TOP 10 OF AUGUST 2011.

Some stuff you may know, some stuff I hope you don't, so I can claim I introduced you to it.

10
"Perfect Skies"
Main Attraktionz


There's something rather inspiring about relaxing Hip Hop, and something rather unexpectedly beautiful about it, like a meeting of worlds and genres. So when producer Friendzone melts his new age rhodes piano and angelic vocal sample over a softly pulsing beat, it encourages Main Attraktionz to lay back and rap lazily about getting high with their niggas.  Hell, it's peaceful.


9
"Hits Me Like A Rock"
CSS


Very MNDR-esque, CSS take every eurolectropop cliché in the book, but do everything so perfectly that although "Hits Me Like A Rock" is unoriginal, it's nauseatingly addictive. The sugar sweet main vocal hook that hits you like a BOULDER as the song opens is the main culprit here.


8
"Locked"
Four Tet


People wanting music where a lot happens better skip this one. Following in the sparser, more organic sounds of the gorgeous "There is Love in You", "Locked", taken from Four Tet's Fabric compilation, is like "Love Cry"'s more difficult older brother, shuffling awkwardly along on a post-dubstep beat, whilst whistle-synths and phasey guitars fiddle away thoughtfully, before they are startlingly interrupted by an impressive throb of a stop-start bassline. The track builds, subtley, and not an awful lot, into something hypnotic and very difficult to turn off.


7
"Jealousy"
Will Young


Having now heard Will's slightly disappointing "Echoes", I regret to report that Will is not yet the British Robyn. But that doesn't detract from the brilliance and haunting quality of lead single "Jealousy", a song that, much like Robyn's similar "Dancing on My Own", thrives on its own simplicity and honest message of heartbreak on the dancefloor. But whilst Robyn's character in her song seemed deluded and obsessed, Will's is firmly aware of what is going on, and as a result comes across defeated and beaten down. It's a touching lyric and vocal, one that matches some of Will's best.


6
"Swimmhaus Johannesburg"
Fixers


What I said about "Swimmhaus..." on the 8th of August:
"...a bludgeoning 90s dance beat, tacky piano chords and an impossible-to-shake melody. Think Bloc Party's "One More Chance" given an further injection of nu rave energy."


5
"Give It All Away"
My Plastic Sun


What I said about "Give It All Away" on the 14th August:
"...the band have a sense of rock 'n' roll tenderness that recalls Blur circa 1999 and dare-I-say The Beatles. Quite frankly, the heartbreaking "Give it All Away" is simply that good."



4
"Video Games"
Lana Del Rey


What I said about "Video Games" on the 8th August:
"...a sad, cynical anti-love song, one that would sound tired from most other current female crooners, but 'Lana' has a sultry, unimpressed and effortlessly sexy tone that drips with 60s authentic cool."



3
"Baby Missiles"
The War on Drugs


Not usually my cup of tea, "Baby Missiles" is anthemic, punky, organ-riddled rock 'n' roll quite simply. This highlight off The War on Drugs' impeccably melodic "Slave Ambient" thrives off the kind of passion and energy that stretches back to Bob Dylan, with tints of country and the harmonica solo is just pure ear-to-ear-grin enjoyable.

2
"Terra Incognita"

Atlas Sound


Atlas Sound is the solo project of the looming, mysterious frontman of the equally dark and eerie Deerhunter, Bradford Cox, but comparing "Terra Incognita" to anything Deerhunter have released seems unfitting, when I can make much more accurate comparisons to gothic cabaret acts Sopor Aeternus and even hints of sultry melancholy in the vein of Antony & The Johnsons.

Of course, Cox's voice, accompanied by a spinetingling acoustic guitar part for the most part, is neither as melodramatic or distinctive as either Sopor's Anna-Varney or Antony. However, the reason I make the comparisons is that unlike so many alternative music vocalists, Bradford's performance is not merely a carriage for the lyrics, it is an instrument of haunting beauty that leaves its mark long after the track is finished. In that aspect, "Terra Incognita" showcases a fragile man behind the music, a man who is essential to his main band, but whom is clearly meant for greater things solo.


1

"Shuffle"

Bombay Bicycle Club


After the lazy summer afternoon soundtrack that was "Flaws", it's refreshing to see Bombay Bicycle Club just not return to their roots but take an almighty big risk in airing a totally new sound. From the moment that stuttering honky tonk piano kicks in, til the final jumping vocal sample bows out abruptly, it's a plethora of hooks, yet Jack Steadman's heartbreaking cotton-candy voice and the band's wonderful songwriting still manages to shine through, better than ever in fact. "Shuffle" doesn't so much shuffle as bounce, and it's a new spring in the step of a band who have yet to disappoint.



MY REPORTS ON "A DIFFERENT KIND OF FIX" TOMORROW!!!