Music Videos # 71

Hercules And Love Affair (feat. Antony) - Blind



Signed to DFA, Hercules And Love Affair are a project by Brooklyn producer Andy Butler, with Antony on vocals and co-produced by Tim Goldsworthy. And what comes out of this improbable trio? A pulsating acid-disco track of amazingly catchy proportions. The video is done by Saam (the guy behind groundbreaking works for the likes of Klaxons, Simian Mobile Disco, These New Puritans and, er, Janet Jackson) and explores a possible world seen after closing eyes. Oh, and it has an orgy, so go watch it! Their full-length album is out somewhere during springtime.

MySpace page

Cloverfield

There are loads of movies out there featuring monsters attacking New Work, but this one has a capital difference: all the images shown in it are supposed to be captured by one of the character's digital camera. This simple concept and the fact that it's really well explored is enough to make Cloverfield one of the most intense action movies I've seen in recent times. It doesn't have to show much of the monster (and it actually should show even less than it does); or neither to explore much of the character's insights (they all stay pretty unidimensional and anonymous and that's all we need). Appealing quite a bit to our voyeuristic side, there's an atmosphere of collective fear and terror that is almost palpable, while everything seems incredibly realistic, as if you were there. Wait, realism in a movie about monsters in New York? Consequences of the 11th of September...

Trailer:

These New Puritans - Beat Pyramid

With friends like Hedi Slimane or The Horrors and a fast-rising hype surounding them, it was easy to predict that These New Puritans would mark 2008. Now that their first album is finally out, I'm happy to announce that this time you should believe the hype, as "Beat Pyramid" completely fulfils every expectation you could have and then some. Being another one of those objects that uses many different references and sources to create its own unique sound, this time the experience is highly successful, as everything really sounds exciting and new. Exploring claustrophobic atmospheres and using a dense sonic-architecture, sharp guitars (that somehow remind me of Gang Of Four) and an enormous panoply of electronic sounds and samples, its biggest asset actually comes from the rhythmic section. Drawing highly intricate structures, it's here that everything is based upon, supporting an hallucinating approach to rock that is topped by vocalist Jack Barnett and his schizophrenic shouts. A soundtrack to futuristic industrial landscapes or artificial paranoid societies, strange at first but immensely seducing and, above all, extremely addictive. (8,5/10)

These New Puritans - Elvis (video)



Official Site
MySpace page

Music Videos # 70

Jens Lekman - A Little Lost



This stand-out track from covers-EP "Four Songs by Arthur Russell" (a project actually compiled by Jens Lekman himself) is a monument to simplicity. Accompanied by nothing more than a kalimba, Jens rendition of the song is as moving as it could get, while the video is a little visual-masterpiece directed by La Blogotheque (nothing happens? that's the beauty of it! and in the meantime, just look at those colors...). Out a few months before his own "Night Falls Over Kortedala" (one of my fav albums of 2007), this was a good indicator of what was to come.

Official Site

The Honeydrips - Here Comes The Future

Out on Sincerely Yours (a label owned by none other than my current-favourite subversive-pop duo The Tough Alliance), "Here Comes The Future" is the first record from Gothemburg singer/songwriter Mikael Carlsson and it's another one of those luminous pop moments the Swedes seem so found of. Sometimes including synths and other electronic elements, other times using only acoustic instruments, influences range somewhere between Saint Etienne, Jesus & Mary Chain and New Order, using disparate vintage elements that subtly produce something truly unique. And out of nowhere, we have a beautiful collection of gentle and intricate pop songs in our hands, songs that dream about a love that never materializes, full of emotional highs and downs, reverb voices and praising the feeling of being lonely only because. Perfect to be heard on sunny winter days (9/10)

The Honeydrips - (Lack Of) Love Will Tear Us Apart - feat. Hanna Göranson (video)



Official Site
MySpace page

Music Videos # 69

Goldfrapp - A&E



Goodbye electro-glam, hello again folk and cinematic ambiences. Goldfrapp are leaving their recent excesses behind and going back to their routes, getting closer to first record "Felt Mountain". The first single from their forthcoming fourth album is called "A&E" (which stands for "Accident & Emergency") and is a haunting track consisting of a simple, almost childish melody and a few minimal acoustic and electronic appointments, with breathtaking results. The video is a cute companion to the sweetness of the song, featuring dancing creatures made of leaves (awww...).

Official Site
MySpace page

frYars - The Ides EP (cd-r)

After first posting about the video for the song "The Ides" a few weeks ago, I was finally able to find this 4-track EP with the same title, the very first release from 18-year-old Londoner Ben Garrett (aka frYars). All I can say is that it was definitely worth the wait, as all 4 songs are at least as excellent as "The Ides", with my highlights currently being the spasmodic "Happy" and "Madeline". Not afraid to be excessive, many acoustic and electronic elements (like piano, drums, computer, acordian drone, voices, synths, bells, beeps, scratches, handclaps...) are inserted around frYars unique voice, lyrics and melodies, to build intricate electro-pop symphonies full of complex details. Think of it as a sucessful atempt to soundtrack a mixture between an alternative cabaret and a fast-ride in a modern fair carousel, with charming music that just wants to passionately celebrate itself and attack all our senses. Watch out for this guy. (9/10)

MySpace page

Home Videos # 9

The Clik Clik - My Dunks (live)



I had read about this band some months ago and at that time, after checking their MySpace page, it appeared to me that there was a lot of potential. So it was with great joy that, during my stay in London, I stumbled across one of their gigs, for the time being still in a small packed bar, in front of just a few dozens of people (though I suspect that is about to change). Their sound is a versatile electro-indie-pop mash with a bit of grime thrown in and a lot of that fresh enthusiasm that defines this new wave of young British bands. For example, the song shown in here is an hilarious story about a love triangle between a boy, a girl... and his dunks. Yes, those white Nike dunks need to remain perfect and pristine white. Pure infectious stuff!

(filmed on the 04-01-2008 at the Bosh! party in London)

Polaroids # 17

Back from London where I spent 10 unbelievable days. And how was it? After getting used to the hordes of tourists everywhere, it actually couldn't get any better! And I guess you can't be blamed for successfully creating and selling so many touristic spots, so let's move on... Nice to see that the city still has everything that made it so famous and well-loved. So many things to see and do everywhere, so many different people and interesting styles, an intense nightlife, uplifting parties, beautiful architecture, nice stores, a dynamic cultural life and, above all, an incredibly relaxed and open atmosphere. To cut it short, you really end up with the feeling that everything happens there. So here are the inevitable touristic shots...







Balloons! Fake snow! "Golden Skans"! Hello 2008!


(Pictures taken in London between 29th December 2007 - 7th January 2008)

Music Videos # 68

Björk - Declare Independence



Here's Björk's brand new video, her seventh (!) to be directed by Michel Gondry. Use it as a sweet New Year's resolution.
See you all in January!

Best Of 2007: Top 30 Albums

30. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad

(review)

29. A Place To Bury Strangers - A Place To Bury Strangers

(review)

28. Ben Frost - Theory Of Machines

(review)

27. Maps - We Can Create

(review)

26. Stars Of The Lid - And Their Refinement Of The Decline

(review)

25. Menomena - Friend And Foe

(review)

24. Glass Candy - B/E/A/T/B/O/X

(review)

23. Gui Boratto - Chromophobia

(review)

22. Deepchord presents Echospace - The Coldest Season

(review)

21. Strategy - Future Rock

(review)

20. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

(review)

19. Sally Shapiro - Disco Romance

(review)

18. Britney Spears - Blackout

(review)

17. Justice - †

(review)

16. Battles - Mirrored

(review)

15. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position

(review)

14. Ricardo Villalobos - Fabric 36

(review)

13. Björk - Volta

(review)

12. Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

(review)

11. Lo-Fi-FNK - Boylife

(review)

10. The National - Boxer

(review)

9. Chromatics - Night Drive

(review)

8. Panda Bear - Person Pitch

(review)

7. M.I.A. - Kala

(review)

6. Deerhunter - Cryptograms

(review)

5. Studio - Yearbook 1

(review)

4. Burial - Untrue

(review)

3. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime

The most evocative record of the year reminded us all that when something is perfect, there's nothing else to do than looping and repeating it over and over. And, as these tracks showed, you can do wonders by streching an isolated sound to its limits, even if, in the end, that sound reveals itself to be taken from a (gasp) Lionel Richie song.

(review)

2. Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala

In an year dominated by global music (americans re-inventing italo-disco, scandinavians dreaming about the beach, everybody doing shoegazing or nu-rave, Björk going to Africa, M.I.A. covering the whole world...), the most beautiful record actually came from a regular Swedish guy and his local postcards from a small Gothenburg neighborhood. With a disarming sincerity, someone exposed himself to the limits and showed common life in its full glory.

(review)

1. The Tough Alliance - A New Chance

When you write perfect synth-pop tunes and immerse them in an excessive world, you take a lot of risks. This fearless and controversial Swedish duo did just that and, with their agit-prop antics and explosive imaginary, ended up soundtracking anarchy and revolution, giving us the finger with a pop smile and incendiary results. Couldn't be more approppriate as the sound of 2007.

(review)

Best of 2007: Top 20 Pop Songs

20. Lykke Li - Little Bit

(video)

19. Kanye West - Stronger

(video)

18. Jens Lekman - Sipping On Sweet Nectar

(video)

17. Dizzee Rascal - Sirens

(video)

16. Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

(video)

15. Lil Mama - Lip Gloss

(video)

14. frYars - The Ides

(video)

13. LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

(video)

12. Matthew Dear - Deserter

(unofficial video)

11. Cajun Dance Party - Amylase

(video)

10. Arcade Fire - Intervention

(unofficial video)

9. Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

(unofficial video)

8. Battles - Atlas

(video)

7. Late Of The Pier - Bathroom Gurgle

(video)

6. Klaxons - Golden Skans

(video)

5. Björk - Earth Intruders

(video)

4. Gui Boratto - Beautiful Life

(video)

3. The Tough Alliance - Silly Crimes

(video)

2. M.I.A. - Paper Planes

Any song about selling visas to illegal immigrants and built around a sample by The Clash, gunshots and cash-register sounds is destined to be on every year-best list so, obviously, here it is.

(video)

1. Rihanna (feat. Jay-Z) - Umbrella

A lot has been written speculating possible reasons why this simple song turned out to be so special... Was it the almost absence of harmony? The cool almost anonymous way in which she sings it? The explosive keyboards in the background? Either way, this was without question the Pop moment of the year, including a word-play that will go down in history: Under my Umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh...

(video)