New Shawn Hewitt & The National Strike - "One on One"

Download: Shawn Hewitt & The National Strike -"One On One"

Splitting the difference between Stevie Wonder's warm, analog soul and Radiohead's glacial, post-millennium paranoia may seem like an impossible challenge, but based on tracks from their upcoming album, Spare Hearts, Shawn Hewitt & The National Strike are more than up to it. The underlying factor in combining the two is to release that both hit their artistic peak by releasing forward-thinking concept albums, and that, when they want to be, Radiohead can be warm and humane in surprising ways (particularly on their more orchestral numbers).

Whether or not Spare Hearts is such an album is one thing, but if "One On One", the first intentionally leaked track from Spare Hearts, is any indication, the record should be filled with catchy, adventurous songs. With a drumbeat that comes from outta Nowhere, "One by One" comes across as an exact combination of Radiohead's jittery electronic angst and Stevie Wonder's piano-based soul ballads. That's an equation you certainly can't beat that, regardless of if the song is in the key of life.

Listen to "One By One" at the top of the post. Spare Hearts is out on September 30th via EMI Canada.

Check out their performance on MPR few years back.

Shawn Hewitt & The National Strike MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)