Sharkboy

The Valentine Singles (Nude)
by Joshua Brown

Like a large jewelry box with enticing exterior, The Valentine Singles contains four 45s. The first is represented by a diamond fading into blue, the second a five-pointed star into green, the third a circle into brownish orange, and the fourth a heart shape into red. The opener, “big black juguar,” begins like Mazzy Starr and fills itself with low-end volume to give a boost to its striking chorus. The flipside of “jaguar,” “diamonds are forever,” smacks of a James Bond girl in her drug days, if they ever ended. The next four songs follow a similar lounging, woozy from umbrella topped drinks but not tipsy enough to falter from perfect elegance feel. The closing song, “je t’aime,” is a graceful and exotic dance performed nude atop a tinted glass floor of white noise.