This post originally appeared on the now-defunct Turntablr, Vintage Voltage’s spirit animal
Click here to listen to “The Hurt,” by Any Trouble
Every now and then a song appears that totally blindsides you: you don’t know how you could have missed it, don’t know where it was hiding, don’t know how you lived without it. “The Hurt” is one of those songs.
It appeared out of the blue one day on my Fratellis station on Pandora, and then promptly danced out of my life. I thumbs-uped it, but when I tried to find it later, I couldn’t remember the name or the artist. For two weeks, I nearly went crazy trying to track the song down. When it finally popped back up on Pandora, I went to iTunes and downloaded it instantly—such is my tale of love lost and found in the age of digital music.
I’ve never heard anyone else talk about Any Trouble. I don’t really know any of their other songs, but I don’t think I need to. Apparently they’re British, but their influences are unmistakably American. What is it about Great Britain that allows the British to play our music better than we do?
“The Hurt” is just too perfect—it sinks its teeth in from the opening drum hits and then doesn’t let up until the 2:55 mark. The band sounds like Dire Straits on amphetamines, mixed with a pinch of Elvis Costello fetishism. Guitars twang, the bass boogies, and the breakdown—sweet Lord, the breakdown—is probably the best 20 seconds of the song (2:23-2:43).
You shouldn’t have Any Trouble liking it.
Vintage Voltage 