For a time, every indie band had a cellist. His or her moody sawing didn't always fit the music, but it sure added whiff of high art to the most naive material.
Pale Young Gentlemen have a cello player (she's a pale young woman, not a gent), but their music requires one -- just as it requires cabaret-styled piano, an exaggeratedly fey vocalist and beats drawn from 19th century dance-halls and Eastern European folk music.
Imagine Jacques Brel dancing with Bartok and Freddie Mercury, and you'll have some idea of how a track like the delightfully arch "Saturday Night" comes off, the third on their new self-titled album.
An MP3 of the track is available in the related downloads at right. The new self-titled release by Pale Young Gentlemen will make its formal debut at a release party at Cafe Montmartre on Friday, Mar. 23.
MadTracks highlights and provides MP3s of songs performed by local musicians. All tracks here are provided with permission of the artist. If you are a musician based in the Madison metro area and are interested in sharing your work as a MadTrack, please send a message.
