Trapdoor Social: "Away"

The guys in Trapdoor Social might be the first environmental analysts-turned-pop stars. Merritt Graves and Skylar Funk (how is this not already someone's porn name?) met at Pomona College in Southern California in the Environmental Analysis program. In between studying solar and other renewable energies, and getting all Captain Planet and shit, the boys made music. Death of a Friend is their debut EP, released in December, on which the rollicking "Away" is featured.

Kisses: "The Hardest Part"

I know what you're thinking: Is Kisses' new single, "The Hardest Part," a remake of the Kathie Lee Gifford song also called "The Hardest Part"? Strangely enough, it's not. I know, totes weird, right? Anyhow, Kisses' new song, from their forthcoming album Kids In LA, out May 14, is everything you've come to expect from the duo: breezy, hook-laden disco-tinged pop.

Cullen: "Easily Impressed"

Apparently I added Cullen's "Easily Impressed" to my iTunes library on May 23, 2010. I have no idea where I found it and up until this week had never listened to it. His bandcamp page informs us that the single was officially released last July. Not that it really matters. The important thing is that I kept this Aussie's song in my library and never accidentally deleted it in an iTunes Feng Shui attack. It has literally been on repeat the entire week. Perfect pop.

CHVRCHES: "Recover"

Well, this was a pleasant surprise during my daily listens. "Electronic pop." is how CHVRCHES, from Glasgow, describes themselves on Facebook. They've only got a few tunes on SoundCloud. The only one I've listened to so far is the spectacular "Recover," the title track from their forthcoming EP. They're also playing a handful of dates coming up in the US on their first ever North American tour.

STRFKR: "Atlantis"

I first became acquainted with Starfucker/STRFKR when I heard their great cover of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." I didn't keep tabs on them by any means but I saw that they had a new album coming out called Miracle Mile so I decided to give it a spin. Pretty damn good, I have to say, especially "Atlantis," which two-and-a-half minutes of electro-pop joy.

Hurricane Love: "Deep Under Water"

You can't find Swedish sextet Hurricane Love's music on iTunes in America. At least not yet. How anyone could not take notice of them would be one of life's great mysteries. Until that day, however, you can check out their tunes on SoundCloud or YouTube among other places. "Deep Under Water" is a huge, pounding pop-rock tune. The lead singer's voice has a sort of Adam Levine quality to it, though not nearly as nasaly or annoying, and with a great vibrato. Keep an eye on this group. They could blow up.

Listen on SoundCloud. Check out the acoustic version below: 

Clubfeet: "Follow Me Down" and "Cape Town"

Miike Snow- and Cut Copy-inspired beats make for easily accessible and thoroughly enjoyable ear candy on Clubfeet's new album Heirs and Graces. 


Clubfeet - Follow Me Down



Clubfeet - Cape Town

Timeflies: "Swoon" and "Worth It"

There's a lot of music similar to Timeflies' that's been flooding the Top 40 charts for years. You know the type: dance-pop mixed with hip-hop, some house for good measure. It's manufactured bullshit; cookie-cutter disposable pop music (and artists). There are a few that stand out and stick around for a few years. Timeflies might be one of those groups. Their sound isn't unique per se (see rant about said pop music in lines above), yet for some reason I can't stop listening to them. Whether or not theirs is good music is a matter of opinion but it's damn catchy and enjoyable. And they're popular too -- their debut EP One Night debuted at #1 on the iTunes Album charts in November.

Penny Police: "As Long As You Watch My Heart"

Mixing Danish folk with electronica and pop sensibility Penny Police (aka Marie Fjeldsted) sums up her sound as confrontations with frailty. I'm not sure if "As Long As You Watch My Heart," taken from her debut album The Broken, The Beggar, The Thief, is about a breakup or not but it fits the "confrontations with frailty" summation quite nicely. And it features the great line "As long as you watch my heart, watch my back." She continues, "As long as you wrap it in, just leave it unsaid. As long as you watch my heart, watch my back. Soon enough we're told that all you have is you."

Du Tonc: "Darkness"

Now this is a pairing I can get behind. Matt Van Schie of Van She and Mighty Mouse have collaborated on a tune calling themselves Du Tonc. "Darkness," with its smooth electronic grooves, funky guitar and ethereal vocals, is much more poppy than its name would imply. It's unclear if a full album is in the works but one would hope with these two heavyweights working together.  

Catcall: "That Girl"

"That girl just steals my heart/Some kind of beautiful/That girl's an elevator"

Oh, I know that girl. You're right that she's an elevator. She's gone down on everything but the Titanic.

Duck Duck Punch: "Mirage"

Duck Duck Punch is one of those bands that I have no recollection when and how I discovered them but am glad I did. Especially since I learned just this minute that one half of the duo is a fellow homosexual. Bryan Rudell said that the song "Degenerate Public," off the duo's album Human Chemistry, is "me talking about how ashamed I used to be about being gay — and how so many people try to keep it their 'dirty little secret.' It's addressing a social issue, but in a way that isn't shouting 'ACCEPT GAY PEOPLE[!]' Anybody could interpret the song in their own way." Nice. And his tunes, co-written and produced by the duo's other half Trent Waterman, are full of swirly synths and vintage drum machines. Check out "Mirage" below and grab a 4 song sampler from Human Chemistry in exchange for your email on their site.

Lissi Dancefloor Disaster: "Try"

Oh, you Swedes! How you work your crazy Nordic spell on me time and time again. Lissi Dancefloor Disaster, out of Uppsala, Sweden, are an experimental electropop duo made up of Josefin Lindh and Johan Tilli and named after Johan's former cat Lissi, just in case you were wondering. They have a smattering of tunes posted on their SoundCloud page and their newest, "Try," posted just a little over a week ago, is one of the best. At least according to their website the duo's debut album will be out February 27, but there are no additional details posted.