OK so here I've decided to write few words about British male/female music duo I've discovered couple of months ago - Grandadbob: Dave Johnson and Vanessa Robinson. Earlier, when I thought about male/female cooperation in music, the only group that came to my mind was Moloko; now I can add another pair to my favorites.
They have described their style on Myspace.com as a brief mixture of pop and electronica. During their 8 year career, they've released two albums - "Waltzes For Weirdoes" (2003) and here's the place for some details and I arranged the list of some of the tracks in order of my preferences:

• "Mmmnn" - definitely my favorite track. What caught my attention first were subtle and hypnotizing vocals. On the other hand, simple tunes mixed together created an explosive melody which combined with the rhythm and vocals resulted in something really inventive and one of its kind.

• "This Is It" - energetic and likable, I immediately associate it with cleaning my room. Guess what! It really makes me wanna shake my body while vacuuming the carpet.

• "Just Show Me" - I would even venture to say that this song has something from a ballad... and with these vocals - it's angel music - just as she sings.

• "Maybe" - this is the music I wanna listen after a long and tiring day; relaxing and calm with beautiful sounds of cello. Great piece for an after-party. The album is full of such tracks - "City Approach", "Open Mouthed" or "3am Gherkin".
  

• "Monster" - first impression... don't know why but I linked this track to Kylie's newest album 'X' (by the way, happy B-day Kylie!) and after a while realized that hey! it was 2003 - it's impossible!

• "Kenny" - what comes to my mind after listening to this piece? OMG, wish it wasn't there!

But that's not the end. Grandadbob released second album in Summer 2006 - "Garden of Happiness". The biggest change I've noticed is the exposure of male voice in some of the songs and I definitely approve this novelty. The second album carries some of the features of the first one but it's mainly different. I would say it's more pop than electronic, the duo introduced some folk into their music; therefore, we can hear strings, flutes, trumpets sometimes even choirs. Let me again present the list of my favorites:

• "Come With Me" - I love this compilation of voices and positive message of the song - it's like make love and listen to the music. Whenever I feel down, I play it and all problems fade away to almost nothing. My no.1 - no doubt about it.

• "Pictures" - that's the first single. At first I was irritated by the entry - basically consisting of 4 tones but then the chorus totally enchanted me. Check out the clip for this song - at the bottom of the post.

• "English Summer" - I'm partial to guitar sounds, maybe it's because I used to play one myself. It just came to my mind, Dave's voice sounds similar to Rod Stewart's in this song.

• "Soul In Your Salad" - another positive message. There are moments when it sounds like gospel but after all it's a good piece.

• "Hide Me" - I need to mention this song, it's soulful, smooth and there's a moment when it's definitely oriental. Just listen to these strings, unbelievable!

In short, despite the fact that materials were created by the same duo, there are still more differences than similarities between the albums. Grandadbob is evolving, it seems to me that "Waltzes For Weirdos" was an experimental album, it's full of innovations and baffling ideas but then, when I realize that "Garden of Happiness" has been released three years after the debut, I begin to think that three years is enough time to create something that satisfies one's musical desires. The second album is definitely more invariable than the first one, all songs are kept in one tone and send one positive message and I really feel like in a garden of happiness.

And here's the videoclip, enjoy!