Micachu: "Golden Phone"

So right off the bat I want to make it clear that I agree completely with Calum in his very positive assessment of Micachu’s Jewellery. What he touches on too briefly, however, is “Golden Phone,” a song that deserves more of a spotlight. 2009 is shaping up to be an awfully good year for pop songs, and I have little doubt that “Golden Phone” is going to be toward the top of the heap come December. Relatively stripped down and breezy compared to the rest of the album, the track is still two and a half minutes of buzzing synthesizers, chopped backing vocals, flurries of hand-claps, and off-kilter percussion. Levi’s voice here is more accessible and sweet than elsewhere, though with that clear British accent to the chorus:

Crime’s everywhere, yeah, but I don’t want that
Love’s all around, yeah, but I don’t want that
Gold’s in my hair, yeah, but I don’t want that
Bring me that nonsense sound and I’ll be back

Her phrasing there, the pauses in “don’t/want/that,” stick as much as the pinging keyboard, the percussive exuberance, or the pitch-perfect production. I don’t think it matters much what the song is “about” (your guess is as good as mine), but what’s great is that Levi sells this song as much on her skill as a vocalist (apparent throughout the album) as on an absolute wealth of charm: not moxie, not childlike glee, not outré bona fides, but honest to god Charm. There are plenty of points on the album where I think she’s consciously playing against this strength (often to excellent ends), but to hear her let go and just lay back a bit into this one is fantastic.