Paul St. Paul & The Apostles - Great Time


"Let's get this party on the way"

Pop Mentors: Prince, Private, Scissor Sisters

Today's mp3 sample is not high quality, but I'm posting it anyway because I've wanted to write about this band for months and I think they are the perfect ones to end Pop Week here on Alienhits. Paul St. Paul & The Apostles are, as far as I can tell, aliens posing as popstars. They play ultra poppy party music with shades of Prince, Michael Jackson and Madonna (their pop "holy trinity"). Great Time would be a great single if they ever end up releasing songs. It seems like their myspace page and any other artist pages haven't been updated in forever, which is a real shame because I think these guys would be very interesting if they ever get going. I hear they're amazing live as well, which isn't much of a surprise given their outfits.

Paul St. Paul & The Apostles - Great Time (zshare)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Listen to more here.)

Jean - Chelsea Girl


"Chelsea girl there's a sting in your wiggle"

Pop Mentors: Scissor Sisters, Roxette, Wham

I don't even know where to start with these guys. Here's quite a declaration. Even though their self-titled album has not been officially released (they're unsigned! Can you believe it??), they've probably given us the best pop album of the year so far. Their influences are very obvious. A ton of tracks sound like Music Is The Victim from SS's debut album with an added electro edge, but to me that's really perfection. Add to that an amazing look and some tracks, like my favorite Dirty Old Bed (buy it here... it's on itunes for every country!) that will be among the very best singles released in 2008 if that ever actually happens. I'm posting Chelsea Girl today because it's incredibly instant and will give you an idea of what this fantastic band is all about. Every track is a winner, though (stream the entire album here) and I really can't heap enough praise on these guys. Honestly, there hasn't been a pop record like this since Scissor Sisters' first release, and I'm hoping that Jean can break through their influences and have the success they deserve on their own, because they are one of the most exciting new pop bands around today. We in the blogging world need to get behind them and make this happen.

Jean - Chelsea Girl (zshare)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Listen to more here.)

Kash - Alright Fine


"In the end it gets hard to pretend that I'm fine"

Pop Mentors: Frankmusik, Daniel Bedingfield, Craig David

It's all in the melody with this one. This has got to be one of the most immediately catchy pop songs I've ever heard. The first time I listened to it, it struck me the way that Daniel Bedingfield's Gotta Get Thru This did a few years ago. Like that track, it's built on a very simple loop and melody, yet the vocals, lyrics and production are flawless. Kash has been working with Frankmusik (another #1 Hits fave) and I think that's bringing out the best in him. This is the type of song that just needs to be noticed by the right person and shot into the stratosphere, radio-wise. Here's hoping that the "right person" is reading my blog today.

Kash - Alright Fine (zshare)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Listen to more here.)

Pandering & The Golddiggers - Disco Bloodbath


"Pump up your shotgun and douse me with glitter"

Pop Mentors: Scissor Sisters, Girls Aloud, Do Me Bad Things

I'm going to kick off this pop week with an enormous bang. You are going to LOVE this band. Pandering & The Golddiggers (how's that for a name?) are a "superband" (their words) from the UK aiming for world domination. And, I see nothing that could stand in their way. I used Alphabeat as a reference point yesterday and I feel very much the same way about Pandering that I did with them in 2006. Disco Bloodbath is a perfect (perfect perfect perfect) dance track. If it had been released by an established artist (like the first two listed above) it would already be a hit. The beat is amazing and the Ana Matronic spoken vocal parts are quite entertaining. Most importantly, these guys have got a crazy image. I love pop stars that look like aliens!

Pandering & The Golddiggers - Disco Bloodbath (myspace - mp3 removed at request from artist)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Listen to more here.)

In September 2006 I posted about an upcoming Danish pop group called Alphabeat, now a year and a half later they've broken huge in the UK. Mika and MGMT have both reared their heads on #1 Hits months before scoring hits. If there's one thing I try to keep my finger on, it's pop music. That's why this coming week is going to be completely dedicated to really really great, unheard pop music. I've got five acts queued up that are going to completely blow your socks off. All are bands I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else, even though I expect that to change soon. All have great images, great tracks, and of course, that over-the-top pop appeal. That's right, folks. For the next week this place is going to become Popjustice Jr!