Category: synthpop
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Marnie is the immensely-talented lead singer, and one of the songwriters and keyboardists, of the popular electronic pop outfit Ladytron. This album — her solo debut — was produced by Ladytron’s Daniel Hunt, along with the Icelandic musician Barði Jóhannsson, and so it sounds an awful lot like a Ladytron record. And that, of course,…
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Eliza Doolittle’s catchy new single, “Big When I Was Little,” finds the pop singer/songwriter cheerfully reflecting on the past, reminiscing about growing up. Against hopped-up, punchy beats, reggae flourishes and grooving horns, Eliza sings some of her wittiest lyrics yet. “Sorting through my memories / got naked on the floor / my diaries and scrapbooks…
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In spite of the fact that they co-produced it with the brilliant Stuart Price, I was not expecting much from this album. The duo’s previous album, Elysium, which was released just 10 months ago, just wasn’t very impressive. It was more than a little ambient, lacking the sort of catchy beats we’ve come to expect…
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Usually I’m in the know when it comes to up and coming pop stars, but I have to admit that Lorde totally flew under my radar until today. She released an EP called The Love Club during December 2012 — I just bought it from iTunes — but I don’t recall seeing any reviews or…
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Stars Dance is Selena Gomez’s highly anticipated fourth album. It’s also her solo debut, following three albums with her band The Scene. The album’s first single, “Come & Get It,” was released on April 8, 2013 and made it all the way to the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her most successful…
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Daft Punk will undoubtedly be this year’s most successful electronic music duo (even if much of their latest album was produced with live instruments), but Australia’s Empire Of The Sun won’t be kept down under on the charts for much longer if there’s any justice in this world of pop. Just listen to “Alive,” the…
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I started covering Paola & Chiara over a decade ago when I was writing a world music column called Import Zone for Lollipop magazine. (I couldn’t find every column I wrote about them in, but I did manage to find the one with my review of their 2002 album Festival, which you can read here:…
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Austra hail from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, but chances are you probably already know that. After all, their 2011 debut, Feel It Break, was listed on numerous critics’ best of 2011 lists, following a year of positive reviews. The Toronto Star and New York even named it the best album of the year. Basically, Feel It…
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The last album by CSS, otherwise known as Cansei de Ser Sexy, was 2011’s La Liberacion. While “I Love You” and “Hits Me Like A Rock” were uber-catchy pop gems, the rest of the Brazilian band’s third album felt somehow misguided. And their second album, Donkey, was only slightly better. Their first album, however, was…
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If you’ve ever wished that Camera Obscura would do away with their catchy hooks and up-tempo tunes then your prayers have been answered. Sort of. Here’s what singer Tracyanne Campbell told The Scotsman about the making of their new album, Desire Lines: “There are a couple of pop songs on the record but I was…
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no·blesse o·blige [noh-bles oh-bleezh; French naw-bles aw-bleezh the moral obligation of those of high birth, powerful social position, etc., to act with honor, kindliness, generosity, etc. Origin:1830–40; < French: literally, nobility obliges Noblesse Oblige is a duo consisting of French-Caribbean performer Valerie Renay and German producer Sebastian Lee Philipp. While they’re new to many…
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“We’re up all night to get lucky,” Pharrell Williams sings as the now famous Daft Punk single “Get Lucky” comes to an end, but chances are you will be up all night to listen to this record. The thing about Random Access Memories is, it’s such a seductive and enchanting album that once you start…
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It seems like just yesterday Little Boots — otherwise known as Victoria Hesketh — released her amazing debut album Hands, but it actually came out in 2009, and so four years have passed between Hands’ release and the release of her sophomore effort Nocturnes, which was released on May 3, 2013. There are a couple…
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It’s hard to believe but Norwegian singer-songwriter/DJ Annie has been releasing music for over ten years now. OK, so technically her debut album Anniemal dropped in 2004, but she was DJing and releasing underground singles like “The Greatest Hit” as far back as 1999. Anyway, man, time flies. I feel like I just bought Anniemal…
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When English singer/songwriter Charli XCX — born Charlotte Aitchison — was 14 her parents loaned her the money to finance her debut album. The album, which Charli wrote entirely herself, was made and called 14, but it was never officially released, though promotional copies were sent out. Charli was quick to put the album behind…
