TOP 10 OF SEPTEMBER 2011.

A fairly good month for the charts. Above average new releases out in the UK from Frankmusik (what-I-call sellout, but enjoyable) Natalia Kills (the best popstar of the moment) and Nicola Roberts (love her or hate her, she really has come into her own, working with Metronomy for Christ's sake!). Indie-wise the Bombay Bicycle Club album was pretty good, though The Drums' album proved too be one moan too many and came across rather unlistenably depressing. Oh, and Laura Marling? She never was my cup of tea, but no one can deny, the girl knows her way around a lovely melody.

But as I have mostly found this year, stuff scuttering around in the underground amongst blogs and unsigned music playlists is what really impresses the most.

10.
"Radioactive"
Marina and the Diamonds

Ok, so this is hardly underground. And it's not so much creative as an obvious bid for Rihanna-level euphoric dancepop status. BUT, hasn't Marina always pined for fame and fortune? Her desperate, attention-seeking, lyrical outburst of a debut album was let down by its far from outstanding musical content. "Radioactive"'s melodramatic eurodance chords and clattering club beats, courtesy of Stargate, is finally a match for Marina's post-stage school histronics and confusing yet OTT phrasing: "lying on a fake beach, you'll never get a tan" opens the song, and gives way to a more poignant and emotional "At night your heart is full, and by the morning empty". The woman is paving her way to the kind of compromise between commercial and artistically free that make Robyn and Florence two of the best pop artists on the planet. Marina hasn't got long to go.



9.
"Go"
Delilah

One commenter on the youtube video notes how pleased he is that this dark post-dubstep tune doesn't break into a predictable throbbing breakdown. I am equally pleased, as "Go" and its predecessor, Delilah's debut single "Breathe", both recall a time in the 90s when music could be dark and eerie without having to tick any 'dance music' boxes. Portishead and especially Massive Attack are both pointers here, and Delilah, whilst not the best singer in the world, is a perfectly good front woman to ease in this (hopefully) new wave of Post-Dubstep Trip Hop revival. (Not to sound pretentious at all obviously)



8.
"Keep You"
Class Actress

I recently complimented the candy-cane-sweet, Sleigh Bells-lite (selling them short, but vaguely accurate) Class Actress on their great debut album, full of dark synthpop anthems with a creepy Witch House vibe. The great thing about C.A. however is how little they compromise the danceable and melodic nature of their tracks like so many in their field. "Keep You" opens the record, and ushers in a colossal synth bass and and insistent  alarmingly catchy melody.



7.
"Spectre"
Miracle Fortress

A flawed record, dreampop-indie band Miracle Fortress' debut "Was I The Wave" is an inconsistent bag of half-finished melodies, too much empty space and a lot of overused ideas, but with occasional flashes of melodic brilliance. The new wave pulse of "Spectre" is simply gorgeous, aced by a lovely wordless vocal hook in the chorus.



6.
"Lights Out, Words Gone"
Bombay Bicycle Club

"A Different Kind of Fix" is without a doubt BBC's summer record, Bombay-lite if you will, a lot of tracks awash with ambient pads and balearic rhythms, none-more-so than "Lights Out, Words Gone", a sure fire future single. A hypnotic clap-heavy dance beat gives proceedings a subtle groove as gentle pads resemble clouds passing overhead, and a lightly funky guitar hook steals the show. The whole track oozes simple melodic bliss.



5.
"Don't Fuck With My Money"
Penguin Prison

Penguin Prison are Simple Minds incarnate with a 2010s punch, and boy is "Don't Fuck With My Money" an addictive song. Hook after hook as 80s synths play by every rule in the 1980s pop rulebook, a slamming falsetto-led chorus, an era-perfect synth chord sequence and cocky slap bass. It even goes for the riskiest rules, such as a male falsetto scream in the middle 8, that could have been catastrophic, but ends up, thankfully, air punchingly brilliant. Like the whole track in fact.



4.
"Honey Mine (feat. Victoria Bergsman)"
Korallreven

What I said about "Honey Mine" in Popdar #37:

"...the lazy dub rhythms of "Honey Mine" by Korallreven usher in the same ethereal dancing melodies and distant guitar licks of The Radio Dept. themselves, but with the soft murmers of Taken by Trees vocalist Victoria Bergsman to serenade us. Essentially a balearic outtake from "Clinging to a Scheme", that would've stood out as one of that record's best tracks had it been included."



3.
"Toes"
Lights

What I said about "Toes" in Popdar #35:

"she now shows a punchier, more commercially minded approach to her production with the gleefully anthemic rush of "Toes". But don't worry about "selling out"... this is one of the best songs she's ever written. And she's lost none of the quirkiness that made us fall in love with her."



2.
"Still"
Bombay Bicycle Club

I've recently read that this track is about being told by your partner that they have been unfaithful. Reading the lyrics suddenly become all the more poignant.

What I said about "Still" in Popdar #32:

"...closer "Still" is a simple piano and voice number, that is fragile in a way I only previously thought Thom Yorke was capable of. The fuzzy, reverb-soaked falsetto from Jack Steadman is nothing short of heartbreakingly beautiful."



1.
"True Love Fantasy"
Unicorn Kid

I was tempted just to place the entire "Tidal Rave" EP as the top 3, but I feel to respect the other tracks released this month, I would chose merely one track to represent Unicorn Kid's phenomenal latest release.

Unicorn Kid, an 8-bit Nintendo-music-loving 19 year old (started releasing when he was 15) from Scotland, was known amongst underground quirky music lovers for his unrelentingly drug-happy techno. After signing to Ultra Records, his latest release is a massive step into a more commercial market. It's been a controversial move with fans, but to me, I hear the beginning of a new musical force.

I genuinely hope that this guy becomes the sound of dance music in 2012. "True Love Fantasy" brings its life and energy (sorely lacking in the robotic eurodance trash of 2011) from the early 90s rave scene, including an ejaculation-worthy breakbeat climax at its peak, a scene that Unicorn Kid openly admits to adoring (and wishing he'd been part of). Steel drums give the track a sense of the balearic, sun-blinded Ibiza-friendly anthem, as do Kid's choice to incorporate the benchmark trance chord sequence favoured by artists like Chris Brown and David Guetta, almost tongue in cheek, as the rhythms clatter and topple over themselves, refusing to conform to what is expected of it.

Although many miss the brittle, lo-fi synth onslaught of UK's early work, in my opinion, his crossover sound is just what this largely soulless, passionless dance music scene needs. YOUTH and HEART. Hell does this boy have both. Talented bastard.