Your Ad Here

Friday, August 17, 2012

Flashback Friday: Chess - Never Change A Winning Team


"The odds aren't always what they seem"

I've been pondering the awesomeness of Abba lately (something I often do). Particularly, I've been reintroducing myself to their last album, The Visitors, which I consider to be a pop masterpiece. But even after Abba broke up, their style of music--namely, the Bjorn/Benny songwriting--continued in Scandinavia. One of Benny and Bjorn's most prominent projects was the musical Chess. This song isn't from that play (as far as I know), but it is from a Dutch group named Chess and (I believe) written and produced by Bjorn and Benny. Please let me know if I'm wrong. Even if I am, you can imagine why I'd draw that conclusion. It sounds exactly like how I'd imagine a late-80's Abba track would sound. Unfortunately, when it came to an album, all these girls released was a bunch of Broadway covers. This is somewhat of a red herring in their short discography.



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

Labels: ,

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Hampenberg - Glorious (ft. Jesper Nohrstedt)


"Together we glow in the dark"

I don't know how this track passed me by for so long. It's been out for nearly a month and I just discovered it a couple of days ago. I've been a huge Jesper Nohrstedt fan ever since he finished third (which seems to be the place to finish...) on Danish X-Factor a couple years ago. His Melodi Grand Prix entry, Take Our Hearts, was an excellent first single and should have gone on to represent Denmark in Eurovision. It certainly would have done better for the country than the entry they ultimately chose. I don't like Glorious quite as much, mostly because it sounds much more conventional and anonymous, but it is a rousing club track and it extends his burgeoning career as a dance/electro artist. I'd love for an entire album in this vein. For now, though, I'm just happy that he's still releasing singles (even if it's just as a featured vocalist).



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

Labels:

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Storm - Raver


"I should be dancing like a raver"

I posted a song by Danish duo The Storm a few months ago, even though their album had already been out for quite awhile. The upside to this is that it has seemed (to me, at least) like only a blink of an eye between their last release and this new one. The band used to specialize in big, loud rock music, but went through an electro reinvention that continues on this new track. Raver is a mammoth aural blitzkrieg. The production sounds like something Robyn would gravitate towards, though this is slightly more over-the-top. Think of it as the older, louder sibling to Dancing On My Own. It's not quite as good as that track (what is?), but would fit neatly alongside it in a mixtape. If the album's this huge-sounding, I can't wait to hear it.



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

Labels:

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Alphabeat - Love Sea


"Jump on in, jump with me"

I love Alphabeat. There's no two ways about it. In this day and age, with all its negativity and stresses, it's so amazing and refreshing to find a band that creates such uplifting, upbeat, FUN music. I am counting down the days until their third album, much the way I've counted down the days to every previous release. Last single Vacation was a major grower. This one's not quite as lively, but the melody is incredibly strong and infectious from the first listen. Parts sound quite a lot like Whitney Houston's immortal How Will I Know and the instrumental intro is a close neighbor to The Who's Baba O'Riley (of all things), but the entire package is wrapped up in such a light, bubblegum sound that it really defies comparison to any other artist out there. This is Alphabeat doing what they do best. Thank god.



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

Labels: