For the Trees
"For The Trees" is laptop pop that really
wants to be a party jam. Australia's Faux Pas (aka Tim Shiel) cuts-and-pastes
big
samples with delicately rendered instrumentation. The track is under
four minutes long, but packs in a lot-- matador-calling horn
samples, something that's probably filed as "official cowbell rhythm
track," and
three-note keyboard lines. Each mini-hook and variation sounds
instantly familiar, whether it's a sample or Shiels himself. He cribs the
opening Rhodes line from "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", transposing it up to meet the same key as the song's ringing bell clips, but never abuses it-- covered by three
other instruments and
samples, it's rendered into pleasant scenery.