving suit; guitar in hand and upturned goldfish bowl on his head. ‘Piledriver Waltz’ instantly makes you feel as fifteen and heartbroken as the protagonist; “I heard the news that you’re trying to shoot me out of a cannon”.
Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Any fans of Breaking Bad out there might recognise Alex Ebert’s ‘Truth’ off his debut album Alexander (it was the closing song of the season 4 premiere). Though Ebert, or his alter ego Edward Sharpe, is widely recognized for the indie rock stylings of his band the Magnetic Zeros, he takes a slightly different, more folky approach on Alexander. Ebert wears many hats on this album, dabbling with reggae and pop, with semi-consistent success. Attempting to not whistle along with ‘Truth’ is futile, ditto with the finger snappy ‘A Million Years’.
Brian Borcherdt (aka Dusted) of Holy Fuck
If Brain Borcherdt of Holy Fuck is tough enough to match his band’s name, then the Borcherdt of Dusted is the other side of the coin: light and cloudy. Compared with Holy Fuck’s jumpy, grinding beats, Dusted is a great make out soundtrack for a boy-with-tight-pants-meets-girl-with-ugly-sweater type scenario. Though some songs may come off as slightly melancholy with names like ‘Bruises’, ‘Pale Light’ or ‘Cut Them Free’, Borcherdt manages to incorporate a sense of comfort between the lines, whether its in the guitar of ‘(Into The) Atmosphere’, or the hazy vocals of ‘There Somehow’.
Emily Haines of Metric
You can almost see a trend forming here, of bad-ass lead singers exposing their sensitive, adolescent side with solo projects. Emily Haines is probably the most obvious example of that, with the abilty to sing ‘Hangman we played double dutch with a hand grenade’ and croon ‘Heartbroken, I’ve been for you / You left me in a bar at the bottom of the world’ with the same nonchalance. As Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, she makes really really beautifully depressing music with brilliantly subtle lyrics.
Honourable Mentions: Beyonce Knowles of Destiny’s Child, Gwen Stefani of No Doubt, Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC
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