Top Tunes To Blog About 16

GIVERS - "UP UP UP"

The name of this band as 'givers' conjures up a whole menagerie of thoughts and images; generous people, helpful people, considerate people. Drawing on the predominantly positive aspects stemming from such a word, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that a band going by the name of 'givers' would similarly deliver said thoughts and emotions through their music. Givers are transparent and embracing; and that is why this refreshing band is worth a listen.

Tiffany, Taylor, Josh, Nick and Kirby are the happy-go-lucky fivesome from Lafayette, Louisiana who thrash out infectiously cheerful folk-pop with hooky indie twinges and contrasting Afro-musical influences. The quintet clearly pour a lot of effort and personal graft into their product; the Givers package is highly polished and joyous. Their sound is very 'collegified' and academic; think Southern state wooden bandstand thigh-slapping-foot-stomping preppy chic meets intellectual university ambassadors fusing niche New Orleans jaunts with more contemporary Afro-centric flavours. Constructing the album has been an eventual two year process coming after a self-titled EP, touring with the renowned Dirty Projectors and being acknowledged by Time Magazine. There is no denying Givers are going to be compared to Vampire Weekend; subsumed within the latter's popularity cloud. Sift past that and you may hear the echoes of The Holloways, The Feeling, Cajun Dance Party and Those Dancing Days.

"Up Up Up" starts off as a delightfully charming mix of exuberant percussion meets sassy guitaring and a thump-happy beat that strings together the song's diverse elements with absolute ease and technical accuracy. Despite the many layers to this tasteful recipe the package itself remains uncluttered and relatively under-developed; yet this allows each instrument, each lyric and aspect to filter through and work both independently as well as functioning together in smooth unison. Tiffany's vocals are sultry and raspy in contrast to Taylor's more feverish juvenile whelps and charismatic jeers. Together they give the song a greater depth as their personalities etch onto the track's being. This fairytale musical adventure gallops onwards into a light-hearted chorus full of cheer and excitement; almost childish in nature and buoyant, with skipping guitar twangs, cumbersome donks of drums and skittish percussion commotion. Simply put, "Up Up Up" is happy; it's that fuzzy late in the afternoon basking in the dying rays of the sun style of warmth. Optimistic and harmonious; this song lays down the Givers sound, paving a colourful road and bright future ahead for the Lafayette quintet.

Check out the cute little music video below and show the five some love by visiting the Facebook/Myspace/Youtube pages.

YOUNG LONDON - "LET ME GO"

Young London are a lot like one of those newly born gazelles that within a few hours are up and active, stumbling around and getting their bearings before they straighten up and hit the ground running. This duo are barely a year old and already they have discovered their sound, begun producing and have already started notching up brilliantly crafted silky pop tunes with intrepid professionalism and skill.

Matt Hoades and Sarah Graziani are the dynamic duo from Boston who only this year began fusing their musical writings and visual concepts together before bursting forth onto the acclaimed South By Southwest stage earlier this year. Since then the twosome have returned to the studio to knuckle down and crank out the debut album and all signs suggest it is going to be an explosive array of cracking electro-pop rompers and disco-esque fillers. Young London will not be to everyone's taste due to the nature of their work and sound, but don't be lulled into a false sense; these guys are not mindless manufactured pop-fodder, they make their music at a grass-roots level, something rare and ultimately very refreshing from more mainstream artists. Oozing from Matt and Sarah's American roots is a rich blend European glitz and eccentricity; commercial vintage, angular neon lines and vibrant shape-pulling, blonde voluminous hair and gaudy colour palettes. It's a very en-vogue package that sits atop of this specific market; putting them in good stead for success on both sides of the Atlantic. This industrious pair fuse together the alternative facets of electro and bind them to commodified pop traits in a rather zealous fashion; actions seen and mirrored by the likes of Alphabeat, Her Majesty And The Wolves, Hyper Crush, Oh My! and Friends Electric.

"Let Me Go" is a marvelous excursion down the borderline between electro and pop, stealing essences from camp euro-trash, bullish American electronica and enchanting contemporary pop. This is evident straight from the song's intro that lays down a reverberating array of techno stutters and hollow thuds whilst Hoades' heavily vocoded audio almost clumsily pounds the very sides of the song into a reluctant pace forwards. This drive eventually builds further gaining supreme confidence as a responsive set of back-beats and stimulating plateau of drums encroaches upon the track's rhythm. Graziani's voice is unquestionably the essential keystone amongst the lesser foundations; robust, piercing, tenacious. It magmatically punches through the solid instrumental base and generates a potent glistening overcoat throughout each chorus set. "Let Me Go" isn't a complex song; it is almost gimmicky and overly simplistic in places, but that is what gives it an inherent charm. It's parsimonious and efficient. The right dose of frugal electro and pleasant pop allows the song to giddily float through from start to end and will no doubt get club revellers pulling shapes in an instant. That is the Young London way and no one could argue with that.

Below is the music video for "Let Me Go", have a look then check out the Facebook/Myspace/Youtube for these guys and show them some love.