~Salad Boys - Metalmania
This group of Kiwis slipped under the door of the 015, with a breezy set of carefully constructed guitar pop. With a pop punk drive and post punk vibe, Salad Boys fits comfortably among the canon of New Zealand indie rock. Equal parts The Skeptics and The Chills. Some of the more acoustic songs on here have lush sound that is so often lost on modern acoustic Pop songs, where the strumming is not wittled down like a brittle pencil, but rather built up with layering and chorus pedals. Metalmania is a delightful dream and deserves many more spins.
~Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion
Coming off the heals of a Broadway stint, as well as the release of one of the most infectious pop songs ever written, Carly Rae Jepsen was poised to take the easy way out. Put Max Martin in a room, pen a few lyrics involving emojis and dunzo. Call Me Maybe part 2, making it rain. Instead the Canadian Pop star, went a different route. Channeling 80s new wave and disco, as well as early 90s house, Emotion is the sort of record you might expect from Kyli Minogue or even Robyn, at times. Its as a progressive as it is accessible and keenly focused on production and content. Nearly every song on the album can worm its way into your head, and yet it remains estranged from top 40 list. One could make the argument that I Really Like You is the sequel to Call Me Maybe, and maybe it is, but there are so many other tracks on this album that prove that Jepsen has transcended her breakthrough hit. I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance, Warm Blood, and All That are perfect examples, of a pop artist blending her influences into deeply moving, emotional dance songs. If you had originally written this one off, don't. I urge everyone to return to a record that critics will no doubt point to in 10yrs time.
~Tamaryn - Cranekiss
Cloaked in a dark, gothic sexuality, Tamaryn's Cranekiss is the sort of record Robert Smith would have loved to contribute to in the late 80s. Shed is the psychedelic wooziness that penned Tamaryn into the already overcrowded Dream Pop field. Instead she take the full step into pop-hood, with a massive record bursting with glittering synths, jagged guitars lines, and Linn Drum like percussion. With a simpleton's perception one might say, Tamaryn moved from Lush like sound to something in the realm of Siouxsie Sioux, though that comparison falls short of what is actually constructed here. The sounds our lavish and grandiose, yet still dark and yearning. Tamaryn lives more in a world of Kate Bush the way she transforms a croon to whisper, flexing her range in each track. Returning to the production, this record was made in partnership with Shuan Durkan, guitar mastermind behind Weekend, who released one of the best records of 2013, Jinx. Often we hear albums of this nature are purely derivative, aping outdated sounds of the past. Though with one spin of Cranekiss it is obvious that these songs are far more than a blast from the past, but rather a string of modern Pop songs, cast in a Goth-like house.
~Tory Lanez - Say It
Tory Lanez is a Canadian rapper/singer who optimizes what it is to be a Hip-Hop artist in 2015. Created by Kanye and perfected by Drake, singing and rapping on the same track is no longer a novel thing, but simply the norm. The staggering presence of Fetty Wap's Trap Queen to the hurtling rise of Ty Dolla $ign, Pop music is currently populated by minimalist R&B. What's different about today's R&B comes in the vocal delivery, often molasses intoned croons are coupled with staccato, ratatating; where the syllables bunch together and drop, like a mouth full of pebbles. Tory Lanez does nothing to disrupt or reinvent the current Pop-mosphere, but he has tapped into its best parts, producing a truly excellent club banging slow jam. Say it opens with the slow slink of an unwaveringly catchy keyboard line, before the meat of the song, a chorus of backup singers chime in with chill inducing, "Ooo Yeah.." What would otherewise be a fairly basic track is doubled down in the hook department, through the use of the backup singers and Lanez's breathy delivery. Not to be missed, this summer song stays warm through the winter.
Amazingly choreographed and super sexy new clip for Tinashe's unforgettable new single. The somehow still under-head/underplayed Tinashe finally has a video for one of the best songs of the year. All of her release are great (I'm super siked for Joyride)! If you're a fan of Pop music, but haven't invested much time with Tinashe, then do yourself a favor RN!!! Check the vid here, ft Chris Brown and ton of acrobatic dancing.
Deerhunter continue to breathe life into a somewhat stagnant pool of music being produced this year. 2015 has been chalked full of impressive releases and yet, sadly, there continues to being a plethora of utter schlock rattling around the net. Well, the schlock stops here. Deerhunter a band that progressively continues to progress and will probably prove to be a group of truly propulsive pop prospectors, drop this song, a hot new single that will force you to keep pressing play. Breaker is the amalgam of all things Deerhunter; with a hook and tonality that somehow seems to transcend all of their past work at the same time. It is a song that is equal parts Orange Juice and Fleetwood Mac, with extra touches of Dream Pop and modern Indie guitar music. Melting 6 strings peel away, beneath a street walkin bass. The hook erupts with a crescendo of duelling harmonies that could make Grizzly Bear jealous. There's also a dreamy Pumkins'esque bridge that allows the song to drift slightly, if only for a moment, before being sucked back into place by that unforgivably kept bass. The frontier may be fading, but the boys of DH are still shining bright. Check it:
#Uused2! This is that new summer winedown. That top down, cruise thump. That SubDub. That Baarrringgg. The JuiceGen cooldown 4 afternoon heat. #AugAlmostOva. #OVO #DrizzyAboveAllElse #NewRingTone #CueTheAirHorn This is the new Drake track that slips into your brain and never slips out. Coulda put it on the last album, coulda put it on the new one. Nah its out now. when that Hotline Bling.
Thru the shadowy thicket of gloomy, guitar slangers, we find the decrepit remains ancient mansions once home to Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Chameleons, Dead Can Dance, and other murk lurkers. Wax Idols with its equally cryptic name, follows in the dusty footsteps of gothic heavyweights, crankin the flange and chanting through the wind. Like the sounds of a death swamp, where one has lost their way, Lonely You is a journey into scarce complexity. Like infectious madness churned through a meat grinder into a terrific pop tune, if you like it bleak and refinded you will dig this song. Wax on, not off:
The quintessential combination of the two words Dream and Pop reach a pinnacle, with this perfect tune. Cranekiss is another breezy, yet driven single, from ona-roll Gaze Queen, Tamaryn. Pitch bent guitars, flangey bass, the sparkling hint of an icy synthesizer; they're all carefully laid to bed beneath Tamaryn's delicately-drugged-out croons. Like Pale Saints meets Ulrich Schnauss, but better. I seriously just played this one 4 times over. You'll be craning not to miss!
Neon Indian is an artist who you'd expect to follow in a similarly sloppy path as say, Twin Shadow. Both one-man-bands evolved around the same time, with a similar propensity for dabbling in warped 80s-leaning Pop. Shadow quickly shed his lower fidelities and reached for a more stratospheric sound, leaving some to wonder where exactly there was a golden light(at the end of tunnel?)... I really enjoy Twin Shadow's Yeezy-esque self indulging, you have to appreciate someone who truly appreciates themselves. Its just that his tunes have perpetually landed in the crapper, following his excellent debut. Neon Indian has a different story. He too has a yearning deep inside his soul, to soar above his early dressage, and thankfully he has done so in a most refreshing and bodacious way. From Should Have Taken Acid with You, to Future Sick, to Annie, his latest and sunniest single to date. Annie is a chirpy, upstroke-laden dance track, that sheds the Helsinki-heaviness of Era Extrana and introduces a new (un-deadbeat) summery sound. This single is almost a return to form, with a touch of Orange Juice, or Flock of Seagulls to it. If you're totally bummed that Summer is getting washed away in a whole week of rain, you need to totallly press play on this guy. Gang, this is soooo June 2015. Get into it:
The Cure are gearing up for a new album and I couldn't be more elated! To prep us for their future Long Player, good ol Bobby Smith has dropped a cover of The Twilight Sad's There's A Girl In A Corner (not to be confused with any Cure song with Girl in the title..) Smith infuses the song with a blend of midi synths and his unmistakeable warble. Its classic Cure, or maybe its classic Twilight Sad... either way its an instant Friday-Goth-classic, with a bit of a modern twist ;) Happy Memorial Day WEEKEND!!!
Canadian Nouveau Romantics, Actors unsheathe a new clip for their latest Darkwave single, Let It Grow. An intimate portrait of skin, with touches of S&M eroticism, this video is a series of intriguing images. Good looking young folk decide to dabble in whips, knives, leather and their own teeth, As we get up-close and personal with their bright white faces, and backs, and necks...lots of necks. Have a gander at this one, but careful! It verges of NSFW!!!! ..Dope song too..
Been waitin for some new Puro for a min now and finally they dunk all of our skulls into a swirly of a tune. Like drizzling marmalade onto a lit candle this one starts off all oozey and winds up all sizzly. Caked in flange and sparkling with synthetic rhythms, Lake Come is an unquestionably hazeified dream. For those who like a little fog with their Fruit Loops, this Pop gem will totally werk:
Chromatics continue to issue forth impressive singles from their upcoming LP, with this, their latest tune, In Films. Taking what seems like a page from M83, Johnny Jewel has shifted the atmospheric tonality, from one of deep brooding to an airy, more dreamlike space. The astounding level of production and pop aesthetics remains, unquestionably; there is simply a newer dimension to the Chromatics sound. Pop this one in your minidisc player and get ready for a reeeeeal treat! "Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoooOOoo, hoo!"
Tinashe is still reppin her 2014, awesome, LP Aquarius, even as she has just released a whole new set of songs on her latest EP. All Hands On Deck is a minimal tRap + B sortof tune, with a slinking synth lead underlaid with icy sleaze. Probably one of my favorite tunes from 014, AHOD surfaced in a post-Fancy, pre-BBHMM world, fitting nicely into the current Popisphere. This track deserves more play. Oh yeah, also this video is insane. Redefining risque storage container steppin. Feel it:
Sleaze-Poppies Soko and Ariel Pink team-up for a very Arielied out ballad to true lugh-ve. Sounding a little bit like a creepier version of Love Is The Drug, Lovetrap explores the darker side of New Wave and Glam. Sometimes you can get totally wrapped up when you're in a relationship, man. Sometimes you're with some babe who just can't let you breathe man, and like all you really wanna do is go down to the arcade. Or drink a beer. Or smoke a cig in bed. You know? Anyway, Soko knows. She totally gets it. That's what this whole things really about:
This is a new Grimes song. Apparently its not on her new album. Poss because its too poppy? Its hard to say why she would leave this tune off a new LP, unless all her other tracks are way doper, but this is a serious club banger. Jittery stabs and the unmistakable wisp of Grimes's voice are present, as is the grimey synth used for Better Off Alone. This is a throbbing, club-next-door sort of track, where you feel like you're just missing the melody or something, but then you listen and you're like oh yeah there it is, right under my nose! Also this is fantastic vid, which we should all expect from Grimes these days. Dancing in weird, hidef environments its totally her jam. And it totally werks. Get it done:
New dream ballad from TX Soul-groover Leon Bridges, simmers like the heat of Louisiana swamp. Do we need to keep referencing Sam Cooke with this dude? Probably, I mean, Bridges just completely nails that super smooth, Rockin' Back Inside My Heart meets You Send Me vibe we're all craving this slushy March. So kick back and let these warm chords wrap you up like a big bearskin rug. Lisa Sawyer:
Also here's his new vidoe for the single, Coming Home:
bUZZy FuTURe PoPpeD new jam from electro god, A.G. Cook, features label mate Hannah Diamond. Together, they spin a dizzy flutter of stabs, claps, bleeps, and of course bloops. Its like listening 90s House on wayyyy too much adderall and for that reason it totally rules. TGIF!
Here's a strummy Dreampop jam from Le Volume Courbe. The London group enlists Kevin Shields (again) to do some weirdo percussion or somethin, on this sleepy head-bobber. Wobbly and warm, this tune reminds me of Broadcast, Marianne Faithful, and some Moose thrown in for good luck! Have a lis:
wEv
Soapsud Psychedelic alien, Sonny Smith, brings his gang (The Sunsets) to an Ashram, to get sorta high and tell stories. Lost in the hazy pinwheel of 60s Folk/Rock n' Roll, Smith has long been one to unwind totally weird tales about space, babes, bad vibes, and old flames. For his latest LP, Talent Night at the Ashram, Smith keeps it real once again. A whole new batch of jangling, LeaveItToBeaver On Acid, sorta jams are slipped through the mail slot of life and spread about the Internet. Cheap Extensions is a blissful, Beach Boys-bside-ish ode to some bird with a totally-out-of-this-world Do. Also there's a fantastic animated video featuring Sonny, the dame in question, and a whole litany of monsters, bosses, bears, and far-out creatures. have a looksie:
Soundtrack to a speedway, Nic Hessler's rollickin new single really spunks things up! Nic Hessler is the poppiest artist Captured Tracks has signed since Wild Nothing, yet Pop is not their only commonality. Both groups share a familiar thread of Post-Punk guitar work, that shakes their tunes with dreamy nostalgia. I Feel Again is a real strumbucker, with super groovy riffs, pepped up to get us in the mood (for Spring?). Whether your into this kind stuff or not, you cant deny Hessler's accessibility. Check this one out, guys:
Ever take some ecstasy and try to close your eyes and are immediately overwhelmed by one those waves of emotion and colour? Sort of the feeling you get here when the massive snare gives way to a sweep of warm synths. Them Are Us combine elements of Tears For Fears, This Mortal Coil, Lush, and several other late 80s/early 90s dreamweavers. Like a sea breeze spitting in your face, the flecks of salt remind you of an older time, yet feel completely fresh at the same time. I guess you could say Them Are Us Too, u know?
This group of Kiwis slipped under the door of the 015, with a breezy set of carefully constructed guitar pop. With a pop punk drive and post punk vibe, Salad Boys fits comfortably among the canon of New Zealand indie rock. Equal parts The Skeptics and The Chills. Some of the more acoustic songs on here have lush sound that is so often lost on modern acoustic Pop songs, where the strumming is not wittled down like a brittle pencil, but rather built up with layering and chorus pedals. Metalmania is a delightful dream and deserves many more spins.
~Carly Rae Jepsen - Emotion
Coming off the heals of a Broadway stint, as well as the release of one of the most infectious pop songs ever written, Carly Rae Jepsen was poised to take the easy way out. Put Max Martin in a room, pen a few lyrics involving emojis and dunzo. Call Me Maybe part 2, making it rain. Instead the Canadian Pop star, went a different route. Channeling 80s new wave and disco, as well as early 90s house, Emotion is the sort of record you might expect from Kyli Minogue or even Robyn, at times. Its as a progressive as it is accessible and keenly focused on production and content. Nearly every song on the album can worm its way into your head, and yet it remains estranged from top 40 list. One could make the argument that I Really Like You is the sequel to Call Me Maybe, and maybe it is, but there are so many other tracks on this album that prove that Jepsen has transcended her breakthrough hit. I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance, Warm Blood, and All That are perfect examples, of a pop artist blending her influences into deeply moving, emotional dance songs. If you had originally written this one off, don't. I urge everyone to return to a record that critics will no doubt point to in 10yrs time.
~Tamaryn - Cranekiss
Cloaked in a dark, gothic sexuality, Tamaryn's Cranekiss is the sort of record Robert Smith would have loved to contribute to in the late 80s. Shed is the psychedelic wooziness that penned Tamaryn into the already overcrowded Dream Pop field. Instead she take the full step into pop-hood, with a massive record bursting with glittering synths, jagged guitars lines, and Linn Drum like percussion. With a simpleton's perception one might say, Tamaryn moved from Lush like sound to something in the realm of Siouxsie Sioux, though that comparison falls short of what is actually constructed here. The sounds our lavish and grandiose, yet still dark and yearning. Tamaryn lives more in a world of Kate Bush the way she transforms a croon to whisper, flexing her range in each track. Returning to the production, this record was made in partnership with Shuan Durkan, guitar mastermind behind Weekend, who released one of the best records of 2013, Jinx. Often we hear albums of this nature are purely derivative, aping outdated sounds of the past. Though with one spin of Cranekiss it is obvious that these songs are far more than a blast from the past, but rather a string of modern Pop songs, cast in a Goth-like house.
~Tory Lanez - Say It
Tory Lanez is a Canadian rapper/singer who optimizes what it is to be a Hip-Hop artist in 2015. Created by Kanye and perfected by Drake, singing and rapping on the same track is no longer a novel thing, but simply the norm. The staggering presence of Fetty Wap's Trap Queen to the hurtling rise of Ty Dolla $ign, Pop music is currently populated by minimalist R&B. What's different about today's R&B comes in the vocal delivery, often molasses intoned croons are coupled with staccato, ratatating; where the syllables bunch together and drop, like a mouth full of pebbles. Tory Lanez does nothing to disrupt or reinvent the current Pop-mosphere, but he has tapped into its best parts, producing a truly excellent club banging slow jam. Say it opens with the slow slink of an unwaveringly catchy keyboard line, before the meat of the song, a chorus of backup singers chime in with chill inducing, "Ooo Yeah.." What would otherewise be a fairly basic track is doubled down in the hook department, through the use of the backup singers and Lanez's breathy delivery. Not to be missed, this summer song stays warm through the winter.
