New UK act Jonquil take a page out of both Foals and Yeasayer’s playbook on “Get Up,” a song that’s both intricate in rhythm yet airy and pop. It’s got Radio 1 written all over it. Get it.
Jonquil: Get Up (from RCRD LBL)
from the album One Hundred Suns
MP3 • 
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Hot (or should that be warm?) on the heels of Kisses’ love-blooming, flower-budding Song of the Week “Bermuda” comes Spanish quartet Delorean’s equally sweet and springy light-electro track “Stay Close,” a song that furthers the case that chillwave is best reserved for the second season. My favourite part is the mild urging to “get up / get up / get up,” more a breezy suggestion than a torrid demand. Enjoy April!
Delorean: Stay Close (from Pitchfork)
from the CD Subiza
MP3 • 
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First Aid Kit: The Big Black and The Blue
I’ve already gushed about First Aid Kit, the brilliant Swedish sister folk duo that, along with Mumford & Sons, is making songs about fields and shipbuilding hip again. And the comparisons with Mumford & Sons and their pop-friendly approach to old-time sounds don’t stop there; First Aid Kit’s debut long-player shares M&S’s first disc’s superstrong start with a fizzle-out finish. It won’t be a problem at all getting through The Big Black and the Blue’s foot-stomping, smile-inducing first half, with songs like “Waltz for Richard,” “Hard Believer” and sparkling “Sailor Song” showing off the Söderberg sisters’ exquisite harmonies, evocative of the best two-part vocal acts of decades past (Simon and Garfunkel, the Everly and Isley brothers). But I’ll maintain that 11 songs is too much for most debut acts to carry off, and First Aid Kit are no different. But what a start! A-
First Aid Kit: I Met Up With the King
from the CD The Big Black and The BlueMP3 •
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If you know anything about Savannah, GA-based electropop group Sunglasses, you know The Video. It’s embedded below, and is perhaps the best video I’ve seen since Sledgehammer. And it’s pre-viral, poised for breakthrough brilliance whenever Pitchfork or Stereogum discover the joys of watching a pasty, mustachioed bad dancer strip off his retro gear – and get the girls! But that’s not all Sunglasses are about, as their two so-far-released Passion Pit-meets-Animal Collective tracks have caught the attention of hipster label Lefse Records (home of Neon Indian and Phasone). Future’s bright…
Sunglasses: WhiplashMP3 • MYSPACE
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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 VisionariesMP3 •
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Summer songs are well known, but let’s hear it for springtime music, and in particular the inviting, sprightly “Bermuda” from new chillwave duo Kisses. At this point, it’s their only song, at least available anywhere. So it’s far too early to give career advice to lead singer Jesse Kivel, the male half of Kisses (the other, according to Stereogum, being fashion blogger Zinzi Edmundson), who also fronts Cali indie band Princeton. But if “Bermuda” is a taste of what’s to come from Kisses, he might have to kiss his other gig goodbye.
Kisses: Bermuda (from Stereogum)MP3 •
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Chew Lips: Unicorn
I’ve been tracking London dance-pop trio Chew Lips for a while, including early singles “Slick” and “Solo” on my JeffMix podcast, naming them Best New Thing, and now receiving a pre-North America release promo CD to review. And they’ve yet to disappoint, even if Unicorn doesn’t quite deliver on the breathless promise of “Slick,” clearly the album’s high point. The other highlights, including “Play Together” and the sneak-up-on-you ballad “Too Much Talking,” share “Slick”’s under-produced edge, an excellent contrast to lead singer Tig’s (yes, one word, Tig) warmer vocals. I wish Unicorn finished stronger, as a few tracks at the end get too soft, too pop; but an otherwise excellent, definitely slick debut. A-
Chew Lips: Slick (from NME)
from the CD UnicornMP3 •
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I’m loving everything about Brooklyn-based duo Javelin: their Odelay-chillwave-hip hop sound, the fact they share a name with both a Japanese goth band and a 1970s New Jersey rock group, and for sure the videos of a couple live performances embedded below. On a sour note, I just found out that they’ll be in Toronto on the same night I already have tickets to see the Toro Y Moi / Ruby Suns show, so I’m not sure what I’ll do, because as you’ll see from their videos, their live shows look like they’re a blast. And so is their music, a blast from both a Kurtis Blow past and a PlayStation future. “Oh! Centra,” from an album coming out next month on Luaka Bop, shows off their groovy, wilder side, complete with Salt-N-Pepa hook. Oh!
Javelin: Oh! Centra (from Pitchfork)
from the upcoming CD No MasMP3 •
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For at least one song, Kate Nash has pulled off what so many others, from Rogue Wave to Editors to Liz Phair to Garth Brooks, have struggled with: a change in musical direction. Granted, hers is the easier path, from safe, girly pop to riot-grrl rock. And naysayers will say she’s just ripped off Yeah Yeah Yeahs, which, of course, she has. But a Karen O copy is a lot better, in my book, than a Lily Allen copy, and “I Just Love You More,” with its head-bopping rock riff and perfectly placed squeals, does what most of Nash’s too-cute songs usually can’t: it leaves you wanting more.
Kate Nash: I Just Love You More (from Pitchfork)
from the upcoming CD My Best Friend Is YouMP3 •
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Yeasayer: Odd Blood
Yeasayer imagine themselves as a funkier Animal Collective, and Odd Blood is undoubtedly influenced by Merriweather Post Pavilion and its mix of Brian-Wilson-style overdubs and tribal rhythms. But the Brooklyn-based three-piece succeeds most when it plays to its strengths: danceable grooves and a terrific, strong-piped lead vocalist – more Miike Snow and less AC. Take second single “O.N.E.,” a track with a wicked mid-song beat that is instantly remixable. Or “Love Me Girl,” which almost, just almost, turns into a house track with its Italo-style piano riff and big beat opening (complete with an 808 State seagull sample). But it doesn’t commit, and falls back into the safer experimental sound that Odd Blood is more packed with. B
Yeasayer: O.N.E. (from RCRD LBL)
from the CD Odd BloodMP3 •
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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: BoogiemanMP3 • MYSPACE
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Marina and the Diamonds: The Family Jewels
I don’t think UK sensation Marina and the Diamonds will achieve the kind of popularity to merit a musical one day, à la ABBA’s Mamma Mia or Queen’s We Will Rock You, but if it happens, The Family Jewels is tailor-made for the stage. Glammy flourishes, vaudevillian piano touches, and then there’s Marina Diamandis’s over-dramatic, high-low voice. It’s no doubt Marina has an excellent pop songwriting touch – it’s why major label Warner snapped her up from indie boutique label Neon Gold – and the Family Jewels is poised for mainstream success somewhere in the range of Florence and Gaga. But it’s the less-Broadway songs, like stripped down “Obsessions” or Enya-ish “Numb,” that impress the most. (For evidence, check out her acoustic rendition of current UK hit “Hollywood” in the video below. Much better.) B+
Marina and the Diamonds: Hollywood (Fenech-Soler Remix) (from RCRD LBL)
from the CD The Family JewelsMP3 • PURCHASE • MYSPACE • OFFICIAL SITE
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First Aid Kit, a duo of startlingly talented and young sisters from Stockholm, show that Swedes not only do pop best, but they also kill at folk music. Take a look at the video of their acoustic cover of Fleet Foxes’ “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” and tell me it doesn’t take your breath away (especially when backup sister Johanna Söderberg comes in). And “I Met Up With the King” (downloadable below, and also on JeffMix2010.02.21), with Klara’s feisty, world-weary vocals, lives up to the motto on their MySpace page: “We aim for the hearts, not the charts!”
First Aid Kit: I Met Up With the King (courtesy Wichita Records)
from the CD The Big Black & The BlueMP3 •
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JeffMix podcasts: 20 songs, every month, the best in new music.
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Morning Benders are this month’s big buzz band with good reason. A couple of excellent pre-release tracks – including the surf doo-wop single “Excuses” — a don’t-miss, cameo-filled promo video (see below), and A-list indie-band networking (including opening slots and production help from Grizzly Bear and Death Cab For Cutie) are building let’s-see-what-they’re-all-about expectation for this California college quartet’s second album Big Echo.
Morning Benders: Excuses (from Stereogum)
from the upcoming CD Big EchoMP3 •
And for more new sounds, make sure to subscribe to my latest podcast, JeffMix2010.02.21 (also on iTunes), featuring music from Drive-By Truckers, Los Campesinos!, The Radio Dept., and Jónsi, among others.
Hot Chip: One Life Stand
Hot Chip may have helped usher in the electro-pop age, but they still haven’t fully mastered it. And while their third record, One Life Stand, is tighter than its messy predecessor Made In the Dark, it suffers from the same frustrating problems: an over-indulgence in slushy ballads and an under-commitment to the band’s near-peerless envelope-pushing dancefloor-friendly tracks. For every “I Feel Better,” with its that’s-how-you-do-AutoTune shimmer, and the snare-drum-and-piano beat of “Hand Me Down Your Love,” there’s the wilty “Brothers” or “Keep Quiet” or the appropriately named “Slush,” songs that suggest the band knows they’re trying our patience. Even the slower songs that do work, like the slinky “Alley Cats,” lack the edge that Hot Chip doesn’t show often enough. B+
Hot Chip: Take It In (from RCRD LBL)
from the CD One Life StandMP3 •
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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 VeinsMP3 •
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“Art Czars,” a limited-release new track from slacker-punk duo Japandroids, is a well-timed reminder that Vancouver is home to more than just teal-coloured clothing and killer luge tracks. The song, with its Metallica-tinged opening and Thermals-style hook, is the first of a planned series of post-Post-Nothing seven-inch singles to be released and recorded during tour breaks this year. And as the B.C. boys sing, here’s your punk rock back!
Japandroids: Art Czars (from Stereogum)MP3 •
And for more new sounds, make sure to subscribe to my latest podcast, JeffMix2010.01.24 (also on iTunes), featuring music from Two Door Cinema Club, The Futureheads, The Swell Season, and The Soft Pack, among others.
