Finally Owl By Night is back. Yes, we are actually back! After having a rather luxuriant four weeks off to lap up the last of summer and recover from a hellish period of work it is back to the grind and to enrich you lovely people with awesome tracks and fantastic bands. Granted we are a couple of rather large steps behind the big tastemaker blogs out there, but as you all know, this blog isn't about dishing out any old thing, we believe in good solid tunes and formidable artists without the desperate need to churn out post after post of sloppy seconds. So let the writing commence!
DRAGONETTE - "LIVE IN THIS CITY"
Canada's finest electro-pop export are tantalising our ears once more with a raucous audio display of pugnacious pop and caricatured camp bravado, humbly named "Live In This City". Serving up as the group's third release (including previous jaunts "Rocket ship" and "Let It Go") from their latest album "Bodyparts", this newest slab of meaty pop is embellished with the familiar synth slashed traits and sugary pop excitement we have all come to love from the three-piece. The single immediately screams Jefferson Starship's "Built This City On Rock And Roll" whilst copulating with Kim Wilde's "Kids In America". The schizophrenic haphazardness of abrasive beats, screeching synth landscapes and frenetic choruses makes this an absolute stomper; a true pop record full of retro sound waves mixed with modern dexterity and charm. The prismatic sheen that coats this track imbues a sense of positivity and juvenile playfulness that few pop singles manage to instill; each choral build-up snowballs into the next with an infectious hooky composition that is spontaneous, witty and full of gusto, dragging feet along to stamp in rhythmic defiance. Dragonette never fail to disappoint and this fresh offering only confirms further the sheer skill and accuracy these three possess when it comes to producing finely grated electro-pop treats.
Owl By Night's favourite Jewish American tongue-in-cheek rapper Hoodie Allen has been generating humongous waves on the blogosphere with his switchblade synth battlegrounds and pop friendly rap nuances. This latest remix surfaced late last month hot on the heels of his previous release "Hey You" and the highly revered "All American" LP. This offering is devilishly remixed by Rick Markowitz, whose moniker of Smarterchild has graced the titles of songs from Gym Class Heroes to Neon Hitch. Initially lulling listeners with twenty seconds of brassy musical warmth, Markowitz spars forceful bass onslaughts with pooling arrays of beat-savvy whirs there after. This club ditty slithers across Allen's crisp vocal groupings and invigorates the lyrical content into something pulsating and enlivened. Scything repetitive vocals in between computerised chimes and tempo driven menace drives the track along with razor sharp pace, something Smarterchild is well established at doing. Additionally the mention of omelettes highlights the flippant irreverence of Hoodie Allen and his lyrical wit that is clear for all to see. Along with such tenacious beats this is a contemporary dance floor gem for the dying days of summer that anyone can get stuck into.
Owl By Night has been having serious withdrawal symptoms since The Sound Of Arrows have nestled onto the back burner to craft more cosmological pop gems. Thankfully the Swedish duo of Miranda and Elektra Kilbey have shuffled into the blog limelight to grab some of their thunder and deservedly so. Their tentative, tranquil and transparent sincerity for carving smooth bodies of noise is nothing short of breathtaking. Fusing the crystalline purity of their typically Nordic compositions with the breezy day-glow warmth of Australia, the duo's fond retreat, garners a seamless duality to which gentile sound rays dance amongst the icier realms of granitic synth-infused chill-pop. Sounding like a toned down, fluid version of one-time dance hit "Janeiro" by Solid Sessions, The Kilbey sisters thread their smoky vocal portraits through emotive chord towers; whispered, poignant and utterly beautiful, "Maybe You" achingly nibbles at the heart to conjure up inner dilemmas. This raw essence of loss shadows the track with minimal negativity and leaves you in a quandary; are Saint Lou Lou detailing the story of an insurmountable loss of love? Are they referring to their enigmatic Swedish homeland? Or perhaps the fact they are twin sisters who share family love stronger than no other around? That is for you to interpret and for Miranda and Elektra to keep between themselves.
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