Music Review: Various Artists, Popcorn Girls

By Melissa Bratcher

The songs on Croydon Municipal’s Popcorn Girls defy simple description. They range from R&B burners, to country tinged numbers, to Shangri-La’s-like teen tragedies. Their commonality? In the 1970s Belgian club scene, they were guaranteed floor fillers. There was a certain type of dance endemic of the time, a “slow swing” with a rather specific tempo. As a result, Popcorn Girls is a moody, stone-cold, slow groove from beginning to end.

There are some real treasures here. The opening track, “Now I Lay Me Down To Weep” from Simone Dina, has kinship to Wanda Jackson’s “Funnel Of Love,” with a similar sultry feel and minor key vibe. The back up singers swoon in tight harmony, and Dina’s voice is a special mix of almost abrasive and truly lovely. Tuesday Weld’s lone single is collected on Popcorn Girls. “Are You The Boy” is a fun stomp of a song with a great chorus and bridge. Weld’s voice is clear but unremarkable, but still, it’s Tuesday Weld. Ann Williams’s “Ocean Of Tears” begins with a massive, open-throated yawp and continues on in a weird mashup of twang and bossa nova with a drop of exotica thrown in for good measure. It’s a dark and fantastic and odd song and Williams sounds a bit like later period Marianne Faithfull.

“Walk On The Wild Side” from Marilyn Brown is tango dramatic with strings. It’s jazzy and swinging and the way she sings “wiiiiiillllddd side” brings to mind Mag Wildwood from Wildwood, Arkansas (“that’s hill country”) (seriously, it could be on the Breakfast At Tiffany’s soundtrack, if it weren’t all Henry Mancini). “Hey Lonely One” from Baby Washington is pure, straight-up soul with a clever piano rhythm and Baby Washington’s gorgeous, emotive voice.

=Having only heard “Mashed Potato Time,” I was pleasantly surprised by Dee Dee Sharp’s wonderfully relaxed vocal in “The Night,” the way she effortlessly hits the high notes. It’s a remarkably elegant song, and her performance is nuanced and mature. Evie Sands does “The Roll” more in the vein of Dee Dee Sharp’s output, a song yearning to teach you to dance, and a roll call of cities. Yet her incredible voice is wasted on something so slight.

Carole Bennett’s “Haunted Lover” is a strange little song, a spooky, Addams Family sort of thing, replete with odd whistles and insistent piano. “Love Charms,” from Diane Maxwell, is swinging and exotic with bubbly bongos and flute accompaniment. It’s jazzy and sparse, and quite good. “She’ll Be Gone,” from Betty O’Brien, is a sassy revelation. She’s fiery and powerful, and her voice is great, even down to her spoken bits over a “Peter Gunn” sort of beat.

There’s a definite vibe to Popcorn Girls. It’s sometimes a bit tragic, a bit slow, and a bit seductive at the same time. It makes perfect sense that these songs filled dance floors; they’re little prizes. Each time I hear them, I’m amazed that I’ve never heard them before. Popcorn Girls boasts illuminating liner notes from St. Etienne’s Bob Stanley as well as some of the best pop gems you’ll hear collected in one smart package, perfect for slowly twisting the night away.

Popcorn Girls was released by Cherry Red Records on August 25, 2014.