Charli XCX - Boom Clap

"This must be love"

Charli XCX has been circling the pop mainstream for awhile now. In addition to writing Icona Pop's huge smash I Love It, her vocals were featured prominently on the track and she's also the guest vocalist (and best part) of Iggy Azeala's summer hit, Fancy. She released an album last year, but it flew under the radar as a collection of solid, if not particularly commercial, artistic pop songs. Now, with this single a part of the hit Fault In Our Stars movie campaign, she could find her biggest success yet as a solo artist. And that wouldn't be a bad thing, given that this is probably her strongest, most mainstream release to date. It sounds a lot like the majority of Tegan and Sara's most recent album. It's a little dewy, a little lovelorn... very teen romance-worthy. But, it's also got that huge, simple hook that's bound to appeal to mainstream audiences. Whether she's got a whole album of this sort of stuff in her remains to be seen.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Secret Sebastian - We Don't Need Nobody

"The world is made for two"

I'm so surprised that this song hasn't become huge. It seems like a buried secret... something so tremendous and catchy that summer of 2014 is just begging for it. Secret Sebastian are a dance/electronic group from Norway, living in the UK. Their first single, from last year, was standard, trendy EDM and to me it's pretty forgettable. But this new one is so funky! The female vocal helps, but it's also just much more of a pop song. It reminds me of the kind of stuff Fred Ball used to put out as part of his Pleasure project. There aren't nearly enough songs out there like this. It's got that timeless feel to it. Forever trendy, but not trend-chasing. Pump it up loud!



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Buy the single here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Bleachers - Shadow

"If you're feeling small, I'll love your shadow"

Sometimes I'm so focused on the international pop scene that I miss out on awesome stuff that's happening at home in the USA. Such is the case with Bleachers, the phenomenal side project of Jack Antonoff, the guitarist for the band fun. (of We Are Young and Some Nights fame). Simply put, I am all over this. Like white on rice. Like vultures on dead stuff. This is the kind of theatrical, big pop music that I live for. I feel like Antonoff took the absolute best bits of fun. and congealed them into something that seems to be recorded just for me. I Wanna Get Better, the current single, is a giant slice of bombastic singalong bliss, but Bleachers have released two additional teasers that might even be more instant. Rollercoaster has that classic 80's sound down pat, and Shadow has a chorus to die for. The album's out on the 15th of July, and I will be counting down the hours.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Preorder the album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.