NEW MUSIC: Clean Bandit ft. Jess Glynne - Rather Be

Clean Bandit are what I call a truly great pop act. They manage to appeal to the trendy crowd with their deep house credibility (the Gorgon City collaboration in particular helped them there) whilst still managing to avoid genres and maintain a level of musical freshness and creativity that lacks in so many modern acts.

"Rather Be" isn't chart-oriented enough to be considered straight up pop and isn't deep and dancey enough to be considered house. If anything it recalls a time in the early 00s, when disco-meets-ibiza chillout was the dancefloor filling sound du jour, and easy going house-lite tunes like Milky's "Just The Way You Are" and DB Boulevard's "Point Of View" were crossing over from the underground to the charts.  However, whilst these decade-old songs lack 'edge' compared to the sharp bass-heavy crossover tunes we hear on the radio in 2014, Clean Bandit manage to bring some energy and back bone to the sound they throw back to. In the process they succeed in combining the best of house in 2004 with the best of house in 2014. 

Their trademark string quartet intro gives way to perky raindrop synths and a life affirming piano house chorus, sung with gusto by Jess Glynne. No doubt it's the remixes that will make it to the clubs (particularly the ultra cool garage take from All About She), but the emotional peak that the original version reaches is definitely the place I'd rather be.

FOR FANS OF: Mausi, Disclosure, Tensnake

Icona Pop - Girlfriend

The key to Icona Pop's success is their defiant lack of self-awareness. Breakthrough single "I Love It" was a simple electropop onslaught with the same couple of shouty empowerment rants repeated throughout the song - but to any criticism, their fans were given a useful automatic response: "I don't care, I love it!" This carefree, hedonistic and shameless attitude lifts Icona Pop out of the guilty-pleasure bracket and firmly into credibility. 

That's precisely why new single "Girlfriend" also works. Production wise, the track is almost identical to "I Love It", all pulsating electro basslines and commercial dance beats. The track also has the sexually ambiguous undertones of the most obvious kind, and distorted vocals aside, the structure and hooks of a two-a-penny Katy Perry track. But combined with the girls' playfulness and lack of hollywood glamour and ego, the simplicity and commerciality of their music goes from potentially tedious to charming, tongue-in-cheek and 'feel-good' in the most natural sense.

"I Love It" has become a worldwide hit, but Icona Pop clearly don't take fame very seriously at all, and why should they? It's a farce that can turn likeable artists into holier-than-thou popstars, making unconvincing and passionless music - Icona Pop could not be further from this world. What they do take seriously though is having fun, and delivering that sense of fun in the simplest, most accessible way - through Chart Pop.

Icona Pop are totally reinventing the idea of what it takes to have a worldwide hit, and it doesn't involve any image or pretense whatsoever - just catchy songs that remind us not to take ourselves so seriously. And "Girlfriend" is definitely one of those, and with any luck will be as big as "I Love It".

FOR FANS OF: Ke$ha, Charli XCX, Mausi

Claire - Games

German quintet Claire are the next in a long line of acts putting a singer/songwriter edge on European dancepop. With their debut single "Games", a convincingly cracked British accent from lead singer Josie Claire carries a sultry pop melody over a sugary Balearic dance backdrop. A male and female vocal duet towards the end, bringing to mind both Mausi and Friendly Fires at once, and the track is a perfect love song to lazy summer afternoons.

The debut EP Broken Promise Land is out in September.

FOR FANS OF: Chloe Howl, Mausi, Friendly Fires

TOP 10 SONGS OF JANUARY 2013

10

"Move"

Mausi

A timelessly summery tune straight from the turn of the millennium, mainly thanks to an insanely uplifting, flailing synth lead. Remember Milky's "Just The Way You Are"? It's on par.

9

"No Problems"

Azealia Banks

Whilst Angel Haze's diss to Banks was kind of self-indulgent and overlong, we should be thankful she stirred the pot, because just desserts for Haze are served in the form of "No Problems", in which a rabid hip hop beat courtesy of Machinedrum serves as a platform for Banks at her calmest and most threatening at the same time.

8

"Deathwish"

Bebe Black

The La Roux-esque voice of Benga's "Icon" comes into her own with her debut single. First appearing on the free "Black Lion Sessions" EP last year, the organic and yearning songcraft "Deathwish" is so wonderfully performed by Black that it's hard to imagine it performed by any other singer, no mean feat for an artist's debut single.

7

"Turn Me Out"

Russ Chimes

Euphoric and life-affirming house in the vein of Tensnake, "Coma Cat" for 2013 if you will, this will serve as a highlight for many a summer festival.

6

"You (Ha Ha Ha)"

Charli XCX

GivePopAChance said...

"Taking on a quirky yet more-ish Gold Panda beat, Charli XCX does very little over the top, but it ends up working perfectly... further proof that she is London's answer to Lana Del Rey."

5

"No Strings"

Chloe Howl

GivePopAChance said...

"The warm and fuzzy indie-synthpop of "No Strings" mimics the bassline from "Pumped Up Kicks" but brings it to a teenage house party, where she tells of a typical 17 year old's battle between lust and love."

4

"Life Size Ghosts (Catching Flies Remix)"

Mt Wolf

GivePopAChance said...

"Catching Flies' take of the track brings the track into darker territory, without sacrificing any of Mt Wolf's cloud-gazing magic."

3

"Can't Handle The Truth"

JoJo

JoJo is fast becoming the female Drake, her latest mixtape being an honest, experimental, catagorically-relaxed half hour, ending in this gorgeous and frank ditty to infidelity from the point of view of the cheater. Just as gorgeous as her cover/response to "Marvin's Room".

2

"In My Arms"

Fryars

GivePopAChange said... 

"The main hook of "In My Arms" jumps playfully into the air with Garratt's gentle falsetto, as a piano hook lumbers humbly in the background, with barely-awake house flair."

1

"Hey Now"

London Grammar

GivePopAChance said...

"London newbies London Grammar bring the year's first classic song, a song thats poignancy and beauty is timeless."

Mausi - Sol

Now a year old, Mausi's sunny indiepop gem "Sol" is finally receiving airplay on Radio 1. Its piano-house-flecked vibes and infectious vocal hook are summery, carefree and uplifting, as all pop music should be; think the younger sister of 2003 house gem, Milky's "Just The Way You Are". Singing of "losing track of time as we dance in the summer haze", the song somehow gives the illusion that the bleak summer of 2012 was one of the hottest, most joyous in recent memory. There's no discouraging some people.

FOR FANS OF: Haim, The Pipettes, Foster The People