Everyone laughs when they hear that I'm listening to Estonian music at the moment. Especially when they find out that it's the band Ruffus, who represented Estonia at the song contest. I think it's time to defend my choice of listening. :)

After talking to an Estonian DJ on the Revolution Forum (it's amazing who you meet around the internet by accident) I discovered that the reason I couldn't find any information about them is because they used to be called Claire's Birthday. Apparently one of the band members left, possibly more than one, so they changed their name.

Anyway, after failing to find anywhere I could buy any of their albums, I decided to try and download their songs via Kazaa. It's hard, because there don't seem to be a lot of people sharing Estonian music (even when they are the biggest thing in Estonia since sliced bread). But I have managed to scrape together a fair few MP3's...

Let me explain why I like them, then... The easy way to explain is to say... they're Britpop. Britpop was never well defined, due to the sheer number of bands that the term encompassed. And the bands have changed, too. Bands like Blur, which started off being fairly cheeky, have ended up doing serious experimental stuff. Not that this is a bad thing. But most of the bands that appeared in the early 90's have grown up. I find it intriguing that you can look to Eastern Europe, to places like Latvia (remember BrainStorm?) and Estonia, and reminisce about Britpop. And it's not just derivative stuff. This is good Britpop. If it had been around here in the early 90's, it would have done well.

Their album Venus (2000) has a song on it called... Venus. Whenever I hear it, I think Pulp. Yes, I keep wanting to head off into Disco 2000. Or else I get Disco 2000 in my head and want to head off into Venus. He's copying Jarvis Cocker, completely and utterly, and he's doing it well! He's even doing the strange talky bits that Jarvis does. Excellent...! And then there's Natural Blonde Girls, which has the clean, happy sort of sound that you can only ever associate with The Divine Comedy. There's even a bit of "ba, ba ba ba baa" singing, the sort that Neil Hannan is so keen on.

City Loves (2001) is a lot harder in tone, at least from the tracks I've managed to get my hands on. It's heading into Oasis territory. When you listen to tracks like Penguins and Stones, he has the perfect northern drawl. The guitar's serious stuff, the drumming's the sort with lots of cymbal action... all in all, it's tougher than Venus. Personally I was on Blur's side in the Blur / Oasis shootout, but this is still good stuff.

Their album Future is Now! (2003) has several instrumental tracks on it, which remind me of Blur - there aren't many bands that do good instrumental tracks. Coward's Anthem, Logic Rock and Jazzodrome - they're all kinda funky. And Learning to Dance is just very Blur. It has Blur written all over it. If the lead singer was trying to copy Damon Albarn's vocal style, he succeeded. Although he enunciates better than Damon. Which reminds me of the, "when I feel like an arctic roll" debacle. :)

Now, clearly I like this band because they're not unlike other bands I like. But that's not to say that all their music is derivative. They've created some really original, catchy tunes. And even the stuff that is like other bands is done so well that you can't help but like it. You like it because it's like other bands, sure, but it's good enough to be liked. It's not some inferior, slightly pathetic attempt at a direct copy. It's using music as a base and jumping off into new directions. It's showing us what some of the greatest British bands might have produced if they hadn't grown up, or broken up...

Yes, songs like Licence to Love and, of course, Eighties Coming Back are very, very catchy. And songs like Gloria are eerie, and melodic. It's all good stuff.

When you see the rubbish that makes it to the top of the UK chart these days, it's good to know decent British guitar bands are doing well somewhere. Even if they are, erm, Estonian. ;)

I have been mostly... WATCHING (TV): monaco grand prix (itv); firefly (sci-fi) / READING: star wars - cloak of deception (james luceno); indiana jones and stargate comics / LISTENING: future is now (claire's birthday); venus (claire's birthday); city loves (claire's birthday)