Ska-Reggae
When musicians choose to sing in a language that is not their mother tongue, it often produces interesting results; interesting not necessarily being a positive aspect. Take AFI's awkward forays into Latin for example; impressive to a pretentious teenager, but one doubts that Davey Havok could box clever with Caesar and his court..."veni, vidi, I shaved myself a Mo-hawk whilst wearing my mum's make-up."
However, French born vocalist Eglantine Gouzy (picked on at school a lot?) manages to tackle our native language with a childlike ebullience, harmonically chanting the breezy verses to Get Back Guinozzi's debut single 'Low Files Tropical' over a laid back, ska-funk reggae beat, her almost nonsensical lyrics floating over the music with a doubled up twin vocal following her lead like a feather-light shadow. The overall result is like closing your eyes on a sun-lounger in some pleasant seaside resort, daiquiri in hand, all the worries of the daily grind a million miles away; however, like all good holidays, the song is far too short, clocking in at just over two and a half minutes, which doesn't give the listener long enough to truly sink into the laid back langour such music instigates.
The B-side is an inspired cover Junior Murvin's 'Police and Thieves', made famous by The Clash, whose punked up cover tears into the song's lyrics as much as Get Back Guinozzi!'s version soothes them, inspiring not so much futile rebellion as facile relaxation. The band's management may have mistimed their release date somewhat, as with the summer drawing to a close, most music fans will be looking to expand their more autumnal collection of records; for example, Richard Hawley's manager is clearly abreast of seasonal trends, with his latest album hitting the shops just as the public begin to yearn for some log fire laments. Nonetheless, for those who wish to relive the summer just past, this could be right up your street.