aaamusic | On 06, Sep 2010

AAAmusic asked two reviews on the new double A single by Les Shelleys! First read Lorenzo Coretti’s one, then Francis Windram’s: they both agree it is a classic release!

Author: Lorenzo Coretti

Timeless! The total absence of caring about trends in music makes Les Shelleys a precious and original act to follow.

The digital single ‘Rum and Coca Cola/Green Door’ just confirms the skill this duo has in arranging old folk tunes in a simple and harmonious manner.

‘Rum and Coca Cola’ is a cover of Andrews Sisters successful calypso dating 1945, rearranged as a sweet ballad.

Tom Brosseau and Angela Correa swing and tap together in a joyous mix of melody and acoustic calm.

The experiment is fruitfully repeated in ‘Green Door’, song written by Bob Davie and Marvin Moore in 1956, where the harmony between the two voices reaches a heartbreaking perfection.

With surprise, both songs have been recorded in Tom’s Los Angeles villa with a minidisc recorder in the kitchen.

This single, ideal for calming spirits from end of summer’s blues, is available only in digital download from FatCat webstore.

Les Shelleys (to be pronounced Lay Shell Ease) will tour around England during all September, hitting, among the others, London, Brighton, and Newcastle, in conjunction with the launch of new self-titled album ‘Les Shelleys’.

Author: Francis Windram

Rum and Coca Cola/Green Door is the new EP from Les Shelleys, a vocal/guitar duo from Los Angeles which relies heavily on simple textural composition to achieve continuously chilled music. This particular cover of Rum and Coca Cola is as chilled out as a day at the beach, but with less sand and better music. The calypso feel to the chords and finger picking rhythm brings into your mind a sense of sitting somewhere in Trinidad with a guitar strumming the hours away over a glass of beer. The vocal harmonies are reminiscent of those used by Bing Crosby in White Christmas, especially with the comforting tinge of noise which edges the entire recording. However the impression is not of sloppy recording practice (though they were in fact recorded by a minidisk player set on a table), but instead just the noise heard as a vinyl plays. This along with so many little touches such as the slight commentary by Tom Brosseau as he plays his acoustic and the soft claps of Angela Correa adding a lovely beat reference. Authentically chilled out from beginning to end; 2.5 minutes of bliss. Green Door is a completely a capella track originally composed in 1956 by Bob Davie and Marvin Moore. This rendition is again full of simple but extraordinarily effective harmonies and tapped beats. Again a lovely, intimate style and I cannot wait to hear the rest of Les Shelleys’ self titled debut album.