Cougar Microbes

My friend Jason has been running this rather ambitious A Song A Day Tumblr site for what is coming up to a very impressive two years.

He originally featured this Fissunix helmed menage a trois featuring Led Zeppelin, James Brown and Aerosmith a few months ago here.  When he played it to me over the weekend I wanted to share it as well.

If you get a chance check out his other interesting projects here.

It sometimes happens that you come to be affectionate a band for no evident reason; they may not have the guitar skills of Jimmy Page, the vocal capacity of Otis Redding or the charisma of James Brown… and they probably won’t be remembered twenty years from now, but you will always appreciate those moments spent in the company of their music.

For me, The Dø is one of those bands. This franco-finnish couple/ duo Olivia Merilahti and Dan Levy has never stopped amazing me since I first discovered them in 2008 with their track ‘On My Shoulders‘.

Seeing them live a few years back at King’s College Student Union was probably one of the biggest musical surprises of my life. Some skeptics may find that they too similar to other folk act in their record collection but I have rarely seen such a magistral performance from a band and was literally blown away by Merilahti‘s charisma.

Their first album ‘A Mouthful‘ has proven to be quite a success in their home countries, France and Finland, but never really managed to conquer the English speaking world. Shame.

New album ‘Both Ways Open Jaws‘ carries on from the same spot, and once again shows the couple’s kaleidoscope of sounds, atmospheres and vocals. From catchy pop ballads such as  ’Too Insistent‘ and ‘ Was It A Dream‘ that would make any Lily Allens of this world jealous, to a M.I.A like haunting vibe on ‘Slippery Slope‘, or more electronic sounds on intro ‘B.W.O.J‘, the Dø have this incredible knack for eclecticism, partly made possible through Olivia‘s astonishing vocal capabilities.

Tune after tune this album is a little beauty full of sincerity, lyricism and a sample of what is best in current scandinavian music.

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Post by Olivia

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TRACKS:

Since its launch last summer Cougar Microbes are marching in like army ants… has been growing in new and exciting directions.  advice from friends, readers and anyone willing to share an opinion has been taken on board when planning the first site upgrade. Thanks to them (and far more sleepless nights than I had bargained for) Cougar is now a self sufficient beast.

“The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too” - Sarah Connor

When I started this site I had no idea who, if anyone, would be reading and how they would react. There have now been 7 guest writers covering a range of artists and genres and more scheduled for the near future. This natural evolution means the blog has now outgrown its initial home at WordPress. I’m glad to be unveiling a new look website that will allow Cougar Microbes to grow in scale and reach out beyond its initial ambition.

The aim remains to feature an array of tracks (both past and present) with the goal of promoting amazing releases and raise the artists profile and I hope to deliver with deliver an entertaining, informative and passionate music blog . So update your browsers to COUGARMICROBES.com and subscribe to the new RSS FEED.

Thank you for your support and thank you for reading so far,

Boaz.

MP3′s:

James Brown – Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag

The Postal Service – Brand New Colony