My Top 1000 Songs #851: Kite

[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.]

I don't think Nick Heyward ever got much attention here in the States. If he's known at all, it's probably as the frontman of short-lived new wave act Haircut One Hundred, whose "Love Plus One" seems to be on the shortlist of tunes that movies & tv shoes turn to when they want to convey a quick "hey, this is taking place in the eighties!" But I really enjoy his solo albums (particularly once he left his oh-so-80s new wave affectations aside). 

I don't remember how I first heard "Kite," from 1993's From Monday To Sunday, but it's long been one of those tracks I find indescribably haunting. It's gorgeous and melodic, not far afield from early Britpop, but with a classical, almost proggy vibe that reminds me of early Genesis guitarist Anthony Phillips' solo work. Pretty arcane reference, I know, but there's just something here.

Live on Conan 1994:

US indie act Ivy (featuring Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger) did a nice cover: