Madrugada
The Kids Are On High Street
Virgin/EMI

This new promotional CD single release from Madrugada is a taster from The Deep End, their soon to be released new album. It contains two versions of "The Kids Are On High Street" - the album version, and a slightly shorter radio edit version, leaving out some guitar soloing towards the end. This is a slow, beautiful song, like Madrugada always have been capable of producing, but Høyem is singing with more urgency and intensity than before, possibly because his voice has adopted a vibrato quality in the direction of Michael Stipe. The R.E.M. comparisons are unaviodable, and the simple but emotionally rich guitar chorus definitely has a Knopfleresque ring to it. Fans that reject such mainstream reference points should not worry though, because most of all this song is highlighting the much appreciated Madrugada melancholy that we have learned to love from day one. Are we looking forward to the new album? Yes!

Copyright © 2005 Knut Tore Breivik