Commonwealth
Arctic Monkeys - The hellcat spangled Shalalala/Suck it and see
So, I wasn't really enthralled by the heavy sound of the first single from the "Suck it and see"-album, but Alex and his lads are back with a vengeance, because single two and three off the same album sound a lot more poppy and light as a feather. Also digging the more crooner-style vocals on these songs. I was also mocking the weak-ish lyrics on "Don't sit down because I've moved your chair", but this time around, I can only sheepishly admit that "that's not a skirt, girl, that's a sawn-off shotgun" is a real good line indeed. You will mostly see drummer and co-songwriter Matt Helders in the latter video, and if I'm not mistaken, there's also an uncensored version with some LSFW parts floating around here or there.
Jamie Woon - Shoulda
Previous single "Lady Luck" was more up-tempo and even garnered some Justin Timberlake references, but this third single is back to where it all started for Jamie Woon with debut single "Night air": very subtle, light, electronic pop.
Bombay Bicycle Club - Shuffle
The guys in BBB are releasing their third full album soon, and this is the first single. First album "I had the blues but I shook them loose" was indie-rock with some dark edges, second album "Flaws" was filled with acoustic tracks, third album "A different kind of fix" promises to be more up-tempo and poppy, judging on the first single. Really infectuous piano-riff, and all-round feel good track.
Gotye feat. Kimbra - Someone that I used to know
You knew this one already. Not that many youtube videos by a Belgian (well, born in Belgian or Dutch-speaking is closer to the truth I guess) artist (will ever) exceed six million views, so very well done indeed. Minor criticism, I have no problem with the first verse being quite long and the chorus only starting at the 1:30-mark, but the second verse (by Kiwi vocalist Kimbra) feels a little short in comparison. "He said, she said"-type lyrics are usually a winner in my book (see also: "Don't you want me baby" by The Human League and "Nothing better" by The Postal Service).
Gypsy and the Cat - Jona Vark
It must be the first time in history that this many hip bands are emerging from Australia/New Zealand and try to conquer the world. Temper Trap, Empire Of The Sun, Tame Impala, The Naked And The Famous, and there's more where that came from. First up, we have Gypsy & The Cat. I like the wordplay in the title, but the song itself is a little repetitive.
Miami Horror - Holidays
Also hailing from Melbourne are these guys, their previous single "Sometimes" was already featured in a previous blog post. This track reminds me of Junior Senior, and there's some Chromeo in there too, and I hope to shaking my bootay to it somewhere real soon. The video is about some kind of real life Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama roadtripping it up with his ladyfriend. Highly recommended.
Wolf Gang - The king and all his men
Another new band, not the be confused with OFWGKTA. The track has some things going for it, but the singer seems to venture very close to the Mika-realm in the bridge before the chorus, which is something I'd try to steer away from, if I were them.
Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds - The death of you and me
Now that the Beady Eye (which equals Oasis minus Noel) singles have evaporated from the radio waves, time for the elder Gallagher brother to step up to the plate and present his post-Oasis project. Has a higher "singer-songwriter"-vibe, and isn't even half bad.
The Vaccines - All in white/Norgaard
Bands that specialize in up-tempo tracks usually fall flat when try to tone it down, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the "All in white"-track by The Vaccines. The bass keeps it all together and the track never gets boring. Good stuff. Follow-up single 'Norgaard' returns to the short up-tempo song formula of breakthrough debut single "Wreckin' bar". Reminds me of the time when The Pigeon Detectives were a young and promising band. Putting some thought into checking the whole album after hearing this. Singer Justin Young (who seems to be going for the "eighties Morrissey with thick-rimmed glasses"-look in the latter video) recently underwent some vocal chord surgery, so they were forced to cancel a couple of months worth of shows.
The Big Pink - Stay gold
Some time ago, The Big Pink stated in an interview that their new album was going to be a hip-hop influenced album. Definitely not hearing that a lot on their new track, the melody has a slight bagpipe feel and inevitably makes me think of Glasvegas, whereas the chorus reminds me of their single 'Dominoes' a little. Nevertheless, I was a fan of their first album so my hopes are still up for this one, although I'm sincerely hoping that the lyrics on the album won't get much cornier then "Shine a light for love to follow".
Duos
A duo is the new band. A decade ago, The White Stripes were seen as revolutionary by having only 2 members in the band, and there were The Raveonettes, The Kills and a couple other shortly after, but now, the whole 2-man band niche is exploding. The Black Keys, The Black Box Revelation, Jenny & Johny, She & Him, Angus & Julia Stone, ... the list goes on. Presenting to you, 2 more duo's to look out for.
Cults - Go outside
Cults are a band from Brooklyn. This really mellow track is hitting the radiowaves nowadays, but personally, I'm more inclined towards this more up-tempo song.
Summer Camp - Better off without you
As stated previously, not to be confused with the nineties indierock outfit, this duo hails from Britain. Some of their previous tracks (see a couple of posts back) had a really purposely lo-fi, fuzzy and slightly abrasive production, this one sounds much cleaner and is a clear winner, and I'm also a fan of the double tracked/overdubbed vocals and their retro music videos. The intro made me think of this. Oh, and in case you were wondering, it's not a cover of the eponymous Terror song.
Female
SBTRKT feat. Little Dragon - Wildfire
OK, so SBTRKT is a male producer, but the true star of the track is Yukimi Nagano, so I thought I'd put it in this section anyway. Just the dry, staccato bass drum intro is already great, but the real party starts when the vocals kick in.
Little Dragon - Ritual union
Yukimi Nagano happens to be the singer of Swedish band Little Dragon (learned from wikipedia that the band name isn't a reference to Yukimi's complexion, but to her temper). She is the progeny of a Japanese father and a Swedish-American mother, and gifted with a jazzy and truly amazing voice. The rest of her band acknowledge this by letting her vocals take the forefront, and simply adding a basic but effective rhythm section, and some sparse and subtle synthesizer touches.
Robyn - Love kills
I think we can now safely regard Robyn as a true European elektropop powerhouse, and a ruthless hit machine. This track even surpasses hit-status, it's a true anthem! Saw a large chunk of her Werchter performance, awesome stuff.
Feist - How come you never go there
It's a been a long wait for some new Feist material, who gained popularity during her absence because of the 'Limit to your love' cover by James Blake. This comeback single brings no big revolutions on the production or songwriting front, just another sober mid-tempo pop track in which Leslie Feist can fully showcase her vocal capacities.
Lana Del Rey - Video games
This song was a moderate hype the last couple of weeks, and admitted it's really good. Lana Del Rey is actually the alter ego of Lizzy Grant, about whom I honestly can't tell you a lot. And I'll let you discover the song yourself, but I might add that if you're going to get married sometime soon and you're still looking for a track to accompany the opening dance, this is a possible contender.
Kreayshawn - Gucci gucci
The least you can say about Natassia Gail Zolot is that she doesn't shy away from the b*tch-word (and other swear words). Kreayshawn is a female hip-hip artist from L.A. . Even though she only has a handful of songs out, she was nominated for best new-comer at some award show but lost out to Tyler, the creator. The same night of that award ceremony, her twitter account got hacked and some LSFW pictures hit the internet. To this day, I'm still suspecting some kind of premeditated stunt to the timing of these events. Kreayshawn has got her own female-only crew (White Girl Mob, of which you can see Lil Debbie in the video with the eyecatching spectacles), and she even has got some beef going on with Rick Ross, a hip-hop artist I've yet to hear of. These two facts prove that she's working hard on her street credibility. Anyway, this song has a pretty good flow and a catchy chorus, and some dubstep-like influences in the beat, which makes it really contemporary. Also appreciating the fashion-style, gotta love that pink Minnie Mouse diadem.
Nicki Minaj - Super bass
Nicki Minaj is a Trinidadian (I read that word and I just had to use it!) urban artist, that seems to be more inclined to rap music than her fellow Carribean artist Rihanna. She has a over the top on-screen persona, not unlike a cartoon character. I checked out some of her previous singles and couldn't really get into it, but this song has got me hooked. Not only the video with its bright colours and ... well ... Nicki's bodacious appearance, but it's also not a coincidence that videos have emerged of other comtemporary pop stars (Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift) playbacking the rap part in the song. There's something really infectious about it, especially because Nicki adds some (at times seemingly ironic) intonation to the rhymes. Lyrically however, this is just another song (see also: Soldier by Destiny's Child) that proves that the vision of the ideal partner among females is just as monotone and one-dimensionally superficial as the female counterpart with men, you just swap 'looks' for 'money/power/influence' and there you go...
Katy B - Easy please me
Looks like Katy B has a more realistic view of who she wants to date, in this track that feels like it comes right from the heart, she describes her vision, which has a lot more nuance to it. Go Katy!
Can't get into
Geike - Rope Dancer
The first solo single by the ex-vocalist from Hooverphonic fails to hit the spot. Alex Callier was a pretty strict producer that liked to keep things simple, and as reaction, it seems like Geike tries to break out by bouncing in several directions at the same time. The timing and rhythm of the vocals are off, the chorus doesn't stick and there's just too much going on in the background. Sorry Geike, but this is a mess.
M83 - Midnight city
I still like the M83 sound, but this single seems to lack a little substance and subtlety.
