THE PAPER FACES - DISCO BOY

"You're a superman, you love the band tonight"

I have discovered Melody Club's bastard children. Or, at least, it feels like it. The Paper Faces play the exact same brand of synth-driven dance rock that Melody Club have mastered so well. They're an upcoming band and, as such, don't have an album out yet. But, I included a link at the bottom of this post to their website where you can download two more tracks. Another similarity to Melody Club: try lodging this tune from your brain.

The Paper Faces - Disco Boy

(you can download tracks here - music is posted for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists. If you hold the copyright to this song and wish it to be removed, contact me and I will delete it immediately.)

MIDNIGHT MONKEYS - WITHOUT

"I got the blues, that's what they say"

Continuing with the monkey theme from last post (and who would have ever thought there'd be a monkey theme?), here's an anthematic tune from an up-and-coming swedish band. They don't yet have an album out, but I'm sure it will be great when they finally do release it. This song is somewhere between rock, punk, glam and electro (as all of my favorite songs are), and catchy as hell. Fuzzy guitars give way to an utterly irresistable chorus that reminds me of George Michael at his best.

Midnight Monkeys - Without

(you can buy the album here - music is posted for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists. If you hold the copyright to this song and wish it to be removed, contact me and I will delete it immediately.)

GIRL WITH A MONKEY - FOOL

"I'll break it down with love"

First off...what a ridiculous band name. I'm not sure what it means or what it has to do with their music, but what are you gonna do? The song's good, and that's all that really matters. Fool is sort of like an electro-pop Evanescence, which is a really interesting mixture. Unfortunately, the band's broken up, but not before releasing a couple of albums. This is my favorite song by them and the one with the most hit potential. I'm not sure if their albums are available to purchase any more, but the link at the bottom directs you to a page with their email, which is how they used to sell their cds (I think).

Girl With A Monkey - Fool

(you can buy the album here - music is posted for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists. If you hold the copyright to this song and wish it to be removed, contact me and I will delete it immediately.)

DON JUAN DRACULA - RUN AWAY WITH YOU

"I wanna run away with you"

As far as synth-pop songs go, I don't know what kind of god would keep this song from being a ginormous global hit. Don Juan Dracula's album is chock full of catchy 80's styled pop, but I think this song (their second single) stands above the rest. The low-budget video's pretty cool, too...just a young fan dancing around in his room to the song. I'll bet you'll be doing the same.

Don Juan Dracula - Run Away With You

(you can buy the album here - music is posted for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists. If you hold the copyright to this song and wish it to be removed, contact me and I will delete it immediately.)

SKY - SOME KINDA WONDERFUL

"She makes a mean steak and she's an eyeful"

This Canadian duo functioned as my Savage Garden Pt. II after SG broke up. Their sound is very similar. They had a string of hits on Canadian radio (and I believe "Love Song" was also a minor hit in the US) during the summer of 1999. I loved this album. It's a little dated now, but it still holds some fantastic singles and a few even-better album tracks ("Strange" and "Shave" come to mind). This song was their third single from the album and also their poppiest. It's a strange little song with very awkward lyrics but an overall addictive melody. It's the kind of song that, with varying production, could have been a hit in almost any decade. Sky have since broken up (twice, actually... the first time one left and was replaced with a female singer), but they made a pretty darn good pop album with some great forgotten gems.

(you can buy the album here - music is posted for evaluation purposes only. Please support the artists. If you hold the copyright to this song and wish it to be removed, contact me and I will delete it immediately.)