M83 - 'Midnight City' / Bjork
Words: Babooshka
Hard-Fi - 'Fire In The House' / Niki & The Dove
Words: Orac
26/07/11
Celebrate the return of M83 with the new single 'Midnight City', a sunshiny bundle of synth gorgeousness. Dreamy layers of summery pop perfection from the French band which will hopefully boot 'Pumped Up Kicks' off the radio playlists (please...I liked it, now if I hear it again, I may kill someone) with this ode to summery electro.
It's instant and lifting and indicates more good things to come from the forthcoming album 'Hurry Up, We're Dreaming' in October.
Let's not forget 'We Own The Sky' from 2008's 'Saturdays = Youth' with its lovely woozy ambience and this new single evokes the same feeling. Anthony Gonzalez has had a little help from friends Morgan Kibby and Zola Jesus for this album so it's all looking surpassingly like a chilled indulgence for autumn.
Have a little listen below, light poppy beep with some super retro saxophone towards the end; for me the track could lose that bit but for many reminiscing the days of pop song sax, I reckon it could be the clincher, it even fades out...enjoy!
Bjork's 'Crystalline' now has a superbly bonkers animated video and the more you listen to this track the more it grows, the clearer the lyrics become as she conquers claustrophobia, anxiety and demands light all via the metaphor of rocks.
She sings of the core of the earth, kissing quartz, yet for this video appears to be in a bubble in space surrounded by rocks, shooting stars, weird planets; who really knows where she is, planet Bjork could be a whole other galaxy.
This is surely why her uniqueness continues to gather love or sends people reeling in confusion as she creates more curious otherworldliness in her internal nebular. That drum machine towards the end certainly does make me feel claustrophobic. Well, enough analysing, check out the video, Button Moon for grown ups.
Amy remembered: big voice, big hair, best eyeliner in the business.
And finally, farewell to Amy Winehouse, a brilliant song writer and performer when at her best. Rather than dwelling on her mistakes, remember her achievements which far outweigh them.
We're as suprised as anyone but 2005 indie darlings Hard-Fi have bounced back with an unexpectedly memorable radio anthem. It's sometimes a disaster when guitar acts decide to switch on the synths - just look at the vast catalogue of Muse horrors but the indie foursome from Staines have produced a joyful electronic gem.
'Fire in The House' takes us back to the fall of 2004 when a barely known debut album by The Killers was stuggling to break the UK album Top 50. 'Hot Fuss' went global in 2005 and every song on that album was a winner and a perfect marriage between pop guitar and analogue synths. 'Fire In The House' is not far off from the early promise of The Killers with blinding hooks and a terrific intro.
If The Killers were your thing in 2004 and you like a bit of New Order from 'Crystal' onwards then this new stomper from Hard-Fi may just get you bopping the length of your living room for a week or so (until it's played to death on the radio).
It's quite rare these days for bands to break-out and crossover after months of music blog adulation, but EY faves Niki & The Dove and Austra (who were recently nominated for Polaris Music Prize) are closer than some in taking electro back to the masses.
NME last week awarded a two page spread to Niki & The Dove whilst the band were also confirmed as UK support for Hurts (and Theo knows a thing or two about decent electronic music). Niki & The Dove will be joining Hurts at the Brighton Centre on November 2nd followed by the 02 Academy in Glasgow (Nov 3rd) before dashing back down to London's Brixton Academy on November 4th. Tickets for all three dates can be snapped up via this NME link
A few months back, EYHQ got very excited about Alex Metric's remix of Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus'. 'Remixes 2' ultimately failed to live up to the initial thrill power of Metric's mix despite a rather good effort by Royksopp but Radio One's Alex has put together a collection of his finest mixes. 'Open Your Eyes' is released on August 22nd and features a hands-in -the- air dancetastic remix of Niki & The Dove's 'Mother Protect' as well as La Roux's 'Quicksand', Depeche's 'Personal Jesus' and Fenech Soler's 'Lies'. Stone Roses legend Ian Brown even pops up for a bit of vocal action on what looks like a very promising remix compilation (bar Ellie Goulding who obviously isn't an EY fave).
Have a listen below for a radio rip of Alex Metric's remix of Niki's 'Mother Protect' - it's really quite special.
And finally from me, let us raise a pint to the actor Christopher Eccleston who explains via this link why he had to walk away from Dr Who. Huge amounts of respect from us to him.
