Hyped on: Jukebox; Lawsy.com; Baxojayz
Official site
MySpace
Who: London electro-punks with a strong DIY ethic and even stronger fan base. And we do mean “stronger,” literally (see below).
What: The melding of trance and screamo may seem odd on paper (or, admittedly, on record), but Enter Shikari give the mid-‘90s rave era a clever, modern-day rock makeover. The result is both surprisingly powerful and shocking, especially live, where the group may interrupt a hardcore anthem with a two-minute showcase of breakdancing moves or a rather fey Europop keyboard breakdown.
Made for: ADD-riddled pop culture junkies who aren’t sure if they want to break heads or bust out “The Worm” when they hit the dance floor. People who want their music to sound like old-school Nintendo game soundtracks (with guitars!). Not for Shakira fans.
X-Factor: When the band screams “human pyramid!” during “Sorry, You’re Not a Winner,” don’t be surprised if the glowstick kids in the mosh pit suddenly form…a perfect, four-tiered human pyramid. - KM
Via Audio, "Say Something" (SideCho)
Hyped on: My Old Kentucky Blog; Ear Farm; Stereogum
Official site
MySpace
Who: As students at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Via Audio was “discovered” after a chance encounter with Spoon production wiz Jim Eno—vocalist Jessica Martins chatted him up after a gig and slid him the band’s very rough demo. Six months later, Martins received an email from Eno asking to meet up, which lead to the band recording “Say Something” at Austin’s Public Hi-Fi Studios, the all-analog lab where the drummer has laid down tracks for Mates of State and Maria Taylor (as well as every Spoon album).
What: The 12 songs VA recorded during the two-week session have all the earmarks of a baby Spoon release: lush arrangements, mathy switches and moments of beautiful distortion finding their way into the mix. And VA can groove; standout track “From Cloud” builds on a sweet and simple boy/girl harmony before erupting into a disco breakdown. “Enunciation” is Martins’ go at the oft-flubbed jazzy torch song (not the case here). “Harden On Met” is a drumming set piece, recalling the percussive pop of Tahiti 80.
Made for: Spoon obsessives. Berklee College alumni (go Jazz Cats!). Facial hair enthusiasts (consult Google image search).
X-Factor: Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla once called Via Audio the “best band you have never heard of." - MR
Various Artists, “Discovered: A Collection of Daft Funk Samples” (Rapster)
Hyped on: Die Monster; Butter Team
Official site
What: A cheekily titled roster of obscure disco nuggets and random funk/R&B artifacts that all have one thing in common: they’ve provided the source material for Daft Punk’s many designer dance-floor hits. This wildly diverse line-up includes established acts like George Duke, Chaka Khan and Sister Sledge next to deeper cuts from Breakwater, Oliver Cheatham and Edwin Birdsong.
Many will be shocked to discover that Daft Punk’s “Robot Rock” is a straight lift of Breakwater’s raucous “Release the Beast.” It’s easy to spot where the robots turned Duke’s “I Love You More” into “Digital Love,” but the true gem of the lot is Edwin Birdsong’s “Cola Bottle Baby,” which birthed both DP’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and Kanye West’s “Stronger.” If Birdsong isn’t swimming in royalty dollars, he certainly should be—and needs to get a lawyer on the line stat.
Made for: The masses of new fans Daft Punk collected on their triumphant 2007 “Alive” tour. Savvy DJs looking to dazzle dance floors with their exhaustive Daft Punk knowledge (not to mention whip up some killer mixes). Haters eager to expose the robots as digital charlatans akin to P. Diddy circa 1997. Hardcore music nerds.
X-Factor: The collection’s only serious missteps are unfortunate remix versions of Oliver Cheatham’s “Get Down Saturday Night” (the source for Daft Punk’s “Voyager”) and Chaka Khan’s “Fate” (transformed into “Music Sounds Better With You” by the DP side project Stardust) instead of the sublime originals. - SS
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