Spector have enjoyed critical acclaim ever since being sprung to fame with their BBC Sound of 2012 nomination.
They're now busy readying their second album, the follow-up to Enjoy It While It Lasts, with the first taste of it - All The Sad Young Men - showcasing a new, widescreen sound and a video that somehow made Southend-on-Sea look like Las Vegas.
We caught up with frontman Fred Macpherson, ahead of the unveiling of the third track from the record, Kyoto Garden, to discover his Ultimate Playlist, and the stories behind the choices: get ready for a nineties dance classic, two legendary eighties power ballads and much, much more.
For the latest info on the band, head to spector.co.uk
Listen to the whole playlist on Spotify
Favourite sad song
"Sinatra’s Capitol years gave us some of the loneliest songs ever recorded. If you’ve never heard much more than My Way and New York, New York imagine this era as a 1950’s Drake, forever at the bar alone thinking about the girls that aren’t texting back long before phones were invented. The last line is also one of my favourite lyrics of all time… 'Excuse me while I disappear'."
Favourite movie soundtrack song
"Des’ree - I'm Kissing You (from Romeo and Juliet). I was gonna choose Goblin’s Main Theme from Suspiria and then I checked my iTunes most played and realised it was time to be honest with myself. I well up just thinking about this song and film. Luhrmann, Dicaprio and Des’ree is an unstoppable combination."
Favourite song from your childhood
"My mum and dad used to only have a couple of cassette tapes in our car, so there was a pretty weird and limited selection of music which we’d listen to on the way to school every day. One was Michael Nyman’s soundtrack to the Draughtsman’s Contract and the other was this 80s synth pop compilation called Club For Heroes. Amongst other things Ultravox’s Vienna was on there, which I love to this day."
Favourite song that no-one else has heard of
"The Magic Gang – Alright. This is a new band who opened for us at a show the other night. Their manager sent me all their demos and I’ve been listening solidly since then. They sound a bit like Weezer but the lead singer reminds me of Teen Idol from Grease. Alright’s the b-side to their new single and it feels like an instant classic."
Favourite club anthem
"Haddaway - What Is Love. This song’s the gift that keeps on giving. I loved the original and then when Lil' Wayne and Eminem sampled it for No Love I got back into it. Then I saw the SNL sketch with Jim Carrey from ’96 (only 20 years too late) which is now the blueprint for every night out I ever have."
Favourite song to hear at a wedding
"I went to three weddings in three weekends last year, culminating in my cousin’s. I sang the first dance (Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place) but the last song of the night was Purple Rain. Everyone held hands and stood in a big circle like a euphoric hokey cokey. You need moments like those to remember love is real."
Favourite one-hit wonder
"The vibes in the run up to the ’97 election were electric even for a nine-year-old. This tune perfectly summed up the feeling at the time and is basically my biggest memory of that year until Diana died and Candle in the Wind took the crown."
Favourite lyric from a song
"Current 93 - Black Ships Ate The Sky. “If I was unborn / I would have nothing to be grateful for / I would have never seen love / I would have never held cats / I would never have buried my friends / And prayed for their souls”
"I’ve been asked this question a few times and this is always my answer. I wish more people knew Current 93’s music. David Tibet’s one of Britain’s most underrated lyricists - a rare and esoteric talent."
Favourite current song
"Big Sean - Blessings feat. Drake and Kanye West. A few times a year my friends throw this party called Drake Night. The music policy is pretty simple: All Drake, all night. So any track by him or anything he features on. Five or six hundred people turned up to the last one and Blessings was one of the surprise hits of the night. Both the beat and Big Sean’s flow stutter all over the place and Drizzy reliably comes through with another effortless hook. WAAAAAAY UP I FEEL BLESSED!"
Favourite song from your own music
"There’s a song on our new album called Kyoto Garden which I originally wrote for someone else and then we decided to keep because it had something that none of our others do. It takes me to a different place when we play it. It has a certain lightness of touch that I think we’re only just learning how to master."
(Image: Rex)
