Saturday, 2 August 2008

eighteen: Jose Vanders

Ahh money.
Money, money, money. Money brings me some serious joy and some real distresses. One of the distresses of late is that I have about £30 to get me through to September.
Thus not letting me see the sublime Jose Vanders in Leeds. I was supremely annoyed. Not only because I have cabin fever like nothing else but also because she has to be one of my favourite discoveries of 2007.
Jose Vanders has a vast fanbase as I write this and certainly doesn't need a leg up (she's just reached the 1m play mark on myspace!).
She has the musical stylings of someone ten years older than her and can play the piano like a pro, a quality than shines through in her songs.
One of the things I love about Jose is her modesty, besides her mind blowing talent, she is an ordinary young lady and is one of those artists who could just stop at home recordings and they'd be golden. But Jose goes that extra step further and makes "proper" studio EPs, and yet there are no great claims with her.
Her debut EP Transactional Language was, and is, a seven track beaut of a CD, brimming with carefully crafted songs that speak of love, painters and "sitting on the M25". I'd say it was simple, but that's unjust, as are the comparisons to Kate Nash. The truth is Transactional Language is flawless, it's observational, it's a classic in miniature. A Little Love Song is exactly what it says on the tin, it's delicious and uplifting and makes you pine for someone to call your own (if you haven't snagged them already).
The next installment in Jose's discography, Red Black Blue & The Tortoise, has just been unleashed onto the tinternet and has already received warmly by her fans (buy it now from her shop!). The second EP includes one of my favourite songs by Jose, Madame Lenormand, which is about a fortune teller, sounds brilliant already, eh? On her first demo of the song, there was some very humble talk of a Comet mic ruining certain parts of the song, which is more than made up for in Jose's lyrics "You'll find love/Underneath a stone/Pick it up and keep it in your pocket/You'll see bars/The finest bars of steel/Encircle you on one December morning" and the gorgeous piano melodies that wrap themselves around your mind and reel you into listening it again and again. The freshly recorded version is even more beautiful, if that's even possible!
Her demos are gems in their own right, Fin's Song and Hitchin is Bitchin are personal favourites of mine and are as warm as cocoa and bright as a 100 watt bulb, despite their sometimes heart-breaking lyrics.
To conclude: Jose Vanders is a girl choc a bloc with promise. She's already delivered high quality songs and seems to be set to carry on the path of musical success.

Listen to a fantastic demo of Madame Lenormand here.

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