Todd & Karen have made three previous appearances in NMC and the consensus was that they are quirky, entertaining and amusing.
Now they return with a new 2-track single, the lead/title one being entitled ‘The Thrift Store Spaceship’.
It again features one Trick Knobs, who took part on their single ‘Work’ last year and whose name amused me for reasons I can’t even imagine now, and also this time the Norwegian folk music duo Spelegutta, which sounds like some imaginative dish you might be offered in a Italian restaurant, providing traditional, Norwegian Hardanger fiddle.
Todd & Karen’s simple lyrics have always been an attractive part of their songs but ‘The Thrift Store Spaceship’ is a largely instrumental track and partly inspired by French band AIR “and similar chill out artists from the 90s, partly by mid-era Pink Floyd, and also partly by Norwegian folk music.”
Their ability to mix genres like a kaleidoscope is beyond question.
This time they’ve created a minor prog piece in which for me the acoustic guitar might belong on an early Genesis album, while a later section could be a sequel to The Carpenters’ ‘Calling occupants of interplanetary craft’ with a hint of Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ and then it ends with a nod to Jethro Tull.
As I mentioned there are few lyrics but what there is includes a bizarre rendition of the phonetic alphabet which goes Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta and skips a few letters, but not to Juliette, Kilo, rather to Jimmy Kimmel.
Go figure. I’m baffled.
The “’b-side’, ‘Final Orbit’ is a more relaxed and conventional track (if they even do ‘conventional’) with a lot of Beatles ballad about it both musically and lyrically. It also includes traditional Indian poetry (read by Hemangi Kulkarni) and Norwegian jaw harp (courtesy of Albert Corbisier-Berge) and which sounds like Rolf Harris with his didgeridoo.
Unique. No other word for it.
As Spotify is down, here are You Tube tracks instead. The second track automatically follows on from the first.
Find them on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/toddandkarenmusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/todd.karen.music/
X: https://x.com/toddkarenmusic
