Flashback Friday: Baby's Gang - My Little Japanese Boy

"You are my friend, my friendly Japanese boy"

Ah, italo disco. It really is unlike any other genre out there. It has such a distinctive sound of its own, totally recognizable as soon as you hear it. As a bridge between disco and more modern dance music, it took the ideas of the former and added the drum machines and electro riffs of the latter. It remains one of those strange genres that really only existed for a short period of time. Sure, there are those who imitate it now (and more to come, I'm sure), but it's not something that's really made a mainstream comeback. Although, I guess it wasn't necessarily "mainstream" in its own time, either. My overall point: italo disco is super cool, even in its inherent cheesiness. Baby's Gang specialized in the stuff, but they made it a thousand times weirder. Essentially, the group is "Baby" (you'll know her when you hear her... trust me) and her "gang," a chorus of heavily-accented women semi-singing. I know... strange stuff. But also strangely addictive. Their single Challenger remains a classic, but this one's nearly as good. Its political correctness is highly debatable, and it's beyond trying to understand, but just listen to the synths! Amazing. Plus, entering into this weekend of Eurovision (Loreen for the win, please), this seems somewhat appropriate in its randomness.



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

Music Video: The Sound Of Arrows - Conquest

"I'm obsessed with this conquest"

It's rare that I'll dedicate an entire post to a music video, but there are some artists (very few, actually...) that produce videos of such a consistent quality that I look forward to them just as much as new music. The Sound Of Arrows released my favorite album of 2011 and are now on their fifth music video from it. Conquest was released earlier today and follows its predecessors with three minutes of gorgeous, 80's inspired fantasy imagery. Each video these guys produce is like a mini-movie. Strung together one after another makes for an incredibly strong marriage of sound and image. They have such an indelible, unique vision for themselves, which is increasingly rare in music these days. If you haven't picked up the album yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. At the very least, go watch all their videos on youtube--preferably in a row.



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

Catcall - The World Is Ours

"You know that we are true"

This is such a great song to compliment the Zowie track that I wrote about at the beginning of this week. For one, Catcall is also from down under (she's from Australia, Zowie's New Zealand), but the music is similar too. It's a wonderfully edgy mix of pop, dance, punk and rock. The World Is Ours is the new single from the just-released album, and it's one of those anthemic, pump your fists indie tracks that grabs you by the scruff and takes you places. From the get-go, the song's punctuated by shouts, which soon segue into effortlessly, catchy verses. I haven't heard the album yet myself, but I'm looking forward to it!



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

Databoy - Just Once (Audien Summer Radio Mix)

"You can be my one time Summer lover"

I've gotta thank Paul over at myfizzypop for this one. I'd never heard of these guys, but I am definitely a big fan of Summer, and especially Summer music. There's nothing better than driving around in the heat listening to pop music (well, okay, there are probably some better things...). Now, just in time for sunny nights (hopefully), we've got the suitably themed Summer Now EP, which is free to download on the guys' site! Though I definitely love the opening track, Lotion, it's the "Summer radio remix" of the track Just Once that comes at the end of the EP that I really find myself listening to. It definitely has a Scandinavian pop/dance sound to it... sort of like Danny or Eric Saade being produced by the Attic. In other words, I could imagine this blowing up on radio if promoted well, especially in Europe. So get it while the getting's free!



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

Zowie - You Treat Me (Like I'm Software)

"You treat me like you don't even care"

I am obsessed with the beat of this song. It gets to you from the very first moment. It's just so... perfect (in that synthesized 80's way). Better yet, the song that accompanies it is every bit as catchy. The verses, especially, hit with a pop ferocity that we don't see enough of nowadays. The title's pretty clever, too. Zowie is from New Zealand and, though I've been aware of her music for some time now, it wasn't until I heard her full-length album (streaming on soundcloud) that I really fell in love with her. She's got the crazy Gaga-esque style but her sound is more electronic. Think Girls Aloud meets Yeah Yeah Yeahs meets Ladyhawke. In other words, you should be listening to this right now.



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