I gotta be honest with our readers. After M.I.A. dropped her last record I was ready to write her off. It was a terribly uninspired and mediocre release for the underground rapper turned international pop sensation. Shoot forward to today and we see the release of M.I.A.’s video for her new single “Bad Girls.” After the incredibly disappointing /\/\ /\ Y /\ I didn’t want to like it at all. I had already written the video and song off along with the rest of M.I.A.’s career. Well, after watching this vid I can say that I was completely wrong. I should have never written her off. This video is brilliantly swagged out in the best kind of way and Romain Gavras’ excellent direction helped to contextualize the song for me. Let’s just hope that the rest of Maya’s next album is just as on point as this single/video is.
I love Sebastien Tellier. Even though I didn’t understand half of his 2008 album Sexuality, which featured artwork of Sebastien riding horseback atop a naked woman’s body, because most of it’s lyrics were in French, it was still one of my favorite albums of that year. This was thanks in part to the productions of Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, but mostly due to Tellier’s panache. It was a fun album that still resonates with me to this day.
Four year’s later and Tellier is finally back with a follow-up LP. My God Is Blue is due out April 16th on Parisian label Record Makers. Ahead of it’s release, Tellier has released a video for the album’s lead track “Pepito Bleu.” Watch the strange, cultish video below. It even includes subtitles for those of us that don’t speak French.
So we’re getting the feeling that the Australian music invasion is really starting to pick up. Some groups, like Sydney’s Convaire, are borrowing heavily from 90s’ synth-pop mentality and it’s an absolute delight. They sound a little like GIVERS (who we wrote about months ago but who are now just beginning to bask in the indie sunlight). It feels like the genre has been so absent from all the modern electronica that we’ve pretty much moved on to bigger and better things. Happy go lucky and carefree synth-pop… is there any other way to do it? Maybe, but nothing feels as good.
There’s not much that can be said about this album to justify it or do it justice. Tony Bennett is a legend and that’s all there is to it. This is a man who went from singing commercial pop tunes to a near-fatal cocaine overdose while remaining an iconic figure in American pop and vocal jazz music. He was once warned not to imitate Frank Sinatra, but he’s most famous for it.
Duets II was released in late September and debuted at number 1 on the Bilboard 200. Looking at the track list is a little dumbfounding. We wanted to pick and choose the featured artists we thought would be spectacular with Bennett’s style, but everyone on this list makes our eyes widen in excitement and anticipation. I mean, seriously, it goes Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Amy Winehouse, Michael Buble, K. D. Lang, Aretha Franklin, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Queen Latifah, Norah Jones, Josh Groban… I mean, seriously… come on. And the songs are exactly how we thought they would be… freaking brilliant.
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Tony Bennett feat. Lady Gaga- The Lady Is A Tramp
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Tony Bennett feat. John Mayer- One For My Baby (And One For The Road)
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Tony Bennett feat. Amy Winehouse- Body And Soul
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Tony Bennett feat. Norah Jones- Speak Low
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Tony Bennett feat. Natalie Cole- Watch What Happens
Summer Camp‘s latest triumph was their Young EP that was released last year. Everything about the album screams pop: the percussion is tinny, the bass is punchy, and the lead singer blasts her voice. Picture the style that made Madonna who she is today, then crumble that into a ball, raise the volume slightly to add the slightest distortion to the overall sound, remove the pomp, and you have Summer Camp’s Young EP. Until now though, they’ve been relatively quiet. “Better Off Without You” is another tune that screams pop, plush with nostalgic overtones. It’ll be on their debut full-length, Welcome to Condale, which is due out November 8th.
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Born Gold probably has one of the most unique sounds that we have heard in quite some time. Once named Gobble Gobble, this Canadian avant-pop outfit clings to glitchy themes and blaring synths. Cecil Frena’s vocals are terrorizing, but he clearly has an ear for beat culture, so although there’s a chilling aspect, the beat transforms this tune into something you can jollily sing along to. Keep an eye out for Bodysongs, his upcoming record which will be out September 20th.
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Mixing elements of futuristic Korean pop and modern hip-hop, Minneapolis-based electronic-pop duo Elite Gymnastics juxtaposes chilled out atmospheres with upbeat drums to create something that feels like it’s floating but still determined. Keep an eye out for their upcoming 12” Ruin, which will house “So Close To Paradise”.
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