Hooves on the Turf

Download “It’s Oh So Quiet!” and “Echinacea“ | I had no more than an hour to spare for CMJ last night, and I decided that songstress Olga Bell and her band Bell, playing at Pianos, would be well-deserving of the time—ridiculous, I know, since there were at least 12 good bands playing there, but I think most of us would agree that if you can’t afford to take a full week off, the next best option to fully enjoy CMJ is to practice serious moderation in order to avoid exhaustion and crankiness; as much as I love the idea of bands playing everywhere, all over the city, pretty much all day for one whole week, the scenario doesn’t come with a heavenly lift in temperament, so there. To get to the point, Ms. Bell was totally worth it. I know there are some people who believe liking an artist for her cover of a famous artist is no less than an evidence of moral corruption, but I’m a fan of the “It’s Oh So Quiet!” cover. Of course, the Bjork version isn’t lacking anything, but I think Bell still manages to add to the song, and don’t get me wrong, I enjoy all of her originals too, which is what she played last night.