#POPDAR - Skin Town, Ulla Nova, Disclosure

SKIN TOWN - THE ZONE

For fans of the more emotional and melancholic strands of US R&B, Skin Town's sound, particularly on album highlight "The Zone", pushes sexuality and melancholia together in a way that results in a dramatic but touching clash of conflicting emotions. Whilst The Weeknd (the solo male prototype for this sound) sounds confident and seductive in his creamy melismatics, Skin Town singer Grace Hall's voice sounds fragile, borderline desperate. She sings lines like "get my body on the floor", but you can hear her lip quiver.

Their debut record The Room, is out now.

FOR FANS OF: The Weeknd, Kelly Rowland, JoJo



ULLA NOVA - KID FROM LONDON

What sets Ulla Nova aside from the hordes of European female indielectro singers lies in her fearlessness. Taking the droll hipster edge of Charli XCX, the unusual melodic flair of Purity Ring and the fuzzbox production histronics of Sleigh Bells, Ulla Nova's "Kid From London" is a arrestingly melodramatic and instantly memorable debut, reminiscent of fellow Londoner YADi's rocky debut single "The Blow" out earlier in the year.
No release info as of yet, but you can follow Ulla Nova on SoundCloud below.

FOR FANS OF: YADi, Charli XCX, Sleigh Bells



DISCLOSURE x SAM SMITH x NILE RODGERS x JIMMY NAPES - TOGETHER

The genius in this collaboration is its simplicity. Essentially a 2 minute 22 second exercise in restraint, Disclosure's jittery yet tasteful nu funk beats, Sam Smith's silky, gorgeous falsetto and Nile Rodgers' irresistible guitar licks come together to make something perfectly pitched and funky as hell. Don't expect this to go away in a hurry. 

Hello Summer Festivals 2014? You better keep those headline slots open for Disclosure... looks like they've had a second wave.

FOR FANS OF: Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams, Daft Punk

- Joe Copplestone, 15/11/13

@GivePopAChance