Animal Planet - Special Care

  by Emma Haigh

published: 9 / 2 / 2005

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Review

They had me from the first sugar sweet doo-wop. This three track single looks like a kiddie record, but from the first splaying guitar riff and shiny swaggering vocal in ‘Special Care’ you know that this junkie-fuelled doo-wop band is more Phil Spector than jungle gym. The jumping drumrolls and galvanising synth of ‘This Dog,’ rolls out Charleston-inflected howls in the most blisteringly energetic and (weirdly) highly-sexed two minutes and twenty-six seconds that will ever have you dancing naked on the coffee-table in your livingroom. In almost direct contrast to that, the Bacharach breezing bossanova of guitar, giggling story-book lyrics and Beachy harmonies was recorded off the floor on an improvised set, and is possibly the best track of the lot. I’m not even sure it was supposed to make in on the album, but I’m glad it did. Animal Planet flies across the board on the back of wooden horse stolen from The Magic Roundabout pegging 40's swing, 60's beach music and 70's bluesy gravelled lounge-rock. All I can really say is: When are they playing London?

Track Listing:-

1 Special Care
2 This Dog
3 Pamela Anne