The Courettes Bare Their Souls On New Album

A rock ’n roll sensation from the word go, Danish-Brazilian duo The Courettes are back with their fourth, and best, album to date, The Soul Of… The Fabulous Courettes, that is out today via Damaged Goods Records. This time, they’re bigger, wider and deeper than ever before as they add more to the blistering ramalama that’s seen them cause pandemonium across the venues, festivals and airwaves of the UK, Europe, USA and Japan. Hitting the sweet spot that straddles garage rock, girl groups, doo-wop harmonies, heartache and all points in between, The Courettes build on the momentum of predecessor, Back In Mono, with a collection of songs that opens up their sonicscope while confronting dark, emotional matter. 

“We always try to put ourselves into a zone of discomfort, which I think is where exciting things happen rather than just doing the same thing over again. I mean, I know some bands can do that but we don’t see ourselves making the same album for the next 20 years. We thought ‘Back In Mono’ was our best album until this one! We wanted to show our love of the Spector Wall Of Sound and Motown. It was a clear mission and we’ve absolutely nailed it.” (singer & guitarist Flavia Couri)

She’s not wrong. Having evolved with each album release, The Soul Of… The Fabulous Courettes draws inspiration from many of the duo’s numerous idols that have only previously been hinted at. From the opening beats and stabbing fuzz honks of You Woo Me to the closing emotional tugs of For Your Love via Shake’s fuzzed-up urgency and California’s celebratory warmth, The Courettes have broadened their sound with an increased musical instrumentation and overall sophistication that’s evident in both their sound and songwriting. And crucially, they’ve achieved this without sacrificing any of the rock ’n roll grit that’s been scraped from Flavia’s guitar strings and Martin’s battered and pummelled drums. And aiding them in their quest for sonic perfection are a few guest musicians, back-room wizards and even a few direct connections to the source of all that The Courettes hold dear.

“We had La La Brooks of The Crystals singing on ‘California’ and ‘Run Run Runaway’, which for us was totally a dream come true! I mean, the voice of ‘Da Doo Ron Ron’, which is for us is one of the best-produced songs in the entire universe and this is something that we’re really proud of. We asked Darian Sahanaja, who worked on the production of Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile’, to mix the vocals on ‘California’ and ‘Run Run Runaway’, which he did in a Beach Boys style and we really dig it. And we also worked with Richard Gottehrer, who for us is like a songwriter god! He worked at the Brill Building and co-wrote ‘I Want Candy’. A mutual friend played him ‘Keep Dancing’ and he left a message on my phone saying, ‘I love your track and I really dig the lyrics’ and he mixed ‘Keep Dancing’ and ‘Boom Boom Boom‘.” (Flavia Couri)

The Soul Of… The Fabulous Courettes is an album aimed as much for what’s below the neck as above it, for this is an album that dances through the darkness to celebrate the joy that is living.