I've been touting Charli XCX as the next big thing from when I first heard her, and then when her debut album came out earlier this year. Her edgy brand of eletcro-pop should be bigger, and as much as I love the biggest song she's written (Icona Pop's smash "I Love It",) it's unfair that Charli's tunes haven't gotten a third of the attention.
Surprisingly, a brand new track, assumed for her new record she confirmed she was writing back in June, has found it's way onto the internet with a video. "SuperLove" is the breeziest, most effervescent thing she's done yet. There were rumours that she was going for an "I Love It" with this track, and while it's pure pop, it sounds nothing like the shouty Icona Pop hit. Which is a very good thing.
This song has been on constant repeat the last few days, rivalled only by Sky Ferreria's "You're Not the One." Everything is incredible! The song isn't on Spotify yet, though I've read the track isn't getting an official release until December. (?!?!)
Straight readers... here is a good dose of gay that should last you for quite a while...
Icon Cher returns to recording after an almost twelve year hiatus with her 26th (!!!) album Closer to the Truth. And it sounds like, at least to me, what is expected a Cher album sound in 2013. (i.e. super gay disco.) This is actually the first Cher album I've listened to front to back... and it is better than I expected. It seems to be in line with her last efforts, 98's Believe and '01's Living Proof in terms of sound... can't speak on overall quality.
First track and initial single "Woman's World" seemed like Cher-by-numbers, almost jokingly so when it leaked like... a year ago. But I have to say that hearing it more in context it's sort of perfect. She's peddling a ballad as the follow up single, but I personally was stopped dead in my tracks by the second track, featuring some blink-and-miss backing vocals by the Scissor Sisters Jake Shears, a disco gem by the name... "Take it Like a Man." Yup.
But hold it right there... Cher states "Boy if you want my heart... you gotta take it like a man." Oh... that's what she's talking about you say. Nice one Cher.
Beyond the wink-wink double-entendre, the song is actually pretty great. Don't get me wrong, this is big gay glitter ball shit... but I see drag queens performing this one for years to come. And that's all we can really ask from a Cher song. Right?
Cut Copy are returning with their fourth album, Free Your Mind, which will be released early in November. The band recently played the Pitchfork festival where they pressed 120 12" singles on the spot of their new single, "Let Me Show You," which was uploaded to YouTube and later released by the band.
Most recently the band also released the title-track from the new record as second single. The album is shaping up, based on these tracks, to continue their psychedelic leanings married with an old school 90s House vibe. It doesn't grab you like the singles from In Ghost Colours or "Take Me Over" from Zonoscope, but I've been repeating them for a week or two and they've really clicked into place for me.
While I didn't connect with Zonoscope as much as In Ghost Colours, I'm always up for some new Cut Copy.
Artist: Friend and Lover
Album: Summer of Love, Vol. 1: Tune-in Good Times & Love Vibrations
Target has a new commercial out that I saw the other night featuring a song I was familiar with... but realized I didn't know.
The song is a cover (by singer Jocelyn Alice) of the 1967 track "Reach Out of the Darkness" by Friend and Lover. Recorded in Nashville and reaching a peak of #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the track was the biggest hit for the duo; their only other charting hit was "If Love is in Your Heart" which peaked at #86 months later.
I found the song on a great 60's compilation called Summer of Love, Vol. 1: Tune-in Good Times & Love Vibrations. It contains a couple classics from the era such as "San Francisco" by Scott McKenzie, "Get Together" by the Youngbloods, & "Love is All Around" by The Troggs, as well as a couple of-the-time tracks I wasn't familiar with.
"Reach Out of the Darkness" is a classic, amazing for Summer days and nostalgia trips.
I've been following singer, songwriter, model, actress Sky Ferreira for a while now. Back in 2010 she released singles "17," "Obsession," and the WeCast'd "One." With a debut album scheduled for January of 2011. That was postponed, and an EP, As If was announced in March of that year. In November the debut album was announced to be coming out in the Spring of 2012, and in January she announced the album would be called Wild at Heart, working with Shirley Manson, Jon Brion, and Greg Kurstin. A track called "Lost in My Bedroom" leaked in March of that year, and then a single "Red Lips" came out in June. It was then announced that the album's name had been changed to I'm Not Alright. In August the single "Everything is Embarrassing" was released and the album had turned into an EP, Ghost that was eventually released in October of last year.
Cut to June of this year and Sky reveals the album is now entitled I Will and would come out later in the Summer. By July it was announced the album was delayed until 2014 and another EP (called I Will) was to be released in autumn. Then suddenly earlier this month it was announced the debut album was now called Night Time, My Time, it will come out at the end of October, and the first single will be "You're Not the One."
Phew.
While I certainly have my fingers crossed that the album will actually happen, we now have "You're Not the One" with a great music video! (see below.) The track follows the sound of Ghost's "Everything is Embarrassing" and is also co-written by Ariel Reichtshaid. And it's fantastic.
You'll hear a little Blondie, a little Cyndi Lauper, and feel a bit of early Madonna in Sky. She's got a great look and while she recalls all these great 80s female pop acts, it's clear that she's got her own thing going on and it's truly the music that's the best part. I really loved "Everything is Embarrassing" and thankfully "You're Not the One" is more of the same.
Hold our breath here in the hopes the album does actually happen and it lives up to the crazy hype this slow-burn act has given us. She was recently busted, but hopefully that doesn't hurt anything. (including herself)
Moving Units are an L.A.-based dance-rock band that started back in 2001 and released their debut album Dangerous Dreams in 2004. I liked that record, but haven't kept up with the band since. There really hasn't been a whole lot that happened; missed their follow-up album Hexes for Exes that came out in 2007, and a couple EP's... what has happened as of late is that the band split with singer Blake Miller in 2012, only to find out that Miller was playing shows under the Moving Units name without their consent.
The dispute was settled and Miller gained the rights to hire new musicians and continue under the Moving Units name. And now we have a new record, Neurotic Exotic that was just released earlier this month on Metropolis Records.
Neurotic Exotic sounds like the band I knew... so take that for what it's worth. It's a tight, slightly under 40 minute affair of electronic flourishes and guitar grooves. Sort of like The Rapture or Franz Ferdinand with less wink-wink personality.
I liked this record immediately, worth checking out. Going to see what I missed with Hexes for Exes...
Kings of Leon are gearing up to release their sixth album Mechanical Bull next week and in conjunction with the promo for the album, they dropped by the BBC's Radio 1 Live Lounge for a performance.
In keeping with the Live Lounge tradition they covered a pop song in their style, this time... Swedish electro-pop princess Robyn's modern classic "Dancing On My Own." They turn the dancefloor heartache into a slow-burn rock number. The results are breathtaking... sexy, chill, and still heartbreaking. Singer Caleb Followill keeps all the pronouns faithful, turning lyrics like "I'm in the corner watching you kiss her," and "I'm not the girl you're taking home" on their head. S - E - X - X - Y.
Check out the band's new singles below, but also check out this and this. Two other recent discoveries.
Like Britney, new-millenium star Eminem is returning with his eighth studio album and for the first time alluding to past glories. This November Em will drop a sequel to his best-known and most acclaimed album, 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP. Em has simply added a 2 to the title, working once again with Dr. Dre as well as DJ Premiere, Rick Rubin, and No ID.
Super-Producer Rick Rubin has helmed the first single "Berzerk" which is a racket of old school hip hop and heavily-leaning samples from the Beastie Boys "The New Style" and "Fight for Your Right" (which Rubin Produced back in '86) as well as Billy Squires' "The Stroke."
How is it? Upon first listen I thought to myself; "Wow, this is really terrible." But I must admit that the video (see below) made me smile (Rick! Kid Rock!) and it becomes almost catchy after a couple listens. I'm not really a fan, but do find this sequel-to-past-glories, Rubin-involved old school feel a bit intriguing.
It's been an interesting time for all these pop girls. Katy Perry is proving that she can make anything go to #1, Gaga no longer smashes, but she's hanging in there, and Miley Cyrus is just coming out of nowhere and grabbing all the headlines. (While selling tons of records.) Why not throw in now elder pop princess Britney Spears with the first track off her eighth album.
It's called "Work Bitch!" And it's... ridiculous.
The odd British accent has been turned up. It is probably the "hardest" lead single she's ever come out with. There isn't much of a melody in here aside from the middle 8... it's more about attitude. This is what happens when something like "Scream & Shout" is a hit it seems.
On the other hand, it's nice having a break from personal-empowerment pop songs about overcoming self-imposed insecurity issues. We get it, you're fucking perfect and learned you can roar all on your own and summon your own inner fireworks because you were ultimately just born this way.
No.
"You want a lamborghini?
Sip martinis?
Look hot in a bikini?
You better work bitch
You wanna live fancy?
Live in a big mansion?
Party in France?
You better work bitch"
Britney Spears is puttin' everyone on blast so y'all know that to get all these great things you're so envious other people have, you have to you know... work.
Like RuPaul said now over twenty years ago... "You better work bitch."
Amen.
(But why isn't there a comma between 'Work' and 'Bitch!'?)
The most notorious non-winner of the British X-Factor, Cher Lloyd has defied the odds by getting a UK #1 with her loathed first single, and then scored a good-sized American single last Summer with "Want You Back." She's made a guest appearance on a Demi Lovato track, did a little acting work on an episode of Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush, and is gearing up for a tour this Fall.
She's a guilty pleasure. And she's the same age as Miley, yet getting served in a very different way.
I really did love her second single, and watched it get re-released here in the States after "Want You Back" got big. It wasn't nearly as popular, but she's ready to go with new music, and "I Wish," featuring T.I. is really geared for follow-up status to "I Want You Back."
I sort of thought I was over the whole Cher Lloyd thing, but "I Wish" has really won me over with all it's bouncy pop-tartness.
Natalia Kills falls into the totally-up-my-alley, why-don't-I-dig-this-more category. But this could be changing. I skipped her debut, 2011's The Perfectionist, and initial single "Problem" from her recently released sophomore set Trouble didn't change things... but I'm starting to think that I'm just not quite ready for her.
I'm prepping...
U.K. born/raised, Natalia Kills is a riches-to-rags and I guess back to riches story that got her entertainment start by acting in a TV sitcom at the age of nine and started writing songs at fourteen. The Perfectionist was mostly produced by Fernando Garibay, who most famously has worked with Lady Gaga.
Despite not really connecting with her, I took a listen to Trouble and surprised myself with how much I was enjoying it. Second single "Saturday Night" came out in June which I liked, but in listening to the album sounded amazing. I've been listening to it a LOT now, what a tune.
Trouble is a mix of guitar rock, beats, and pop. It's got an 80s vibe at times, I hear Cyndi Lauper a bit. It goes "hard" in a radio-friendly kind of way, she's not your typical popstar. Loving "Boys Don't Cry," the title track, and "Outta Time."
I'd always thought that if they had come out about decade before, I would have been all over Arcade Fire, which is ridiculous, but the truth is they never really grabbed me like they had other music fans. I like them though.
Well friend and reader Luis, whose opinion I highly respect, insisted I check out their new track. After a couple spins, and watching/experiencing their two videos for it... I'm sold.
Here's what you need to know; fourth and double-album from the band. Title track is first, epic single, with a seven+ minute length. It's produced by James Murphy (DFA/LCD Soundsystem) and features David Bowie.
There are two videos that have been released simultaneously for the track, one is an interactive experience that is best viewed with a webcam and a smartphone/tablet and written, produced, and directed by Vincent Morisset. The other is a gorgeously odd black and white nightmarescape directed by famed photographer Anton Corbijn. (see below)
It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen on the internet.
In other news; the album comes out at the end of October. The band is performing on Saturday Night Live on September 28th. They have recorded a cover of "Games Without Frontiers" for a Peter Gabriel tribute. They are also scoring the new Spike Jonze film Her.
I'm digging this song despite feeling it's not as tight as an LCD track. But this is a situation where the visuals really help draw you into the song. Watch/experience both.
Artist: Hot Natured
Album: Different Sides of the Sun
House music is making a pop comeback... if you liked recent output by the UK's Disclosure, check out British-American duo Hot Natured, who recently released their debut album Different Sides of the Sun.
Jamie Jones and Lee Foss formed the band/collective after starting their record label, Hot Creations. They have since added Ali Love (whom I've been waiting for another album from) and Luca C from Infinity Ink. The album also contains vocals from a slew of guests including Anabel Englund, Kenny Glasgow, The Egyptian Lover, and Róisín Murphy.
Different Sides of the Sun is a bit less pop than Disclosure, yet poppier than a lot of house records... a middle ground between groovy background music and something more radio-friendly. It's best to just take a listen.
Danish singer-songwriter and Brooklyn resident Oh Land is returning with her third album Wish Bone this month. The new album comes after getting a bit of exposure from the HBO show Girls that used her track "White Nights" last season.
First single "Renaissance Girls" came out in early August which honestly didn't grab me, but second single "Pyromaniac" has thrilled me instantly. A groovy slice of indie-disco, "Pyromaniac" shows a bit of new Daft Punk impact with an irresistible old school vibe. Love it.
I suppose I can't have a music blog without saying something about Miley Cyrus right? (even if it's two weeks late.)
So... huge Summer hit, cultural appropriation, VMA's, "WTF is twerking?", Robin Thicke, THAT tongue, her poor father, talentless, disgusting, blah blah blah.
I like the brashness of Miley Cyrus, I like her tunes. I like how Rock 'n' Roll the VMA performance was, I just wish it had more of a point (beyond the delicious shock which it nailed) and was better. And for the record, the only culture she appropriated was internet culture, which no race owns. We are ALL the internet. We're all a little Miley.
I never wrote about "We Can't Stop," the killer mid-tempo track she released and rode a wave of publicity with all Summer. The video (see below) was filled with Tumblr-riffic visuals, yes she twerked, and yes this whole thing is her "I'm now twenty years old and this is what I want to do" moment. Outrage. Disgust. Weep for the future... yawn.
WHEN WILL WE AS A CULTURE GET OVER THE FACT THAT YOUNG GIRLS GROW INTO WOMEN?
Whatever, I don't have anything more to say that you haven't heard or want to hear so I'll just say her recently released ballad "Wrecking Ball" is so absolutely perfect for her right now. It's a nice antidote musically to everything that was "We Can't Stop," and is a metaphorical home-run for everything she's doing right now. I typically hate ballads but I like this song.
Miley has come in like a wrecking ball indeed, the only thing she could do in my book that would be even better would be to release a huge anti-religion track next. THAT would be amazing, but I think that might be for the next Miley to take on.
It's been now more than a year and a half since M.I.A. released "Bad Girls," purported to be the first single off of her fourth album. The album got a title, Matangi, and another just-okay single, "Bring the Noize" came out in June... but where is this album?
Well apparently there has been some issues with her label Interscope that partly involve a documentary being made about her, and changes they've asked for the album. Just recently M.I.A. publicly threatened to leak the album if Interscope continued to drag their feet, which lead to the announcement of a November 5th... so it's coming?
Regardless, a new track has come out as possible third single and it's a stunner.
"Come Walk With Me" has a distinctive M.I.A.-take on the 60s Girl Group sound, mixed with off-kilter beats and world music influences (duh). It starts off slow and builds towards it's insane kitchen-sink finale. It's got spacey, clean-guitar picking, marching band big beats... and then it gets weird. Is it too strange to be a hit? Dunno... but it's growing on me by leaps and bounds.
Artist: Blondie (feat. Beth Ditto)
Album: Ghosts of Download
Pretty soon after 2011's Panic for Girls, late 70s/80s New York City heroes Blondie return with their eleventh studio album, Ghosts of Download in November. The first single, "A Rose By Any Name" featuring Gossip's Beth Ditto was released in late June.
Ghosts is rumoured to continue their rock/disco/electronic sound, with production work by Steve Lillywhite, Jeff Saltzman, and Matt Katz-Bohen. Katz-Bohen, whom has played keyboard with Blondie since the last tour as well as written tracks for Panic of Girls co-wrote/produced "A Rose By Any Name."
The song is a shimmery disco/rock track that's pretty infectious. Ditto is a great addition, and nice to be worked into the Blondie universe, a natural fit. Nice work.
Excited about the album. Thought Panic of Girls was just okay after the excellent but really underrated Curse of Blondie from 2003. I'm glad they're not taking so long between albums.
Summer is officially over y'all. (tears) But let's ease the pain with something unmistakably fun.
Morgan Page is a great pop remixer, and I loved his clubby take on 80s classic "Stand Back" by Stevie Nicks, as well as reworks of contemporary tracks like Coldplay's "White Shadows" and Tegan & Sara's "Walking with the Ghost" and "Back in Your Head."
Page has had a pretty successful run with his last release, 2012's In the Air, though he's yet to have his "Guetta moment." "Your Love" doesn't seem to be slated for any upcoming release, just a one-off between albums and something killer to play during this Summer's sets.
The track features new vocals by the Outfield's Tony Lewis.
If you don't know Morgan very well, check out some of his stuff with this playlist:
