Ok, it's approaching the end of the month, and I've got a busy weekend (well, an irresponsibly drunk one, where the only music I hear will be played at a hideous volume, to the point of being unsure of what it actually is) ahead of me, so here is now :) I mean what could I possibly discover in two days? A leaked One Direction single?
10 // LDFD - OUTTACONTROL
Not entirely sure where I got this from, but "Outtacontrol" is a typically 2011 exercise in dusty 4am 2 step-laced electronica, but what I love is that it samples Janet Jackson, and this makes it irresistibly sexy. Those blabbering synths reel you in, and before you know it your legs are in the air.
9 // THE DRUMS - MONEY
I like, not LOVE, The Drums, but there's something charming and cheeky about their energetic and simple pop songs, like a college student seducing their lecturer (it's all sex today isn't it?). "Money" is as catchy as "Let's Go Surfing", and just as angsty, drop out teenager. It sounds a LOT like The Smiths, but to sound that good is an achievement in itself. Objection overruled. I like the 'computer error message' chord stabs in the verses also.
I sort of fancy their lead singer.
8 // MIKE DANIS - FOR YOU
Nothing like a gorgeous three chord progressive trance anthem to depress you on a summer afternoon. Everything about this is, on paper, generic, but the simplicity and open space that the tracks leaves stays with you, and it's actually gorgeous.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FREE.
7 // WASHED OUT - AMOR FATI
Washed Out's "Within and Without" is one long out of body smile, that succeeds on every level in warming you from the inside out. "Amor Fati" is probably its centerpiece, with its hints at commercial dance, the balearic steel drum synths holding together the floating vocals and whispery pads. In short, a new high.
6 // GHOSTS YOU ECHO - ERIKA
It's not often I sit up and listen to female singers these days, but Ghosts You Echo has an urgency in her voice, and in her songwriting, which is strong, up there with Florence and the Machine, or at the very least, on the way. A regal, foreboding track, "Erika" threatens to explode at any moment, and when it does at 2:44, it's exhilirating, and well worth the build up. I predict bigger and better things however.
I'd like to produce for her. My motto is that things can always sound bigger.
Ghosts You Echo - Erika by StevenWeston
5 // VIOLENS - TOTALLY TRUE
Half-awake indiepop with an interest in shoegaze, Violens just make me fall in love with music all over again. "Totally True" rides a 2 note guitar refrain which spins round and round amidst the gentle cacophony of vocal echoes and 80s guitar clang.
4 // M83 - MIDNIGHT CITY
Shamelessly hooky, and a total revelation, M83 pulls out all the Passion Pit-esque stops to create a sound of their own. Gone is the electrogaze rock and in is a bittersweet 80s New Wave synthpop sound that sweetens with every listen, and every Cut Copy-inspired saxophone note. That solo is pure genius.
3 // NATALIA KILLS FEAT. WILL.I.AM - FREE
I know, I know, I just placed something with Will.I.Am in it above M83, Washed Out AND The Drums. So sue me, "Free" is the sound of Natalia Kills creating a student anthem if there ever was one. It looks great, gleams with perfection, but under the surface, it's a pretty fucked up situation. And as a result, Natalia Kills is the pop star equivalent of American Psycho... I'm sure she'd love that description. A little bit Robyn, a little bit Gaga (not as much as everyone claims on first listen, take a listen to her SUPERIOR album). She is a parody and she doesn't care. She'll still slit your throat if you step on her Jimmy Choos.
2 // ALEX CLARE - WHEN DOVES CRY
If Jamie Woon or James Blake has swagga, they might approach the monster of a sound that Alex Clare has. "Treading Water" is a loser's club anthem if there ever was one, and the bass on "Too Close" could destroy even the sturdiest of speakers, but the genius of his cover of "When Doves Cry" lies in maintaining a level of sex whilst still battering the tune down with doomstep bass growls and industrial sized beats.
1 // KE$HA - SHOTS ON THE HOOD OF MY CAR
This is maybe an over-ambitious and thoroughly misjudged placement for the number one track of July. First of all, it's a leak, for all we know this might never see the commercial light of day. But it's seems doubtful. Ke$ha seems more mature on this track, less a girl, more a woman. One who'll not be vomiting in the toilet at 11pm, but one who sits on the balcony watching all her friends dance in the back garden to this track. As feel good as feel good gets, in my opinion this is 2011's "Teenage Dream": Nostalgic, irresistibly gorgeous and best of all, puts a genuine smile on your face.
I'm sure she'd still drink me under the table though.
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