My friend once told me something so right, he said to be careful of thieves in the night

Although they’ve always been one of my favorite bands, it is my personal assessment that Hot Chip can do no wrong. It doesn’t hurt that their last three albums are pretty perfect examples of thoughtful pop music that can make you dance and swoon at the same time (sounds like a hipster party to me!). Of course they keep the disco freshness rolling in, but there’s an added layer of quiet sentimentality that runs parallel to the playful blip-blop electronics they are so known for. Tracks such as Alley Cats (**best of album**) and Keep Quiet point towards a Hot Chip that is comfortable enough in their style to deliver delicately sung meditations on life between the dance parties. Hot Chip seems to have endured the test of time for our most scrupulous of generations, and continue to offer up innovative pop music that simultaneously defines and expands their sound.

Best tracks: to be honest, the only song that I haven’t played over and over (pardon the pun) is Slush.

myspace

pre-order

listen v0

This is sweet, carefree balearic pop from an enigmatic duo known as jj. Released on the lovely Sincerely Yours label (leading some to incorrectly assume it was a side project for members of The Tough Alliance), it turns out jj is Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander of Sweden (big surprise). I was excited for jj since I first heard of them, mostly because I like beachy things and all their promo art had blood spattered on it. Much to my surprise their debut full length was quietly released and then quickly leaked in July; plus, with a blood spattered pot leaf as the design, it was hard to pass up.

This is a pleasant album, perfect for summer days and lazing around doing nothing for hours. However, once Pitchfork hopped on the jj train they blew it out of the water and made me not want to post this album. Although I thoroughly enjoyed this, I stand by my contention that this album is pleasant, no more no less. There is nothing wrong with pleasant, but it’s not life-changing. It’s just two artists with a quaint, deliberate vision, and that I think explains the surge in positive reception. It’s a work of unassuming beauty which caught the music world off guard with an understated sound that communicates so much with so little. Perhaps the recent popularity of bands such as jj and Honey Power faves the xx suggests an appreciation for a new aesthetic tendency in indie music, one that strips down sound for the sake of concept, content with the simple mantra, “less is more.” Fittingly, they are set to tour the US this spring with said artistic doppelgangers the xx. Be sure to grab their next LP, n° 3, out March 9th on Secretly Canadian (yes, jj are moving up in the world).

preorder n°3

buy

listen

I love Arthur Russell’s work, disco and avant-garde alike. Recorded during the years of 1985-1990, this material is culled from two albums, Corn, which was completed in 1985 but never released, and an abandoned Rough Trade album. I would describe the sound as avant pop with a serious disco sensibility. The album was released in 2004 so it’s actually kind of a new release, and even if the music itself is older it still sounds unique and contemporary. It’s the weirdest music to ever get stuck in your head, but music you’ll want to listen to over and over. The last song, “Calling All Kids,” is one of my personal favorites, if only for the refrain, “Grownups are crazy!” set to what Pitchfork describes as the noise from a digital keychain. You might dance, you might sway, or you might move in strange coordinated herky-jerky movements listening to this album. The whole thing is goofy, fresh, and kind of brilliant.

buy

listen

For the uninitiated, Owen Pallett is a brilliant violinist and singer known for his solo work (formerly under the name Final Fantasy) as well as his string arrangements for bands such as Arcade Fire and Beirut. His solo output consists of orchestral pop songs, and he often performs with just his violin, voice, and loop pedal. On this album, his first for Domino (which had a great year in 2009, featuring releases by Animal Collective, Dirty Projectors, Wild Beasts, and Arctic Monkeys), he ventures off into even more whimsical avant-pop territory. The entire record is a concept album about a farmer named Lewis in the fictional world of Spectrum. Each song is “a one-sided dialogue with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.” I’ve always been a fan of Owen Pallett for a lot of reasons, but this album is intricately composed in a way which reminds me of the elaborate routines on display at a circus. He borrows from a much wider palette of sounds, letting keyboards and electronic percussion bleed into a beautiful arrangement of piano and strings in “The Great Elsewhere”. One of my favorite tracks, “Lewis Takes Off His Shirt” begins with another giddy and playful measure on the keyboard which he completes with a steady refrain of “I’m never gonna give it to you.” Pallett is deft at combining wit and sparkle in equal measure, and they make for a fantastic escape into a fairy tale of an album.

I had the good fortune of seeing Owen Pallett perform with Mountain Goats this November (back when he was still Final Fantasy). He played a great deal of new songs from this album, and after listening to the recorded version, it’s hard to say which I prefer. Pallett’s flawless technique and emotion translate on a different level in his live performances, so I recommend you make it your New Years’ Resolution to go see him.

myspace

buy

listen

I’ve previously mentioned my love for Delphic, but upon hearing that they signed to Universal for the release of their debut album, Acolyte, I feared they would go the route of many over-hyped bands (like Passion Pit) and reduce their sound to a more comfortable exercise in dancey electronic pop, palatable to the coveted 18-34 set. Instead, they’ve refined their sound and vision, and emerged a more determined post-dance electrorock band. This strong debut combines the most energetic moments of bands like Friendly Fires with beautifully composed electronic sounds a la Hot Chip. Old favorites Counterpoint, This Momentary, and Doubt remain relatively unchanged, but new songs such as Red Lights and Remain provide a enticing look at a pulsing, anthemic Delphic that screams for life on the stage. Check them out on their tour of Europe this winter and be sure to keep an eye on Kitsune for more artists that can make you dance to practically anything.

myspace

buy

listen

This is the Reality EP by Real Estate. It’s a little more ambling than their previous efforts.

This band is made up of an American songwriter and two producers from Sweden, who together make up Bloodshy & Avant and have given us pop gems such as Toxic, by Britney Spears. It’s pronounced “Mike Snow” but spelled Miike because, as they said at Lollapalooza, “It’s too late to change it!” This is really perfect pop music, with crisp synths that know what they’re doing. Not a note sounds out of place. It’s almost too perfect, until you realize that there’s no such thing. It’s not that deep but it’s pretty addictive. Their song Animal was one of my favorites this summer. They plan on touring North America with Delorean this spring, be sure to check them out!

Favorite tracks: Animal, Black & Blue, Cult Logic

myspace

buy

listen

Also, as with all great new bands, I first heard of these guys because they got remixed by a bunch o’ people, so here are two of those remixes (more on their myspace)..

Animal (Fake Blood Remix)

Animal (Mark Ronson Remix)

here are two prior releases. they’re pretty good too. i think the song “old folks” on the 7″ is awesome, maybe you will too.

Hey everybody! It’s been a while.

This was released about a month ago on Service, an awesome Swedish label that’s home to artists such as Embassy, Studio (D. Lissvik), and Jens Lekman. I’m a fan of breezy, cool synth pop, and this sounds like walking on the beach in the wee hours. It took a while for this album to grow on me, I won’t lie. In the end I came to appreciate its smooth edged approach to danceable pop. It comes across as the soundtrack to a romantic comedy set in a biosphere on some inhospitable surface. Maybe I just think everything is better in the movies. The album seems to be striving for that standard, comprised of a neat 10 tracks almost all 3:30-4:00 in length. And for that short amount of time, it is picture perfect pop, at times even soft and reassuring. Could almost be good pump-up music for Jedi kids, but I’ll leave that up to you.

Lake Heartbeat is Janne Kask, previously the lead singer of famous 90s Swedish pop band Brainpool.

Favorite Tracks: Mystery, Pipedream, Build The Wall Up, Between Dreams

myspace

buy

listen

YAY! Annie Clark, Texan multi-instrumentalist and guitar shredder extraordinaire delivers on the promise of her genre-busting first album with Actor, a sweetly composed 21st century baroque cacophony about the performativity of postmodern Western life. An intricately orchestral rock album, it delivers at once a manifesto and eulogy for our vapid culture. Or whatever, read it how you like; I just came from an art history symposium. This is one of my top five albums so far this year (including The Big Pink, the xx, Delorean, and Bibio), and it rivals in quality its predecessor Marry Me. She is extremely talented, gently hardcore, and soon to be very influential. This is an essential 2009 release on the (as always) incredible 4AD.

Favorite tracks: The Strangers, Marrow, Actor Out Of Work, Laughing With A Mouth of Blood, Just The Same But Brand New

For proof of her guitar-shredding skillz, check out some photos I got of her performance at All Points West this summer!

myspace

buy

link

Read the rest of this entry »

When real pop hits me, it hits me real good. I’ve been on a Dan Black binge for the last few days now, and it’s not likely to let up soon. Originally gaining notoriety from his HYPNTZ mashup of the Notorious BIG track and Rihanna’s Umbrella, his sound is unapologetically pop, but the electro beats borrow equally from hip-hop influences as they do from his synthpop contemporaries. With his Myspace listing influences: “Jay-Z, Sigur Ros,” it’s clear that Black is a sign of the arrival of New Pop, a generation of artists raised simultaneously on a (post) millennial maelstrom of saccharine pop/hip-hop and wildly diversifying indie music. Most tracks on this album are too catchy to resist, whether with the hooks or lyrics. The beat matching of Symphonies will pick you up in any mood; it’s hard to listen to this in public and not bounce around like you’re the coolest thing in town. And lyrics like, “European human being/Drugs slash drinks slash psychic healing/Flesh nipping blood sipping Sitting in a circle sharing feelings/Not ill take pill roll up make bills/Inhale hold til you feel until” in the aptly titled I Love Life make this a party album through and through. My only criticism is how front-loaded it is. For a pop album, it is staggeringly full of potential hits, but they mostly comprise the first six tracks of the album; after Yours, the album winds down a mellow meta-pop direction, until Life Slash Dreams tunes you into the ecstatically beautiful finale of I Love Life.

Regardless, if you want to dance to legit pop music but not feel that hipster guilt, he is your man. Link is 320k.

myspace

buy

listen

This is what I have of the Well Known Pleasures EP by VEGA, of Neon Indian fame (below).

listen

Hopefully by now you all know that I only post really good music, music that I myself enjoy a lot and think that you will too. Ok, occasionally I post an album that’s bad but been waited on just to please whoever might want it, but my intentions are pure. So it’s hard to overstate the ecstasy that this band will bring to your ears. When this popped up in my blogfeedz this summer it was as if it had answered all my midsummer doldrums’ prayers. I had heard them prior to that with their beautiful remix of Too Young To Love by The Big Pink, so when Delorean sprang up in my reader I was inclined to give it a try. I’m glad I did. Too bad they got all p4k’d after that, but what can you do? It’s hard to describe this music because the end result is that you’ll be happy, so I’m almost asking myself why I should even describe it just fucking download it but I figure I should do a RIYL so here ya are: driving, dreamy, beach-pop, magic, dance, psychedelic, wonder, wander, whatever

Here’s to a proper full-length!

myspace

buy

listen

Delphic is one of my favorite last.fm finds so far this proverbial season (it’s always music season, people). I really like their description on their profile, which says they “aim to be the future sound of Manchester mixing euphoric electronica with anthemic songs for a post dance world,” mostly because it’s pretty accurate. The three tracks here, Counterpoint, Doubt, and This Momentary are all really addictive. They are on Kitsune Maison, along with a lot of other kickass artists. Check it out before it gets over-hyped!

myspace

buy

listen

My interpretation: New Order “took a walk down to the beach.” Enjoy. They’re apparently the latest and greatest in indie rock. I quite enjoy it, because it’s like The Smiths for people who are happy and not losers (jk meat is murder yall lolz).

They have an official EP called Summertime! out soon, but this is what’s been floating around and it’s at good quality so grab it. 8 tracks and all are incredibly sunny and catchy. My personal favorites are: I Felt Stupid, Let’s Go Surfing, Me and the Moon, Best Friend

myspace

buy (maybe…sometime)

link is in the comments

OK so this summer was the summer of synthpop on all corners. A lot of pop songstresses too - La Roux, Ladyhawke, Marina and the Diamonds, Sally Shapiro, and this one, Little Boots. Now her singles and remixes got a lot of play, but then this synthpopsongstress thing started to become a THING, so in an effort not to be too hip/unhip, when the album came out it was generally shoved aside as a synthpopsongstress opportunity strikes album. This is a mistake. It is quite excellent - the synths are beautiful, and her voice matches perfectly, both lyrically and aesthetically. It is a fun album. I wish hype wasn’t a thing that killed legitimate artists, but alas. Great songs include: New In Town, Stuck on Repeat, Remedy, Meddle, Tune Into My Heart.

myspace

buy (something)

listen

This is awesomely danceable, cheesy French electrohouse by one of the original masters, David Guetta. It’s awesome this album has gotten so commercial and it probably sticks out like a sore thumb on this site, but I’ve been so into “When Love Takes Over” ever since I first heard it two months ago. Then, driving in the car with a friend, I found myself strangely loving a new Black Eyed Peas song (?!?!) called I Gotta Feeling. Turns out it’s produced by Guetta. If this is the direction pop music is going, I’m all for it; at least it’s something danceable, and boy are the lyrics fun. I don’t know whether I should like the song “Sexy Bitch” as much as I do, but the lyric “She is nothing like a girl you’ve ever seen before, nothing you can compare to your neighborhood hoe/I’m trying find the words to describe this girl without being disrespectful [Damn, girl!]/Damn You’s a sexy bitch, a sexy bitch…” well, I wonder if it’s kind of brilliant.

This album is fun, in part because it reminds me of summer, as I saw him at Electric Zoo at the tail end of one of my craziest summers ever. You will probably enjoy When Love Takes Over, Gettin’ Over, Sexy Bitch, I Gotta Feeling, I Want To Go Crazy. just don’t think too hard :)

myspace

buy

listen

This is the debut album by experimental sonic wunderkind Mica Levi, age 21. Hailing from England, where she studies at Guildhall School of Music, and counting musical deviant Harry Partch as an influence, Mica and her band of drummer + keyboardist create short, quirky pop songs that could just as easily have come out of a vacuum cleaner as a guitar. With such a boundless imagination and homemade instruments to match, it’s hard to believe Micachu was snubbed by the Mercury Music Prize mofos this year. Lotta spunk to make sounds like these. This is what I call junkyard pop, or ramshackle rock - where the instruments are as custom as the music they create. And the music makes no excuses for its exuberantly brash and occasionally atonal delivery, but it doesn’t need to. If you don’t listen fast enough, it’s gone, leaving you wanting more. And with an album that’s barely 30 minutes long, it’s hard to think you wouldn’t want to give it one more go. That’s how it went for me. Except after that “one more go”…

it was fifty.

Micachu and her Shapes are on tour throughout the US now, so check them out! They’re cute as fuck.

micaspace

buy

listen

“Lips” video:

gently drifting on the ocean, it’s beautiful and you’d like to take a dip, but then there are storms & whales & and other disasters coming from indeterminate points, and even though you’d like to know the origins, they’re irrelevant because the damage is already done, your boat’s been eaten by the sea, and as you wade out there alone, stranded, and desperate, you realize that - although shit’s terrible and things look grim - in the end, everything will be alright.

myspace

download

Hunting tigers in your backyard, with re-appropriated modern junk as your garb and weaponry, littered with glimpses into crazy alternate universes where these tigers might actually exist. Otherwise, you are only a madman prowling through the freshly-cut lawns of idyllic suburbia, bringing down the values of all your neighborhood’s houses. FUCKER

[their]space

lend me yr ears

lend them yr $$$