Dragonette - Let The Night Fall

Awesome pop group Dragonette have been doing a lot of featurings and collaborations of late, and it's been awhile since we've heard a 100% pure Dragonette song. Luckily, Let The Night Fall seems to be worth the wait. I use the words "propulsive" and "soaring" a lot to indicate a sound that I'm totally obsessed with. It's all about that beat and melody that just seems to climb and climb the longer it progresses. The track feels a lot more anthemic than Dragonette have been for awhile, and I hope that it's a taste of sounds to come from them. Pick Up The Phone is still probably my favorite Dragonette song of all time, as I prefer their more melodic songs to their quirkier electropop. Let The Night Fall seems like a nice mix between the two styles.

Dragonette & Lenno - The Best

Dragonette have been collaborating with a ton of producers lately. It seems like every couple of weeks there's a new track out there. Some are definitely more "producer" than "Dragonette," but I think that the just released The Best is a perfect mix between club and pop sensibilities. This time around, the band collaborated with Lenno, a young producer from Finland. The music itself goes full summertime, with bright synths, propulsive beat and addictive hook. It's not quite as instant as the band's best songs, but definitely delivers that EDM bombast that dancefloors are looking for. I could see Dragonette releasing an entire album of these collaborations (if they have the rights to do that...) and continuing to go down this route for awhile. After all, their biggest hits up to this point have been collaborations with DJs and producers.



(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Big Data & Dragonette - Get Some Freedom

"Baby, we've got options"

This blog has proudly followed Dragonette from the time when no one knew their sound, to the time when everyone knew them from the ubiquitous Hello with Martin Solveig, and now the time when they seem to be indie electro-pop collaborators of choice. It's been awesome to watch their career change and grow. Big Data is a New York-based production team, and they've augmented Dragonette's typical sound with a heavy industrial guitar riff for this wonderful track. In lieu of a new album, this song is a nice little surprise. In some ways, it's not quite what you'd expect from the band, but I'm really digging the White Zombie/Marilyn Manson influence. It's cool to see them take on a heavier sound, even though this is definitely still pop music at its core.



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

Dragonette & Mike Mago - Outlines

"Outlines of the heart"

So, this was uploaded a month ago and somehow it totally passed me by. That's very unusual for a Dragonette song, since I try to follow them pretty closely. After all, they were one of the first bands I featured on this blog. This track is a collaboration with house producer Mike Mago, but it's more than some fancy dance beat. Pleasingly, this is an actual pop song that just happens to be a club track as well. The hook, especially, is fantastic. It represents that melodic side of the band that I really love. It's also giving me strong 80's vibes. If this is a taste of the kind of thing we might expect on their new album, I'm definitely excited!



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

Dragonette - Live In This City

"Can I do it for free?"

The countdown to Dragonette's upcoming 3rd album continues with this new single. Live In This City follows up Let It Go with a similar sound. It's a little rockier I suppose, with a propulsive beat and a ton of fuzzed out pop guitars. It's the kind of track that never slows down, even as it breaks for a hand-clapping section towards the end. It's fast and furious... more of an attitude piece than a thoughtful, melodic song. That's perfectly alright, especially if the hook is as big as the one here. I'm curious if the album will follow in this sound or be more of a grab bag. I've always thought that one of the band's biggest strengths was a chameleon-like ability to pull in different genres when crafting their unabashedly pop sound. I hope this continues!



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

Dragonette - Rocket Ship

"You pin me like a poster to the wall"

I've meant to post this song for so long now. In fact, it's been floating around my computer for about a month. I think I've waited so long that I'm not even "late" anymore. Instead, hopefully I'll catch those readers who missed this track when it first surfaced. Anyway, Dragonette are preparing for the release of their anticipated third album (which needs to come out... stat!). As part of that preparation, they teased us with Rocket Ship, a new album track. Despite the propulsive title, the song is more of a squiggly midtempo electro number. It's got that shiny bubblegum pop sound that the band specialize in, yet it also has moments of edge that are pure Dragonette. Best of all, you can download it free via the embedded soundcloud player below!



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

Dragonette - Let It Go

"We don't need a cure for the weight of the world"

This track burst onto the web at the end of last week, but I haven't had a chance to offer my thoughts on it until today. Under any circumstance, a new Dragonette single is something to cheer about. Now that the band have come off their phenomenal worldwide success with Martin Solveig, I'm hoping that this can be their first solo single to do well outside of Canada. Sound-wise, it's not entirely different than their Solveig work. The band have been providing new album teasers for months now, and honestly the clip of Let It Go was never my favorite, or the most interesting. It is, however, a naturally radio-oriented pop song, though it might still be too cool for mainstream US stations. It has the fizzy synth sound of their best work, married to a quick, relentless melody. And, most importantly, it does nothing to tarnish their reputation as a perfect pop band. Now bring on the album!



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

Dragonette - The Right Woman

"Take a chance"

I was very excited to find a new Dragonette song in my inbox today. Their official new single, Let It Go, will be released later this month, but for now we've got this extra treat. The Right Woman, a collaboration with producer Plastic Plates, is part of a compilation, but it's also a nice holdover while we wait for the third album. It's a little heavier on the electro vibe than most of their stuff, but retains a poppy chorus. The band have been sharing previews of new material (including the single) on their soundcloud page and I definitely recommend heading over there to check it out. I have a feeling (especially after their success with Martin Solveig) that this third album is going to be the one to really break them big-time around the world.



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

Pop Blitz 3/17/11

George Michael - True Faith
Michael comes back with a midtempo track (a cover of the New Order hit) that overuses vocoder effects. He's got one of the best pop voices of all time, so what's with the electronics? And why can't we get something more uptempo (or at least with a better melody)? C-

Glee Cast - Loser Like Me
Glee remains as frustrating as it is entertaining. There's more potential than this radio-friendly track displays, but it's not bad, either. Next time, they need to opt for a more unique sound that capitalizes on their use of choral harmonies. B

Selena Gomez - Who Says
It's a brief (hopefully) pit stop to "uplifting" Taylor Swift-esque material for the Disney star. It's actually not as bad as I feared. The production's catchy enough, but I wish it was in another language so that I couldn't understand the lame lyrics. C+

The Wanted - Gold Forever
They're really building up a strong set of singles. This is the exact direction I was hoping they'd follow -- more electronic, more dramatic and uptempo. It's a promising sign for their second album, whenever they decide to release it. A

Martin Solveig & Dragonette - Hello
If this is what it takes to give Dragonette a world-wide audience, I'm totally okay with it. It's not the band's best track (and yeah, I know it's Solveig's song, but it sounds enough like Dragonette to be classified as such), but even their average material is heads above most everything else. A-

Jessie J - Price Tag
Honestly, isn't the chorus to this exactly the same as Pink's "F**king Perfect" (another song that completely underwhelmed me)? I just don't get the hype over this. It's dull, predictable and forgettable. What am I missing? C+

Black Eyed Peas - Just Can't Get Enough
How can one band be responsible for both some of the worst songs and best songs on the past few years? This isn't close to their low point (that would be previous single, the vomitatious "The Time (Dirty Bit)") but it's no "I Gotta Feeling," either. It's simply alright. B-

Dragonette - My Things

"Don't touch my things"

When you've written a song as fantastically titled as Get Your Titties Off My Things, why shorten it to simply My Things? It reeks of record company infiltration, but whatever. The song's still the same, and it's a good one. Taken from the band's new EP Mixin' To Thrill, the track's an attitude-filled, aggressive electro stomper. Throughout their relatively short career, Dragonette have excelled at producing extremely high quality non-album tracks and b-sides. This is no different. In fact, the entire EP's amazing. There are three new songs and a bunch of remixes (but if you add the new stuff they recorded with Kaskade and Martin Solveig, you get a nice 5-track EP of original songs). And speaking of Dragonette, I have--for whatever reason--been absolutely re-obsessed with their '09 single Pick Up The Phone recently. What a brilliant pop song. (And the album it's taken from is only $5 on amazon! Can't beat that!)

Dragonette - My Things by alienhits

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

Top 50 Singles of 2009: 30-26

30. Måns Zelmerlöw - Hope & Glory



The polar opposite of track number 31, this huge, bombastic pop song easily became my Zelmerlow anthem of choice. Very campy.

29. Hot Leg - Cocktails



Who knew that after the Darkness Justin Hawkins could do it again? In fact, the glorious glam rock here trumps a lot of what the Darkness released.

28. Noisettes - Never Forget You



One 60’s throwback I can get behind, this single breathed some life into the genre with great lyrics and an even better hook.

27. Private - Killer On The Dancefloor



How many years in a row have these guys been featured on this list for the same album? Here’s yet another single, and yet another stunner. Now it’s time for a new campaign.

26. Dragonette - Pick Up The Phone




A mature, beautiful pop song from these guys, and a deserved hit in their native Canada. I’m not sure they’ve ever recorded a better track.

Top 20 Albums of 2009: 16-15

16. Dragonette - Fixin‘ To Thrill



These guys returned with a more mature, sophisticated release and surprised everyone (well, surprised me) by scoring a massive radio hit in Canada. They’re becoming more interesting by the moment, willing to push pop music in different directions and play around with their style. Martina, in particular, has blossomed into quite the frontwoman, someone who I can see rivaling Lady Gaga in avant garde wardrobe and image. This is one of the more consistent albums on the countdown, and hopefully the gateway to even more radio success. There are certainly plenty of potential singles to choose from.

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15. Shakira - She-Wolf



The first Shakira album to appear on my year end countdowns since I started doing this, it’s also her shortest work yet. Brevity as its rewards, though, as this is the strongest collection of songs she’s come up with in awhile. In fact, when I reviewed this a few months ago, I don’t think I really gave the album enough credit. It’s grown on me immensely, and become something I’ve played quite a lot this Fall. I loved Shakira the rock chick, but who knew she could do straight up pop music so awesomely? Another album with no shortness of single choices.

Myspace