The xx

Brit girl/guy duo muse intimate conversations backed by wandering bass tones and minimalist beats. Sometimes its difficult to discern if they lyrics are internal speculation or an ongoing, external dialague. Basically lots of tenseion fueled by aptly place negative space. The most provocitive aspect of the band I think was pointed out in their debut album review by Pitchfork- "after dozens of listens, it's nearly incomprehensible to think that a group so fresh-faced produced xx...It is so fully formed and thoughtful that it feels like three or four lesser, noisier records should have preceded it."

Wait for the opening female vocals in "Heart Skipped a Beat", I love how they sort of stumble into the song, yet still hold a purposeful tone.

Neon Indian

Alan Palamo, the elusive mastermind behind Neon Indian "borrows nostalgia from the unremembered 80's" (oh man, we've got a winner). It's like a poor man's Ratatat and infinatly more relaxed and zoned out. The aptly titled "deadbeat summer" fronts the album and is described best by pitchfork as the following...

"Whatever they owe to the past, the memories on Psychic Chasms are Palomo's and ours. Soft vocals recalling You Made Me Realise-era Kevin Shields. Italo-disco synth arpeggios. Hall & Oates drum sounds. Divebombing video-game effects. Brittle guitar distortion. Manipulated tapes that bend the notes the way Shields' "glide guitar" did, the way bluesmen's fret fingers did. Field recordings of birds. Oohing and ahhing backing vocals. And samples, on at least two songs, of the elder Palomo, whose electro-rock approach was quite similar. All combine on eight or nine unforgettable songs and a few tantalizingly brief interludes, indelibly capturing the glamor and bleary malaise of being young and horny as an empire devours itself."

Briliant. Some choice picks.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

I would be turned off by the righteous name of the band if they weren't so good and the music didn't fit so perfectly. Kirk sings softly but the hazy guitar re vibes give it all the force it needs. In a lot of respects, they fit the mold for the lo-fi, 80's band with a hint of so-cal noise on some tracks (as if its always there in the back of the song, almost like an afterthought)- If The Smiths were from Cali maybe? But most can agree the emerging force has began to string together their own stake in indie pop. The most recent EP surely matches the first and offers equally strong tracks to a fast-growing catalog.

Newest single exemplifies...