Foxy Shazam - Holy Touch

"Kick down the door and hold me"

Foxy Shazam is back! I'll give a full review of their very good album next week when it's officially released. After all, I'm still digesting it. In some ways, it's very different than their last one. Yet it's also a natural progression. They've gone further into classic rock territory, while still managing to up the bombast (I mean, check out (It's) Too Late Baby. That's like bombast personified). The band have been nice enough to share one of the album's best tracks a few days early. Holy Touch is the kind of ultra-hooky, melodic punch of rock that this country's been missing for years. Now that the Ark's retired, I'm ready to hand over the title of best rock band to Foxy Shazam. They've really got it all. And Eric Nally is pretty much a superstar.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Download the album here if you want it a few days early (I did). Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Doug Naugler - Smells Like Teen Spirit

"With the lights out, it's less dangerous"

Time for something a little different. Vancouver-based musician/producer Doug Naugler has created something very special with his free online album of covers. He's taken classic rock songs, stripped them of instrumentation, and rebuilt them using electronic music. The result is really, really cool. I'm a big fan of mixing rock and dance in the first place, but these reproductions have amazed me by just how seamless they are. I had a hard time picking which one to post (you can listen to them all on his soundcloud), but I decided to go with Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. It's obviously a super well-known song, but it's augmented in just the right way to make it (if possible) even more powerful. Nirvana as a dance anthem? Yes, please! If you like this, be sure to download the album and spread the word.

Doug Naugler - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Re-Production) by dougnaugler

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Download the album for free here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Tommy Fredvang - Make It Better

"I can turn it around"

From Denmark to Norway today, and another Eurovision hopeful. Like Jesper yesterday, Tommy Fredvang was also a participant in his home country's X-Factor. I'm seeing a pattern here! More importantly, Tommy's music sounds like Ola Svensson with more guitars. This is, of course, a very good thing. Make It Better is catchy from the get-go, with big poppy guitar riffs and a driving chorus that propels the song along at breakneck pace. I'm not sure what Tommy's chances are in the competition, but I'm glad he'll at least receive the exposure from participating. After all, I probably wouldn't have ever known about him otherwise. Also recommended is his last single, Come On. Hopefully this is an indication of the direction he's going for album number two.

Tommy Fredvang - Make It Better by nohfap

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the first (more acoustic) album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Jesper Nohrstedt - Take Our Hearts

"We can take our hearts, make them whole again"

It's the beginning of the year, so that means a host of new Eurovision contenders are making their way onto the European scene. As usual, I've got my eyes on a number of races. Both Norway and Denmark's tracks were released to itunes recently (is that normally how it's done?). Out of all of them, I was most excited to hear Jesper Nohrstedt's first official studio recording. I loved Jesper when he was a contestant on Denmark's X-Factor 2010 (he came third... should have won), and I've been waiting for what seems like forever for him to release some music. Take Our Hearts is a hybrid ballad/dance track. The verses are piano driven and sparse and the chorus has a huge, anthemic electro feel to it. I do wish the song would surrender completely to the dance sound about halfway through, but I still love this. I think it's an incredibly strong contender to represent Denmark this year, especially given Jesper's performance skill. It's the kind of track I can imagine finding success outside the contest as well. I hope he wins! But more than that, I hope he releases an entire album in this style.

Jesper Nohrstedt - Take Our Hearts by nohfap

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

The Supanova Project - Dance Off

"Now we're dancing for our life"

Pop fans, you are going to LOVE this. The Supanova Project, from Australia, lists their influences as these: Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Armin Van Burren, Michael Jackson, David Guetta, Prince, Pat Benatar, Def Leppard, Zoe Badwi. Really, is there anything better? This band should be on every pop blog out there. And for you X-Factor fans, the group features duel male/female vocals and the male side of that is none other than Johnny Ruffo from this past season of X-Factor AU! Johnny was not my favorite contestant, but he totally grew on me throughout the competition and he's perfect for this type of music. The Supanova Project makes incredibly catchy dance-pop... all sugary melodies and high energy beats. Every song on their soundcloud is pretty much amazing, and you should head right over and listen to them now. Dance Off seems to be the track they're pushing, so it's the track I'll post here. (But check out Running Away next. It's brilliant, too.)

Dance Off by The Supanova Project

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Listen to more here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.