Week 15 - Scandimania part one

Every once in a while something comes along that stops you dead in your tracks. You can't quite believe what you've heard and you want to know more.

Reading a piece by Paul Lester in the Guardian, I followed up his excited suggestion and listened to The Polly Tones' reworking of Brian Wilson's SMiLE.

Malin and Viktor moved from a small town in northern Sweden to London to build a career in music and, judging by this attempt, it's only a matter of time before it happens.

What could easily have been an embarrassing hash has turned out to be a jaw-dropping effort that deserves its place in musical history. The duo have pared down Wilson and Van Dyke Parks' mind-altering orchestrations to just voice, guitar and editing. It's hard to explain just how well it works. Yes, there appears to be layering and a couple of other instruments, but it's clearly a bare, yet sumptuous end product. Malin's voice is great and Viktor on occasions sounds uncannily like Wilson, and their arrangements are spot on. It makes you wonder how long they've worked on this project. But who cares, it sounds great!

Heroes and Villains, by far my favourite track on SMiLE, is simply inspired. The final of the 10 songs they've done is Surf's Up and that too is brilliant. Even though I almost feel dirty saying this, I found The Polly Tones' version easier to listen to than Wilson's!

So, without further ado, I give you The Polly Tones' SMiLE.

Part One - Our Prayer/Gee, Heroes & VIllains
Part Two - Roll Plymouth Rock, Barnyard, Old Master Painter-You Are My Sunshine, Cabin Essence
Part Three - Wonderful, Song for Children, Child Is Father of the Man, Surf's Up

I'll leave the final word to Paul Lester: We'd like Mr Wilson to hear their SMiLE. It would blow his giant mind.