New Sounds: Parallels’ replicant rock

I’m going to date myself, but Parallels – the Toronto retro-electro trio featuring former Crystal Castles drummer Cameron Findlay and Kate Bush-sounding lead singer Holly Dodson – makes me think of the kind of post-new-wave synth pop I used to hear on CBC’s once-excellent Brave New Waves show or on early releases from B.C.-based Nettwerk Records. If that name-dropping just makes you scratch your head, no worries: Parallels, and stand-out tracks like “Ultralight” and the roboticized “Dry Blood,” stand on their own, 1980s-influenced feet. And if Blade Runner is your favourite movie of all time, you’re going to love this.

Parallels: Ultralight
from the CD Visionaries
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New Sounds: Benin City’s heavy groove

London-based five-piece band Benin City is one potent combo, blending several sounds into their Afrofunk mix, from the expected (the James Brown-style sax-and-drums rhythm section) to the less so, including vocalist Musa’s spoken-word, The-Streets-like interjections and one mean electric cello. “Boogieman,” from their debut EP Invisible Cake, really shows off Benin City’s ability to mix heavy groove with social commentary, a track about the increasing level of suspicion and surveillance in UK society. And as you’ll see from their YouTube video below, bet you’ll want to catch them live...

Benin City: Boogieman
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New Sounds: Bad Veins roll

At first I thought Bad Veins wasn’t a good name for the Cincinnati duo whose music is far less punk than their moniker suggests (think Religion or Brains). But on second thought and several listens to tracks from their debut self-titled CD, it’s a perfect metaphor for their hard-to-nail-down, genre-neutral sound. There’s a bit of fuzz rock (“Falling Tide”), Rentals-style synths (“Afraid”) and more straight-ahead earnest indie pop (“Gold and Warm”). I particularly like their quieter tracks, like “Go Home” with its warm, electro production and Stars-like trumpet coda. Not bad at all.

Bad Veins: Go Home
from the CD Bad Veins
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New Sounds: LOGGY logs on

Cali college all-capped rapper LOGGY is riding several musical waves on his debut mixtape, Up All Night. The Asher Roth / Atmosphere comparisons are evident – and promoted on his MySpace page – but he also aims for music bloggers’ soft spots by sampling liberally from indie hits, capitalizing on a smart, growing trend (see Chiddy Bang). “Our Little Secrets” (downloadable below) bumps Passion Pit’s dancefloor-friendly “Little Secrets” and “Rich Girl” gives The Virgins’ similarly named track its sample-ready due. (And there’s a sample in “We Lounge” that I know I know but can’t figure out its name!) LOGGY might have trouble clearing these samples for a proper album, but they’re right on for a mixtape.

LOGGY: Our Little Secret
from the Up All Night mixtape
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New Sounds: Idolizing The Shape of the Earth

Each time American Idol comes on the air, I fall under the influence of Simon Cowell and pretend to be a star-maker. And so, let me say that The Shape of the Earth – a Cali three-piece with a jangly, indie-rock sound somewhere between Snow Patrol and Spoon – have star written all over them. Well, they’ve got one sure-fire hit, the downloadable-below “Alone In This,” and a bunch of other heart-on-the-sleeve, highly polished tracks on their debut record Do I Dare Disturb the Universe? (I’d also like to thank them for introducing me to the particular talent that is LisaNova, a YouTube phenomenon who featured TSOTE’s music and has somehow eluded my pop-culture radar.) Check ’em out, dawg.

The Shape of the Earth: Alone In This
from the CD Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?
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New Sounds: Says She’s Ms. Blat strike a pose

Lottie Leymarie, the thick-voiced lead singer of New York drums-and-keyboards duo Says She’s Ms. Blat, sent me an email saying “I dig your blog and I think you might like our tunes.” She’s right, as she knows I share the same ear for pop tunes as she and partner Bret Puchir clearly possess. Give “Poseurs” (available for download below) a taste and you’ll appreciate their more controlled, more tuneful take on the guy-girl post-punk combo. Sort of in the middle of the White Stripes / Carpenters continuum...

Says She’s Ms. Blat: Poseurs
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New Sounds: MillionYoung’s laid-back "Hammock"

2009 was the year of both lo-fi and chillwave, and it’s the latter genre that for my ears, was the more welcome addition. Toro Y Moi, Washed Out, Neon Indian, Memory Cassette all garnered repeat listens with their laid-back, sunwashed pop grooves – and now add Floridian one-man show MillionYoung to the chillwave mixtape. “Hammock,” the best of the tracks included in Mike Diaz’s free-to-download EP Sunndreamm EP, is as relaxing and welcome as its title suggests. Seriously chill.

MillionYoung: Hammock
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New Sounds: O’Spada would die 4 U

Swedish Prince and Nu Shooz fans, O’Spada, return with another unapologetic slice of early-1980s pop funk, “Ten Strikes.” It’s on the heels of excellent first single “Time” (which can be heard on JeffMix2009.06.27), both songs that would be candidates for the soundtrack if anyone dared do a remake of Purple Rain. Morris Day would be proud...

O’Spada: Ten Strikes
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New Sounds: Emily Jane White’s sad songs

One thing that’s missing from today’s crop of folk singers is a darker, Leonard Cohen-ish edge. And American singer-songwriter Emily Jane White recaptures the more miserable end. Don’t believe me? Here’s what she says: “I don’t write happy music. I’m drawn to writing sad songs. Reflective, contemplative songs. I truly believe that’s my job. I’m okay with that.” Well, so am I, especially if they sound as wonderful as lead track “Victorian America,” which can be heard on her yet-to-be-released-in-North America CD Victorian America, as well as my latest JeffMix podcast. Reflect on that.

Emily Jane White: Victorian America
from the album Victorian America
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New Sounds: Time for Dominique Young Unique

Seventeen-year-old Florida rapper Dominique Young Unique may not be as original as her name suggests – it’s easy to compare her sound to other alt-hip hoppers Santigold and M.I.A. – but she has reason to be confident. Only two tracks sit on her MySpace page, slinky “Hot Girl” and the more accessible “Music Time” (downloadable below) – both with a spicy, mashup-style sound from Yo Majesty’s Hard Feelings production team – but they show Dominique is an MC to watch, or at least alert Pitchfork about...

Dominique Young Unique: Music Time
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New Sounds: Kinch gets it

I’d love to see Phoenix band Kinch get big, not just for their 1990s-style, piano-driven rock (which makes me think of bands like Ben Folds Five, Counting Crows or Brad, especially on recent track “Tie Me Lightly,” downloadable below), but also for their very 2009 approach to the music business. All of their music can be downloaded for free (they charge for physical CDs), including recent EP release Collars and Sleeves, as they acknowledge their best chance for making a buck is to be a touring band. As they say on their website: “We will either have a career making music or we won’t have a career making music based on our live shows.
If some free mp3s will help get people to come see us play live music, then we are for free mp3s. And because we record and release everything on our own right now, we can be.” Very cool. Check them out, especially if they’re in your town.

Kinch: Tie Me Lightly
from the EP Collars and Sleeves
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New Sounds: Adam Arcuragi becomes joy

I was sent a link of Adam Arcuragi playing an impromptu acoustic set at an “underground NYC flea market,” and the publicist who emailed it to me knew what she was doing – it’s an excellent way to be introduced to the singer-songwriter’s aim-to-please talents, showcased on the new CD (his second), I Am Become Joy. Arcuragi, despite the seeming complexity of his last name, keeps his brand of folk rock simple, and especially raw. Few overdubs, a couple of giggles caught on tape, and a general relaxed, recorded-in-one-take feel, as can be heard on lead track “She Comes to Me” and other album standout, “Math.” If only all flea markets were so entertaining...

Adam Arcuragi: She Comes to Me
from the CD I Am Become Joy
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New Sounds: Bagheera growls

With a name like Bagheera, you’d expect either a trippy Ben Harper-ish jam band or perhaps a tribal house DJ act to match the stealth quality of the Jungle Book panther character. So the fact that the trio of barely university-age Brits play music more like an acoustic Animal Collective is the first surprise when giving Bagheera a spin. The next is that it’s so polished – and so good. Already tipped by BBC’s Steve Lamacq as a band to watch, the four songs on their free-to-download EP Hollow Home (from their MySpace page) demonstrate why they likely won’t be unsigned for long. Good stuff.

Bagheera: Old Machine
from the free EP Hollow Home
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New Sounds: High praise for Frida Hyvönen

I emailed a link to this song to my wife and she replied, perhaps a bit sharply, that I sure have a thing for Swedish pop stars. Sure enough, especially when you hear a track like “Jesus Was a Crossmaker,” Frida Hyvönen’s cover of a track first recorded by lesser-known folk artist Judee Sill back in the ’70s. It’s also been covered by artists as diverse as The Hollies, Warren Zevon and Rachael Yamagata, but I doubt the Swede’s take will be topped. And I know I’ve used the word “majestic” to describe other songs, but its truly apt here, in a pearly-gates kind of way. Hallelujah.

Frida Hyvönen: Jesus Was a Crossmaker (from Pitchfork)
from the upcoming CD Crayon Angel: A Tribute to the Music of Judee Sill
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New Sounds: Julie Peel unfolds

There are a lot of indie-folk artists out there, and most of them get a quick pass during my iPod shuffle. It’s not that I don’t like the genre (okay, I don’t really like the genre), but I find most of them are more sleepy than dreamy. And on an early morning transit ride where I do most of my music listening, sleepy isn’t good. On “Unfold,” a Beth Orton-ish track from her upcoming CD Near the Sun, new singer/songwriter Julie Peel gets dreamy right. And on the other tracks streaming on her MySpace page, Peel (a multi-instrumentalist who shuttles between France and Montreal) shows she’s an artist to watch. Or at least keep you awake.

Julie Peel: Unfold (from Largehearted Boy)
from the upcoming CD Near the Sun
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New Sounds: Woodward’s a hit

You’d never guess, after listening to their current synth-rock single “Switch Hit Resistor,” that the band Woodward are from Detroit, not from across the Atlantic. While there is a similarity to The Killers’ over-the-top-ness, I get more of a Maximo Park / Datarock vibe from the foursome, with its slick new-wave touches and the lead singer’s reaching vocals. I’d suggest they get this song under Zane Lowe’s nose… it’s got BBC written all over it.

Woodward: Switch Hit Resistor
from the Switch Hit Resistor EP
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New Sounds: Akudama’s strong collective

It’s fairly easy to spot the Animal Collective influences on Brooklyn band Akudama’s music: the Beach Boys-styled funk, the yelps, and even the crazy nicknames (Broccoli Bob, Hanker Chief, Head of Lettuce – maybe a vegetable collective?). But it works, especially on latest single “Sun (From Underneath the Lake),” taken from their free-to-download Sun EP (part of the band’s monthly EP series), a great example of Akudama’s tight propulsive sound and strong songwriting chops. They also name-dropped Tears For Fears in their email to me, and you can detect a bit of Roland Orzabal influence. And a bit of Orzabal is always good.

Akudama: Sun (From Underneath the Lake)
from the Sun EP
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New Sounds: eRNEST&AMz make it funky

One part French electro, one part NYC hip hop, eRNEST&AMz answer the musical question: what would happen if someone like Laurent Garnier made a record with someone like Cadence Weapon? I bet it would sound a lot like eRNEST&AMz. “You Made Me Funky” (downloadable below) and the MySpace-available “Coming Up” push a party-starting, Fresh Prince-ish throwback sound – definitely jiggy-ish. And if you sign up to their Twitter page, the duo will send you their first EP, The Electrophone EP, for free. Good deal.

eRNEST&AMz: You Made Me Funky
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New Sounds: Dieter Schöön

Despite a double-umlauted name that Spinal Tap fans would love, Sweden’s Dieter Schöön makes music that sounds more like early Depeche Mode or a more avant-garde Arcade Fire. And I’d name-drop one more band – UK band Fanfarlo – when describing “Mary Jane,” the most accessible track on Schöön’s debut album Lablaza. I don’t like to quote press releases, but their publicist calls the distinctive rhythm of “Mary Jane” as “Scandinavian mariachi.” Definitely intriguing.

Dieter Schöön: Mary Jane
from Lablaza
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New Sounds: Zemmy

The next UK pop diva has to start somewhere, and Zemmy, a 22-year-old Londoner-by-way-of-Nigeria R&B singer, sounds like she’s already got her sights set for the Chart Show. As Zane Lowe would say, it’s early days for Zemmy, so there’s not too much info or music on her MySpace page, but first single “Everything’s Okay” definitely shows a spark. Needs a remix, though. Calvin Harris, you available?

Zemmy: Everything’s Okay
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