Martina Topley Bird
New York is so nasty right now. It was 90 degrees and rainy today, which is the worst combination, seeing as the city becomes a steamy sauna of trash, B.O. and dog pee. It’s hard on the system, except for those wonderful moments when a train on the opposite track brings a gust of less-hot wind, or stepping into a mercifully icy train car. You need some serenity to get through it a lot of the time. And for that, I like to go to this particular song by Martina Topley Bird. She used to collaborate often with Tricky but has had a moderately successful solo career in England. This song, “Shangri La” I think is perfectly structured. It reminds me a little of “Star Witness” by Neko Case (for the brush drums) and a little of Hope Sandoval/Mazzy Star.
