New Partner/Clothes Of Sand

God bless those lovely people at Volta Sounds. No sooner had we got our ears around the rebirth of Irish hiphop in the form of Creative Controle’s meisterwork, ‘Bloodrush’, than they hit us with a double A-side of sweet, chunky vinyl featuring the very best of gentle melancholia from both sides of the Atlantic.

Messrs Burns and Convertino give Nick Drake’s ‘Clothes Of Sand’ a working over, southern style, and Drake’s quintessential Englishness surprisingly benefits from their gothic touch. You can just about visualise the tumbleweed rolling through their dustbowl blues.

Meanwhile, Glen Hansard & Co. get all plaintive on your ass with a magical take on Will Oldham’s ‘New Partner’, doubtless already familiar to Frames gig-goers. Either song would be a worthy addition to anyone’s record collection: together, they are unstoppable. Single of this and every other fortnight.