Video: Larry Tee featuring Mel Merio "Hipster Girl"

Larry Tee is one of those people who you expect to disappear from the face of the Earth who somehow manages to find a way to survive. From producing Rupaul in the 90s to trademarking Electroclash at the turn of the century Tee is nothing less than a true dance music survivor who has done things his own way without ever really becoming an album artist. His latest offering pairs him with Mel Merio, probably best known for working with Christopher Just ("I'm A Disco Dancer") on a cover of PSB's "Domino Dancing". Missed that one? Me too. Regardless, Tee & Merio have stumbled into something interesting here creating a new wave tune that strums along nicely before an insane middle eight brings the Justice rumble bass elevating the song to another level. Did I mention it features the cowbell? Give it a listen:



: Both Mel Merio and Larry Tee have myspace pages featuring their varied musical projects.

Video: The Juan Maclean "One Day"

The Juan Maclean return next month with The Future Will Come. Last year John MacLean was deep into rave territory on the more than twelve minute "Happy House" making the modern day new wave of the album's proper pre-release single "One Day" an unexpected turn. This is perhaps the most pop record DFA has released yet with a proper string part and a distinct Human League vibe as John trades off vocal duties with LCD Soundsystem's Nancy Whang. Did I mention that Whang is singing rather than working out of her standard shouting modus operandi? Yes, this is a synthpop record:





: Good news, the song is this week's itunes free download in the US so you can download the track for free. The Future Will Come is due out on April 21st, aka synthpop release, so keep up to date with all the latest news at The Juan Maclean website.

Still Happy

Röyksopp celebrate the release of their much praised Junior this week with this lovely alternate take of "Happy Up Here":

Video: Client "Can You Feel?"

There is something very familiar about the first single from Client's new album Command. At first blush Sarah Blackwood and Kate Holmes appear to be in top form on the driving "Can You Feel?" flavoring the strong vocal with a crunchy disco beat and the always welcome Peter Hook-esque melodic bass but the arrangement is keeping me from loving the song. After a month of attempting to pinpoint the problem I suspect the deal breaker is the combination of the octave bass and piano both of which have been featured many times over in the Client discography. This has created The Erasure Effect for me where it becomes difficult to differentiate between the songs that are of simply decent quality but sound similar to past favorites you have loved from the truly great new songs. If a bit ambivalent about the song I can recommend the video as one of Client's strongest visual efforts:



: Client Online is the best place to find info on the band at the moment and this interview with Sarah digs into how the duo work even if it doesn't answer what I would ask (Why did the Dubstar reunion fall through? You really believe everything on wikipedia? Really? What's up with the rotating third member of the band that never appears to write or record with band?). Command is out now. I hope to fall in love with it.

Promotion

Signing to Astralwerks in the US was the clearly the right move as billboards are popping up all over the Bay Area with "Love Etc." printed in huge letters. Obviously it is a bit cryptic as they don't mention the Pet Shop Boys by name but in this age of viral ad campaigns I'm sure of the public will catch on.

You can hear Yes in it's entirety with the widget below. It's rather good.




(photo from piperaudrey's photostream)

Some Thoughts

The most consistently thoughtful music blog ever XO's Middle Eight is turning five years old this month. I don't know how he maintains such high a level of excellence while working a day job but the blog is always a pleasure to read.

Does it seem odd to anyone else that the two surviving synthpop powerhouses (apologies to Erasure) of the 80's, both newly signed to the same parent label, are releasing albums on April 21 in the US?

Pet Shop Boys are hitting the press in support of Yes. Chart Rigger has a great collection of links to interviews and I highly recommend The Guardian's podcast with the Boys where they discuss how they write songs. "Love Etc." is out digitally in the US next Tuesday with all the b-sides intact.

The Modern are making another attempt at getting an album out. Life In A Modern World should be released within the next month.

My favorite itunes user review of the new Prodigy album includes the following line: "Don't get me wrong, Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned was a great album." Sure it was...

Voltage tipped me off to Thru You which is an amazing visual example of creating cut-and-paste music. Well I actually read about on Moby's myspace blog first but it is still worth watching even if it's not usually your type of thing.

One More Reason To Love Chromeo

I just can't get over this recent appearance on Yo Gabba Gabba!:



: It really brings home that Chromeo are that rare band that are likable. Even on bizarre television shows targeted at preschoolers.

(via Disco Potential)

Video: Röyksopp "Happy Up Here"

"Happy Up Here", the first single from Junior, uses their early single "Eple" as a jumping off point for a subtle pop song that is surprisingly catchy. While I am a fan of the track it does seem a bit premature, given this is only their third album, for Röyksopp to be recycling past hits as the lead in to new material. I'm all for postmodern art but this seems a bit extreme. The video is a treat which realizes Space Invaders as it might play out in a higher resolution reality. The director Reuben Sutherland has previously created an ad for a modern alien invasion game so he has probably been mulling this over for a while now:



: The song has inspired me to revisit Röyksopp's first album Melody AM which sounds utterly brilliant. Hear some of Junior ahead of it's March 23 release at their myspace.

Video: West End Girls "A Little Black Dress"

The pinnacle of PSB fandom must be West End Girls, the Swedish duo who perform nothing but Pet Shop Boys songs. Neil and Chris, clearly flattered by the tribute, have allowed the Girls to record a version of "Little Black Dress" which is the new single from their forthcoming second album. Originally written for the Boys musical Closer To Heaven the song failed to make the final cut although I have heard the original version had a vibrant life on p2p programs at the turn of the century:



: If you would like to see an incomplete site that tells you nothing current about West End Girls then please stop by their official website.

Video: Depeche Mode "Wrong"

The arresting new Depeche Mode video was officially unleashed on the internet today marking the complete roll out of the song within the week. The Depeche team, or Mute/EMI, have really played things right with "Wrong". The song didn't leak until the day of it's first live performance at Germany's Echo Awards last Saturday and they wisely got the track up on itunes on Tuesday just as the initial wave of excitement spread across the internet. The song finds DM returning to their sound of the Music For The Masses-era, as Electronically Yours noted there are hints of "Pimpf", so it is not as immediate as some of their better known work. Which is not to say it hasn't been stuck in my head all week. The video was directed Patrick Daughter, the man behind those fantastic Feist videos, taking us on an unpleasant ride that you just can't turn away from. At the risk of sounding too adolescent it is freaky:



: Depeche will be touring the Universe all year so you know I'm looking forward to seeing Andy clap off the beat. Sounds Of the Universe is out April 21st so visit Depeche Mode Dot Com for all the latest.

Video: Pet Shop Boys "Love Etc."

The first single from the Xenomania produced Yes is different from anything that the Pet Shop Boys have done before. Nothing in the Boys extensive catalogue sounds quite like the combination of unconventional structure, shouted male chorus and swinging synths. Fortunately it is still amazing.
Dutch artist Han Hoogerbrugge created the bouncing cut and paste video that creates a video game version of the song:



: Yes is due most everywhere March 23rd although no US date has been announced. Also the Boys just confirmed that their long talked about ballet, based on a Hans Christian Andersen story, is planned for 2011. Neil and Chris have written about a third of the score which is expected to combine electronics and orchestra.

Video: Ladytron "Tomorrow"

Ladytron have spent so much time over the past few years proving they can rock it is easy to forget that they can write pretty songs too. "Tomorrow" is one of those tracks that got lost in the sonic sameness of Velocifero but it is stunner when given a little room to breathe. The video is rather fantastic mixing folksy and futuristic as only a Ladytron video should:



: "Tomorrow" is released as a single on March 3rd. Ladytron continue to promote Velocifero on the road touring North America with The Faint in April in what I hope will be billed as The Monsters Of Electro-Rock before joining Depeche Mode on their Tour Of The Universe in Europe. Visit their myspace for more info.

Sometimes You're Better Off Dead

Pet Shop Boys celebrated their Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the BRITs with an epic performance of their hits last night. In over the top award show fashion they appeared as giant talking heads first thanking everyone for the award as if they were unable to attend before taking the stage surrounded by surreal Very visuals, guest appearances and dancing businessmen. Importantly their medley was produced by Stuart Price who has been the most obvious choice to produce the Boys for a decade now. Hopefully this will lead to a proper collaboration on new material soon. Over a dozen songs were touched upon as we caught bits of "Love Etc" along with another taste of Yes with as they teased "All Over The World" before Brandon Flowers created a highlight dueting with Neil on "It's A Sin". The most problematic moments came from the bland Lady Gaga's involvement. I simply don't understand her appeal at all or what the Boys see in her. Catch the medley before it disappears from youtube:

What I Do Like I Love Passionately

Pet Shop Boys "Love etc.", the first single from the forthcoming Yes, was first played on the radio today and has been making the rounds since it leaked several days ago. It's rather amazing. Equally amazing is that the Pet Shop Boys Entertainment Tonight interview that was sampled in "Paninaro" just turned up on youtube:



: Get remixing.

Video: The Prodigy "Omen"

The Prodigy have returned with new material ahead of Invaders Must Die, the album they originally expected to release in 2006. The title track was available last year as "non-single" limited time only free download from the band's site and didn't do much to raise expectations. There is a video for the song but people like Billy Suede have pointed out "Invaders Must Die" is essentially a remix of a Does It Offend You, Yeah? track which speaks to Liam Howlett's limited songwriting abilities.
The first actual single "Omen" is much better. There hints of melody with a vibe part and a "No Good (Start The Dance)"-style lead synth which play off Keith Flint's first Prodigy vocal since "Baby's Got A Temper". Give it a listen:



: Invaders Must Die is out March 3 so stop by their myspace for more information.

This Day & Age

"We live in an age wherein people usually listen to random tracks from an album, but... a beautiful and cohesive body of work will ideally make sense when listened to from start to finish." That is a bit hacked out of context from the blog announcement that Moby is beginning to mix his latest album, tentatively due in June, but it makes a point that has been floating around my mind recently. The technology that allows unlimited instant access to almost any song you can think of is amazing allowing us all to expand the limits of our musical knowledge but along with it we have lost something. Part of that is the journey an artist can take you on as an album that frames songs within a context that brings a greater meaning than they have alone but another important thing we have lost is silence. It has been an issue since the age of dual cassette players and multi-disc CD players but there the gravity that silence brings to a piece as it allows reflection on what just took place. Maybe it is just a question of how we view music today as Count Popula recently commented on a XO mixtape about how "people used to really LIVE with their music rather than treating it like a commodity". How do we get back there?

Late Review: Client Zerox Machine EP

(note: the following review was written ages ago)



Zerox Machine
Loose Talking
Zerox Machine (IDC Mix)
Zerox Machine (Jonny Slut/Atomizermix)
Zerox Machine (Robert Görl Strange Pistol Mix)
Zerox Machine (Club Mix By Covenant)

In a conspicuous break from the purely electronic pallet that colored their previous material Client have gone rock with their spunky version of Adam & The Ant's "Zerox Machine". Sarah Blackwood's vocal delivery reflects a consciousness that one does not expect to find in a run through a genre chestnut as she breaks up the phrasing of the word "copyright" so it becomes "copy, right?" turning the song into a response to the band's detractors that claim they simply imitate. The lyrics also touch upon ideas that Client have explored before such as identity, masking and control which further suggest the band's personal investment and ownership of the song. Despite the familiar lyrical touches the track's producer Youth plots a new course for the band musically as he brings a focus on "live" elements highlighting the work of Client's new bassist Emily Strange, the sharp rhythms of Blur associate Simon Tong's guitar and the machine-free drums laid down for the track. Even with the shift in style it is the theremin synth lead of Client's sonic architect Kate Holmes that brings the track to life during the chorus providing the link between old and new directions for the band.

"Loose Talking" finds the band using a lot more synths as they rework a number of familiar elements into a song that toys with sweet sadness. There are some promising bits but the song fails to follow through making for an unsatisfying listen.

Remixes of covers are always a dicey proposition because the distance from the original source material makes it difficult to find an unique angle but that problem is danced around here as parties from different scenes are given mixing duties. IDC play things straight incorporating much of the original while the confusingly named Jonny Slut/Atomizermix (thus named because they couldn't settle for just listing one alias that he records under) brings stutter edits and an electro flavor to the table. Recruiting D.A.F. member Robert Görl for a mix must have been quite a moment for Client as they list them as a major influence but Görl turns in an oddly unmusical mix that adds a bit of occasional 16th note trance synths to an uninspired beat leaving the affair a lost opportunity. Ultimately it is Covenant that bring the goods with their EBM flavored mix that takes the liberty to ignore much of the original as they form an effective dark dance track.

Late Review: Client Lights Go Out EP

(note: the following review was written some time ago)



Lights Go Out (Single Edit)
Northern Soul
Lights Go Out (Oliver Koletzki & Sebastian Meindl Mix)
Lights Go Out (Basteroid Mix)
Lights Go Out (Spetsnaz Mix)
Lights Go Out (Boosta Mix)

Client use "Lights Go Out" to tell the story of a woman who goes to extreme lengths to win the affection of an undeserving partner she finds herself "guilty of loving". Over the course of the song the narrator offers, in a pop friendly turn, to be the "guilty pleasure" of what we learn in the final verse is a promise breaking lover that forced her to "learn the hard way" that there are "no guarantees". Given the band's recent split with Toast Hawaii/Mute this redefinition of the band's mission statement, first laid out in Client's self-titled song that was their public debut, of "satisfaction guaranteed" suggests meaning for the band outside the song's narration. However as interesting as it is lyrically the song is musically a mishmash of ideas they have explored before. The swinging beat of "Pornography" and the ominous string sound of "Radio" are clearly echoed here but "Lights Go Out" lacks the clarity and melodic vision that was so vivid in Client's earlier material.

"Northern Soul" is better than average b-side fair flair despite noticeably recycling the riff from "Rock And Roll Machine". Really any song that had the audacity to declare "you need a bit of Northern soul" and that they "know the girls to give it" would be worth a listen and fortunately this tune has even more than that to offer.

If the original "Lights Go Out" lacks greatness then the single goes on to prove that a song cannot be saved with a little magic remix dust. Oliver Koletzki & Sebastian Meindl's deconstruction is full of stutter edits and vocals cut from the single version of the song which makes for some interesting moments but it is ultimately less than satisfying. Basteroid and Boosta flavor the song with their own respected arty electro seasonings but achieve uninspired filler at best. Spetsnaz begins his mix with enough promise that there is hope that a François Kevorkian-inspired spin on the song could develop but unfortunately the mix crashes and burns about a minute in quickly devolving into an amateurish mess. All in all it's the least appealing package that Client has assembled to date.

Video: Shinichi Osawa "Star Guitar"

I originally dismissed Shinichi Osawa's cover of "Star Guitar" without hearing it. If an artist covers a hit song as their lead single and they work in the same genre chances are they are hiding their lack of artistic merit and making a blatant cash grab in one swoop. Fortunately Crap For Genius recently reminded me of the cover and while I don't rate it as highly as he does the subtle update of the Chemical Brothers tune works really well taking the song out of the trance genre and shining a spotlight on the nearly hidden vocals of the original:



: The Chemical Brothers based the original song around a short guitar sample from David Bowie's "Starman" and have often performed the song live mashed up with the Brothers cover of New Order's "Temptation" so this really is just adding another layer. Shinichi Osawa's "Star Guitar" is out on CD single this week in the UK on Norman Cook's Southern Fried Records so stop by his myspace to get all the info.

Pop! Chart

Erasure are shortly due to finally update their classic singles collection Hits: The Very Best Of Erasure Pop! with the eagerly anticipated Total Pop!: The First 40 Hits. Naturally the two disc collection contains 41 tracks, 39 songs and omits the Union Street single "Boy". It's not all bad because the title suggests an alternate universal where the top 40 charts would be dominated by Erasure tunes. It might look something like this:

1. Oh L'Amour
2. Chains Of Love
3. A Little Respect
4. Blue Savannah
5. Chorus
6. Who Needs Love (Like That)
7. Victim Of Love
8. Drama!
9. Ship Of Fools
10. Breath Of Life
11. Star
12. Love To Hate You
13. Take A Chance On Me
14. Always
15. Am I Right?
16. Sometimes
17. You Surround Me
18. It Doesn't Have To Be
19. Solsbury Hill
20. Rock Me Gently
21. Stop!
22. Breathe
23. Fingers And Thumbs (Cold Summer's Day)
24. The Circus
25. Stay With Me
26. Sunday Girl
27. Freedom
28. Heavenly Action
29. Don't Say Your Love Is Killing Me
30. In My Arms
31. Here I Go Impossible Again
32. Rain
33. Run To The Sun
34. I Could Fall In Love With You
35. Don't Say You Love Me
36. Moon And The Sky
37. I Love Saturday
38. Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me)
39. Storm In A Teacup

: If we were to group those singles by the albums they were taken from and assigned a value of 39 to the highest ranked single and 1 to the lowest ranked then we would end up with a chart like this:



: Overall this indicates a slight drop off in amazingess in the I Say I Say I Say era which was Erasure's first album following the original Pop!. It is also worth noting that 85% of my top 20 appear on that first compillation despite my continuing to follow the duo after the general public lost their scent making this new greatest hits useless to all but the most dedicated fans. Still stop by Erasure's myspace to hear some flawless tunes.