Following in the shabbily glamorous footsteps of fellow Sheffield residents Pulp, the Long Blondes' debut album, Someone to Drive You Home, is a snappy pop album of quintessentially English vignettes about how growing up is hard to do. The quintet, which is fronted by femme fatale vocalist Kate Jackson, will make you fall in love with their girlish innocence, then steal your boyfriend and break your heart. The Long Blondes make it all seem dangerously romantic, but in a coquettish kind of way -- the joys of being a girl have never seemed so lovely or sexy, hence the impure thoughts of "Swallow Tattoo" -- "Give me a good film noir and a bottle of gin." Pulp alumnus Steve Mackey adds the perfect amount of polish to these 12 playful, guitar-driven songs. Just one listen to "Once and Never Again" will make you a believer: its girlish harmonies and cheeky outlook suggest that leaving that guy behind won't hurt too much, after all, "You're only nineteen for God's sake, you don't need a boyfriend." Singles such as "Weekend Without Makeup" and "Giddy Stratospheres," and B-side "Lust in the Movies" arrive in new form, with Jackson growling and cooing alongside Dorian Cox and her jangly, Smiths-like guitars. Meanwhile, their allads, such as the cinematic "A Knife for the Girls" and "Heaven Help the New Girl" are equally convincing in sound and style. Defining what it means to be in a pop band might prove difficult in 2006, for what is pop music anymore? Lucky for us, the Long Blondes have figured it out for themselves. Someone to Drive You Home is one of those albums that's honest to goodness fun, and pulling it off with as much pastiche as the Long Blondes makes it one of the year's nicest arrivals. Jarvis Cocker and co. would be proud.
The Long BlondesSomeone To Drive Your Home Rought Trade Six out of ten starsYou can’t listen to The Long Blondes without thinking about the past: Their edgy, hooky sound falls somewhere between punk, post punk and new wave. And their front woman is clearly enamored by the likes of Debbie Harry, Nico, Edie Sedgwick and Nancy Sinatra. Seems the British, punkish five-piece are smitten by retro/cou.
More >
... and there'll always be a phone to ring at three in the morningyou'll always have someone to drive you home.Neckerchief TIGHT, beret POISED. "You fill me with inertia." Ghosts of creeping Britpop. A thousand red wine stains and cigarette butts. A nervous glance over your shoulder to your teenage self, dancing always dancing. "There are wants and there are needs and they're two very different...
More >
Another weekend without makeupAnother evening to myselfWell, I guess that I won't be having the time of my life tonightWhere do you go when you've finished work?You should have been home an hour agoI've got your tea laid out like some kind of fifties housewifeWell I feed youBut I need youTo make a little more effortI don't like giving you the third degreeI just want what's due, what's due, what...
More >
Have you ever had a CD for a REALLY long time and never gotten around to giving it a fair listen, then once you spin it...you hit yourself in the head repeatedly for your stupidity because it is so good?That was me with the Long Blonde's album...I have read many glowing mog posts about the band, but they just never clicked with me...until last week. That was another great thing about driving c...
More >
It's time for me to intorduce y'all to yet another great Yorkshire band. Meet the lovely ladies and glorious gentlemen of "The Long Blondes":http://www.thelongblondes.co.uk...The aim was to form a fantasy pop group: Nico, Nancy Sinatra, Diana Dors, Barbara Windsor. Sexy and literate, flippant and heartbreaking all at once. With this in mind, the Long Blondes went falling and laughing headlong i...
More >
You guessed it, another indie-pop band hailing from Sheffield. This time it's The Long Blondes, who seem to be playing Pulp in the latter day parody of the mid-nineties, andhave also been called "South Yorkshire's answer to Blondie". More arty than the Arctics, and not feeling the need to employ full dialect and accent, the songs are stylishly and intelligently put together and are also good f...
More >
The Long BlondesSomeone To Drive Your Home Rought Trade Six out of ten starsYou can’t listen to The Long Blondes without thinking about the past: Their edgy, hooky sound falls somewhere between punk, post punk and new wave. And their front woman is clearly enamored by the likes of Debbie Harry, Nico, Edie Sedgwick and Nancy Sinatra. Seems the British, punkish five-piece are smitten by retro/cou.
More >
Even though I'm not living the lyrics to this song, I can't get it out of my head... Back in the '80s when I was a young stay at home mom, I could have written this song! Now life is so much better ...with age comes wisdom and happiness
More >
The Long Blondes. Been trying to pin down why I like them so damn much, despite their being the sort of band i normally dont care for, for a while.I think the big thing is the fact that they're the first band to do Rock with a singer who can actually sing. Or Pop that doesn't degenerate into someone lipsyching whilst shaking their tits at you. And it also amuses the hell out of me that the guy ...
More >
This video features Kate and Dorian of The Long Blondes preforming "Once and Never Again" and "Giddy Stratospheres" in an elevator at the London Calling Festival in March. Love them! Even when they're stripped down to just the bare minimum their greatness shines through!
More >
The band split due to long-term health problems of guitarist and main lyricist Dorian Cox.
More >
... and there'll always be a phone to ring at three in the morningyou'll always have someone to drive you home.Neckerchief TIGHT, beret POISED. "You fill me with inertia." Ghosts of creeping Britpop. A thousand red wine stains and cigarette butts. A nervous glance over your shoulder to your teenage self, dancing always dancing. "There are wants and there are needs and they're two very different...
More >
Here's a killer remix of The Long Blondes by Sheffield's International House Of Pancakes . Photo credit: Darren Kim "Separated By Motorways (I.H.O.P. Sexamatronic Mix)" | download Too bad the band called it quits a couple weeks ago, here's the official msg:We have decided to call it a day. The main reason for this is that I suffered from a stroke in June and unfortunately I do not kno...
More >
Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Someone to Drive You Home")
