As a jump-off cut for second album Kunst, The Tings Tings could’ve easily simply Xerox’ed the irresistible funk-pop guitar grooves and ridiculously catchy cheerleader-esque hooks of their debut album’s singles/ advertisements for everything (“Great DJ”, “That’s Not My Name”, “Shut Up and Let Me Go”) and been totally fine. But nooooo, the UK duo just had to go and switch up for new single “Hands”, ditching the guitar for a sleek and synth-ed out disco frame, and concocting a chorus that doesn’t instantly jump off as something one will be obsessing over for the next six months.
Repeated listens do eventually unveil the record’s brain-sticking powers: it’s endlessly churning new wave strut (nicely mixed by none other than Calvin Harris) exuding an intriguing air of seedy, 1980′s-era nightclub, and the main hook-”Clap your hands if you’re working too hard”-grasping onto a state of mind that plenty of exhausted 9-to-5 drones can relate to; but here’s to hoping that the rest of Kunst doesn’t see the Tings deviating too far from their previous winning formula, because we could do with a few more doses of those addictive pom-pom chants to amp up the dreary fall and winter seasons.
Hear the cut below, then snatch up another Calvin Harris-enhanced treat of the Summer of ’10.
After being embraced wholeheartedly by the music blog community with his 2008 pop twist on Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” (re-dubbed “I Want Those Flashing Lights”), it was looking like Canadian singer-songwriter-producer Colin Munroe was on the fast-track to doing big things. Following the release of the equally-adored mixtape, Colin Munroe is the Unsung Hero, later that year however, Munroe-as-solo-act faded from the scene, only popping up on occasion via guest spot gigs in the time since (including collabos with Black Milk, Slum Village, Travie McCoy and Kidz In The Hall) with little word on when his official debut project was to arrive.
This week, Munroe contacted us via e-mail to explain what the bleeping deal was: “There were some things that needed dealing with and that dealing is almost done.” A bit cryptic, but, hey, at least we know that the album is still on the way (hopefully sooner rather than later)…and look at that, he’s even opted to bring his solo hiatus to an end with an offering of a brand new cover. Of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U”, no less.
Admittedly, it’s not as amazing as the Kanye re-do nor as dynamic as the Purple Rain original (it’s impossible to beat Prince), but Munroe’s thumping, electro-shimmered production against his plaintive, Auto-tune-tweaked croon creates a fairly pleasant ethereal allure, making it an easy-to-appreciate re-introduction to the man’s appeal.
Chromeo‘s electro soul-pop-funk creations adhere so close to their obvious 80′s-born influences and lean so heavily on the quirk, that it can be a bit difficult to embrace the Montreal duo as more than a novelty act, let alone imagine them ever being able to break beyond their cult-ish fanbase and become household names; yet, even within the current music scene’s increasingly tiresome three-decades-old retro-fetishism, the group remains root-worthy, each new serving of their 8-bit-stylized, vocoder-aided pizazz (whether for themselves or as a remix for someone else) easily hitting you right dead-center in the part of the soul that enjoys a good guilty pleasure entry.
That adoration should be kept afloat for “Don’t Turn The Lights On”, the second single from Chromeo’s forthcoming third album Business Casual.
Documenting one man’s struggle to emotionally move past a former relationship, “Lights” may surprise passive Chromeo admirers in it’s turn towards the serious, but there’s no denying the track’s late-night erotic under-tone, the combination of the hook’s sensual request (“Don’t turn the lights on/ Cause tonight I wanna see you in the dark”) and the backing beat’s libidinous synth burblings (which will totally bring to mind the sexy digi-groove of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s “Ain’t Nobody”) making this a necessary addition to a DJ’s “end of the night” bump & grind set.
Robyn knows out to deliver a strong electro-pop ballad (As proof, just check previous entries/ massively acclaimed career highlights “Be Mine!” and “With Every Heartbeat”, or her latest excellent take on heartache-on-the-dancefloor emotional devastation in current single “Dancing On My Own”), so having the Swedish pop tart helm an 8-bit-stylized makeover of Alicia Keys’ ’09 tearjerker epic “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” seems like it would be a near-magical aural experience.
Unfortunately, we’re left wishing that we would of had the chance to hear her version first, because despite Robyn pulling off a likable enough vocal performance (even her giggle-assisted flubs come off charming), it’s kinda difficult fully getting into this Live Lounge-birthed rendition when its chintzy, DIY-pop instrumentation can’t quite compete with the high-stakes ’80′s R&B dramatics masterfully brought forth in the original (arguably one of Keys’ Top 5 best ever creations).
Catch it, and her beautiful Live Lounge performance of “Dancing On My Own”, below.
Though worlds away from the raging, punk-thrash WTF that was “Born Free”, “XXXO”, the radio-friendly second single from M.I.A.‘s still-untiled third set, is just as much a shocker to hear on first listen.
More immediately accessible than about 90% of anything M.I.A. has ever set to tape, the Blaqstarr-produced “XXXO” initially sounds like a joke, as if information was somehow fumbled, and a new track from Robyn or one of the thousands of other faceless, chirpy-voiced electro-pop robo-divas that seem to pop up every two seconds was mis-tagged.
Repeated listens to the beat’s industrial-meets-bubblegum perk and quirky lyrical soundbites (“Cause you’re Tweeting me like Tweety Bird on your iPhone”) eventually help better define it as simply another zany Maya entry, but “XXXO”‘s (gasp!) utter generic-ness (especially in light of the cut that preceded it) is still a hard one to completely wrap your head around.
Hopefully we’ll feel a bit more comfortable with it when it’s Hype Williams-lensed video premieres.
In an effort to prove that we’re not completely out of the loop when it comes to what’s been making waves within the music blog scene in recent weeks, enjoy this quick run-through of some of the more high profile new videos/ releases we’ve missed out on commenting on due to…uh, we’ll just say “real life” (and a few WordPress issues) getting in the way:
Sleigh Bells “Tell Em”
Anything you’ll ever read about this Brooklyn boy/girl noise-pop duo (vocalist Alexis Krauss and songwriter/ guitarist/ producer Derek E. Miller) is bound to note the band’s love for insane volume levels just as much as it’ll hype how crazily infectious the tunes hidden beneath all the ear-punishing distortion are.
Believe these words on both accounts.
“Tell Em”, the first single from the Sleigh Bells’ debut album Treats (due May 11th on Mom + Pop/ N.E.E.T.), may lead to one having early deafness, but bet you won’t be able to resist repeat doses of it’s rat-a-tat drum, turned-up-to-eleven guitar riffage and laser sound effects assault, nor Krauss’ pureform coos sweetly encouraging today’s young’uns “you can do your best today” betwixt it all.
Last summer’s chillwave/ glo-fi movement taught us the glories of music that was meek-sounding, of shitty quality and awesome; expect the upcoming warm weather season to be all about start-up bands/ acts co-signing the equally awesome louder-than-loud and shitty quality formula of the Bells.
We’ll politely decline from adding to the increasingly tiring “Is she copying Gaga?” rattle concerning Aguilera‘s new (meh) one, and just say this: when it comes to desperate slutty Christina, we’d rather give “Dirrty” a re-spin.
Is it bad that we wish we could just fast-forward to the next Aguilera album era already?
Christina’s Bionic drops June 8th.
Ciara featuring Ludacris “Ride”
Looking to get her career back on track after the commercial fumble that was her last album (2009′s Fantasy Ride), Ciara smartly hearkens back to a previous career highlight on new single “Ride”, re-heating the winning, “seductive ‘crunk & b’ crawl + Ludacris cameo” formula of “Oh” with an extra slathering of naughty sex kitten on top of it.
“I can do it up and down/ I can do circles/ To him I’m a gymnast/ This one is my circus,” she sings, nicely illustrating such bedroom talents with a slew of eye-popping body gyrations (amongst other “I’m not a little girl anymore” visuals) in the accompanying video.
Yeah, the hook claims it’s the “beat” that she’s riding “like a mother-[bleeping] freak”, but a ten-year-old could figure out what she’s really talking about.
Eminem “Not Afraid”
Capping months of track-owning guest appearances on joints alongside Drake & Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne and B.o.B (not to mention the killer freestyle track “Despicable”), Em‘s “Not Afraid”, the first taste off his next full length Recovery, lands as another lyrical stunner, with him surprisingly coming across as equally compelling when preaching positive about living a “clean” lifestyle as he does when he’s flexing his more loony and murderous-minded material.
Only problem is, while we’re excited to hear he’s become aware of how awful the various “accents” and pop star/ tabloid staple-spoofing had become, “Not Afraid” feels less and less interesting with each successive listen (maybe it’s that ’80′s arena rock-styled hook), and we’re not necessarily sure we’re ready for an entire album of Eminem getting all uplifting on us.
Surely Kim has done something scandalous in recent years to inspire at least one Recovery song that throws back to his bat-shit crazy rhymes.
Josh Ritter “Another New World”
From the critically-acclaimed folk singer-songwriter‘s newly released sixth set So Runs The World Away (currently streaming in full over at NPR.org), a seven-minute-long story song set atop beautifully sedative acoustic guitar pluckings and dreamily sirenic muted horns about an Arctic explorer and his crew and the tragic horrors that befall them in the midst of a voyage in search of the “new world”.
Doesn’t sound like your cup of tea? Take a chance and hit ‘Play’ and you’ll be surprised how misty-eyed you get once it gets to the part where the protagonist is forced to set fire to his beloved ship in order to stay alive.
Most attention concerning this final single from the nearly two-year-old I Am…Sasha Fierce will more than certainly fall on it’s strange, but definitely sexy, retro-themed video (with Bey once-again rocking the Bettie Page ’50′s pin-up look) rather than the song itself; but the cut (co-penned by sister Solange) manages to be somewhat fascinating in it’s own right with the steely-voiced diva turning herself inside-out trying to figure out why a man would choose to willfully bypass such a catch (especially one with “beauty”, “class”, “style” and, most importantly”, “ass”) to a tightly-wound ’60′s soul strut.
On “None of Dem”, the latest enticing leakage teasing Robyn‘s highly-anticipated first-of-trilogy release Body Talk Pt. 1, the Swedish “Fembot” bristles with all kinds of irritation at the un-inspiring sounds and people flooding her small town: The boys can’t dance (therefore can’t get her sex), the girls lack style, and the beats…? By the icy tone she dishes out “None of these kicks go boom/ None of dem basslines fill the room”, let’s just say she’s left a bit underwhelmed.
If by “small town”, Robyn means Top 40 radio and the pathetically weak assortment of male and female “pop stars” it feels the need to push on us over and over all day, we’ll gladly back her up with an outcry of “Chuuuch!!!!”…that is when we take a break from trying to master our own otherworldly boogie to the “None of Dem”‘s eerie, backwards-flowing tribal stomp (y’know, the kind of left-field production a naughty-tongued Missy Elliott could freak with ease before she went on extended hibernation).
Hear the Röyksopp-assisted track over at Robyn’s website, or simply cop it, alongside Body Talk Pt. 1‘s other pre-release treats, “Dancehall Queen” (previously known as “No Hassle”) and “Fembot”, below.
Body Talk Pt. 1 is expected in June.
***As a super special bonus treat, raise your hands if you remember Robyn’s late 90′s success with Robyn Is Here singles like “Show Me Love” and “Do You Know (What It Takes)”? Alright, well how about when she was earning spins on BET (!!!!) with the “Urban Mix”/ QD3 Edit of that album’s third single, “Do You Really Want Me (Respect Me)”? Whether you do or not, enjoy this flashback to 1998 when Robyn was trying to compete with the Brandy’s and Monica’s of the world.
Back in 2008, 16-year-old Aussie Gabriella Cilmi emerged with one of the better Winehouse-wannabe tracks with debut single “Sweet About Me”, a seducing slow-burner that found her naughtily winking to boys that she wasn’t one of those goody-goody girl-next-doors.
Fast-forward a couple of years and Cilmi has conveniently done away with the retro-soul trickery for sophomore album Ten, trading in one overdone pop trend for another in a somewhat jarring makeover that sees her targeting the futuro-dance diva niche.
On first listen, Ten lead-off “On A Mission” registers overwhelming in it’s intent to throw everything (Hi-NRG electro pulses!!! ’80′s aerobics-pop synths!! Disco guitar flickers!! “I am woman/ Hear me roar” chutzpah done with a loud Anastacia growl!!! Cheerleader B-girl-isms!!) at the listener at once at rapid speed. But once you’ve grown accustomed to all it’s overdramatic, heavy metal-meets-Studio 54 goofery, the song enters the realm of being an irresistible slab of awesomely bad guilty pleasure Velveeta, the laughably determined combination of faster-than-fast tempo and hefty vocal firepower making like the aural equivalent to a loudmouth physical trainer trying to get you in tip-top beachwear shape for the summertime.
Loses points for Cilmi not being able to deliver lyrics that paint her more inside the joke though (cause the corny, self-serious “super-heroine theme song” songwriting fails miserably).
Catch the video below, then peep the Eve-featured remix (which should evoke a giggle or two out of it bringing to imagination Ruff Ryder’s First Lady being trapped in some weird, arcade game 8-bit hell).
What happens when Tegan & Sara‘s Sainthood highlight “Alligator”, a dainty ’80′s-disco-tinged number about clingy girlfriends, gets a chance to spend some time on remixing wizard Doctor Rosen Rosen‘s operating table? Just like everything else Rosen puts a scalpel to, it emerges from surgery a far more dramatic electro-pop beast!!
Grab the “Rx” below, followed by MP3′s of the Canadian twin sibs taking on David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” and Prince’s “When You Were Mine”.
If there was any one track on Hot Chip‘s grower of a fourth set One Life Stand that perfectly expressed the UK four-piece’s current obsession with marrying dancefloor euphoria with romantic yearning and could justify all on it’s own why the band’s hot streak will remain afire throughout the rest of the year, hands down it would be “I Feel Better”.
So soaked in ’90′s dance-pop theatrics that you expect some anonymous house diva (or an old incarnation of Madonna) to start wailing over it’s insistent house pulse at any given moment, “I Feel Better” bursts with an anthemic appeal from the get-go, it’s main hook, an icy string loop that’s later mirrored with the saddest steel drum sounds you’ll ever hear, drawing this mesmerizing rave prison you’ll never want to break out of.
In betwixt it’s four-on-the-floor clubby throb, singer Alexis Taylor injects his best T-Pain/ Kanye West-as-sad-robot imitation, with Auto-Tuned whimpers documenting a couple at a crossroads (“She said ‘How did we get ourselves so lost’”) followed by longings of having “one night/ together in our arms”, pitched as if it’s the sole way things can get back at track.
As nice as it is to get free music, think of how much better your soul would feel if you purchased it the old-fashioned way.
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(MP3 posts are for promotional and/ or previewing purposes only; if any artist or their representation wish to have the links removed, contact me and I will happily comply!)
As a jump-off cut for second album Kunst, The Tings Tings could’ve easily simply Xerox’ed the irresistible funk-pop guitar grooves and ridiculously catchy cheerleader-esque hooks of their debut album’s singles/ advertisements for everything (“Great DJ”, “That’s Not My Name”, “Shut Up and Let Me Go”) and been totally fine. But nooooo, the UK duo just had to go and switch up for new single “Hands”, ditching the guitar for a sleek and synth-ed out disco frame, and concocting a chorus that doesn’t instantly jump off as something one will be obsessing over for the next six months.
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