The Brighton Port Authority: I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat
I Think We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat (Southern Fried Records, southernfriedrecords.com) is leaking like the Titanic, and no wonder. It’s the hotly anticipated new project from Norman Cook (if you say “Who?” we say “Fatboy Slim”) with guest stars David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Martha Wainwright, Jamie T, Emmy the Great and more, all under the name of The Brighton Port Authority (thebrightonportauthority.com).
Norman’s cooked up a nonsensical back story for the BPA—something about a crate of old tapes discovered thirty years after a series of warehouse recording sessions—but what’s important, and entirely believable, is his infectious love for his material. Britpop guitars, reggae-lite rhythms, lo-fi synth loops—all of it gets chopped up and blended with abandon. Some mixes go down smoother than others (the Martha Wainwright track, for example, is a rather bland disappointment) but overall, the BPA works as a sweet-toothed pop pastiche.
The official release date is today, but the mixtape-worthy tracks were already out on Hype Machine (hypem.com)–type in “Brighton Port Authority.” Most recommended: the second single, “Seattle,” with Emmy’s enchanting croon set to a glazed shuffle of tambourines and chorus vocals.
And when you’re not at your desk, free your mind with the silly, psychedelic, ’70s-softcore (okay, not really, but almost) music video for “Toe Jam,” featuring David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal.
