Live Review: LISTEN: Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens 'Where Were You?'

ROSIE THOMAS and SUFJAN STEVENS, indie forces to be reckoned with in their own right, have joined forces for a split 7” due out April 21, titled Hit & Run, Vol. 1. The results of this collaboration look set to delight the senses and get those of us in the Southern hemisphere through the cold months, if the first taste of it, 'Where Were You?', is anything to go by.

Stevens, in a vivid re-imagining of Thomas's own 'Where Was I?', has recorded and mixed the original, resulting in a bubble of catchy melodies, vocal samples on repeat, luscious harmonies, and layered electro beats.

The song starts off as a sparsely textured electro ballad, and slowly builds to a wall of synths and auto-tuned vocals, with harmonies from Stevens. The lush layers are reminiscent of The Polyphonic Spree, with uplifting melodic loops and a reverb drenched throughout. The warm sounds of Thomas's sweet voice mesh beautifully with Stevens’s familiar dulcet tones, and the combination is the aural equivalent of a group hug.

Words by Rebecca McCann

LISTEN TO MORE NEW MUSIC HERE

LISTEN TO SUFJAN STEVENS ON RDIO HERE