Drawing parallels between every female solo artist under the sun should be an act dead and buried by this time next year. Yes, 2010 will see many a talented woman surge towards the charts, Ellie Goulding being the most likely candidate to do so, but what we should have learnt from 2009 is that comparing La Roux to Little Boots to Florence Welch got really fucking boring and God knows how annoying for the artists in question.
Ellie Goulding is appearing on Jools Holland tonight and even though Wild Beasts will do their best to steal the show, I’m guessing Goulding’s name will be on the end of everybody’s lips from tomorrow. With ‘Starry Eyed‘ set in stone as part one of world domination, now comes ‘Under The Sheets’. Soaked in synthetics, keeping to the times, this is her catchiest song to date, one to be chanted along to come the 2010 festivals. I’m sure the diary’s getting busy already…
Future Trends is yet to make his mark. With all of 47 listeners on last.fm, to call him underground would be taking the piss. But Andrew G Clark has the future in his sight, especially considering No Pain In Pop are on to him. This solo electronic outing encompasses the finer elements of M83, Cut Copy, FrYars (ie. the glossy synths and the gorgeous, deep vocals) into a smooth, down-tempo, tailored ballad. Keep an eye or several out.
“Do you feel like it’s not your place to decide what comes and goes around in your life?”
Taken from this year’s ‘Eyelid Movies‘, set for a February re-release, ‘When I’m Small‘, were it to be stripped from the glossy synthetics, could have been written by a couple of 14-year-olds – fresh-faced but not that talented. It begins with a tranquil, teasing hip-hop beat before unleashing an amateur-ish, top E string guitar riff. It’s as relatively simple as Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy‘, the kind of song you kick yourself for not writing.
But Phantogram release their collection of ideas in the chorus; bare of beats, exposed and supported by a vulnerable, delay-ridden guitar line, Sarah Barthel floating above, her voice fragmented into tiny particles amongst the spacious surroundings. It closes on a crescendo where nothing is filtered out – the complete polar opposite of how it starts. This is futuristic pop music made by an intelligent pair from New York City.
NEW MUSIC: Washed Out (Columbia, South Carolina)
words: Jamie Milton
See the ripples of the water, swaying from one shade of blue to a lighter one, enhanced by the glow of the sun and the heat rays, only mere centimetres above the bliss. This is cinematic. This is the visual company you’ve always been a short distance from. And here, arrives the audio. It’s the missing piece.
Ernest Greene is the voice, the brain and the life behind Washed Out. On ‘Belong’ we’re exposed to the most prolific, explosive summer-vibes, produced with intelligence: Green sounds distant, whilst the remaining sound patterns sink slowly within the chaotic, glossy synthetics.
On ‘Feel It All Around’, Washed Out is on an entirely different level. Down-tempo, Cut Copy-esque, but unique in applying a combination of blissed-out grooves with dated, 80’s production. Terrifying. What a prospect. mp3: Washed Out – Belong
All mp3s posted on Music Fan's Mic are posted after gaining the relevant permission.
Jamie Milton began Music Fan's Mic in 2006 as a means of publishing and collecting his reviews for other publications. Since then both Milton and Gareth O'Malley are co-running the blog and posting the best new music on a regular basis.
Boom-box-in':
Yeasayer - Odd Blood LP
Final Fantasy Heartland LP
Beach House - Teen Dream LP
These New Puritans - We Want War
Gigi - The Old Graveyard
jj - The xx Intro
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This LP
Liars - Sisterworld LP
Vampire Weekend - White Sky
Los Campesinos! - In Medias Res
MFM @ HYPEM
