Satellites – 02 (2013)

Like so many other albums these days, I found this in Rough Trade's albums of the month section. I remember going to the store and listening to the album with headphones. It became clear fairly quickly that I really want to buy this album. After that I realised that this album was also available on a website dedicated solely for this album. The CD I bought is in covers made of soft plastic, which makes the physical album different from any other CD I've ever owned. It had a smell that was familiar to me from He-Man figurines I used to own as a child. That chemical plastic smell now connects to two different things in my mind. It came with a bonus disc, which, for quite some time, I actually thought was the actual album. This bonus CD contains songs from the Satellites 01 album, but the production is slightly different.


Satellites sounds like a band, but in reality, Satellites is just one man by the name of John Garrison. He lives in Copenhagen, but is originally from UK. His voice is very similar to that of Matt Berlinger of The National. Even some of the songs kind of sound like The National, but there's a certain kind of lightness to the songs not found in The National songs. Satellites combines quite traditional indie rock and indie pop sounds with some subtle electronic influences. Garrison has a fantastic skill with his vocals. Despite of the seemingly laconic expression, his vocals have got amazing way of expressing emotions. Songs like That Is All That There Is and Wasteland really bring the shivers to my spine in the best possible way. Garrison's voice is at it's best in songs where all the other instruments have been toned down and you can really hear all the tones in his voice properly. That's why I think it's a bit of a shame that this album has bigger sounds than the bonus disc that came with it.

I actually have to admit that I like the bonus disc even more than the actual album. The song In a City from his first album is featured with a slightly different production. This great song is about living in a city where he doesn't know the language, but where everyone else knows his language and how that makes him paranoid sometimes. I really love that observation. The bonus CD also has an amazing version of Kraftwerk's Model from The Man Machine album.

I saw Satellites live in a small club in Marylebone a few years ago. This gig was one of the most intimate and memorable gigs of my life. Garrison was playing with a band consisting of bass, guitar, drums and a cello. He himself was playing either guitar or some electronic samplers while singing. The Cello really made the intimate gig a great experience. In the last couple of songs, as in a flashmob, a crowd of people from the audience joined the band on stage to sing as a choir. The venue was really small and the combination of the cello and a choir really made the gig amazing. I really hope that I will get another chance to see this man perform live again and I warmly recommend you go and see him if you have the chance.

If I would have to choose one song from the album that is my favourite, it would have to be the song Wasteland. It even has a nice music video that uses the pattern of the album cover as a visual influence.

Apparently Satellites has made two albums since this one. I haven't heard them yet, but I'm really excited to try and find them. They are not on Spotify, but you can find this one and the first one there. I really suggest you take a listen to the first album as well, because it has some amazing songs on it.

Album on Spotify.