NEEDS MORE SWEDES

So, the new Phoenix is kind of boring. Thankfully, we have Pacific!

Photo: www.musicpacific.com

Pacific! “Runway to Elsewhere” (from Reveries, 2008)

ecord labels are the ones to cull a writer’s words in sticker form and slap it on a sulafane-wrapped CD. But, if I may, cherry-pick allmusic’s Tim Sendra describing Pacific’s musical aesthetic and slap it in this paragraph: “There are a few other bands working this angle of ’70s craft meets ’80s bubble with a 2000s sheen (Phoenix and Tough Alliance come to mind), but Pacific! might just be the ones who perfected the formula.”

Indeed, it’s “Runway to Elsewhere,” the instrumental opener from Pacific’s debut LP, Reveries, that has stuck and glued itself into my auditory cortex. Starting off with a spacey synth hook we haven’t heard since Air took us on a Moon Safari, this track melds into a cowbell-tinged disco revival at the drop of a handclap. Without letting you get too comfortable, Pacific punts the beat and crawls into a 70s prog-rock guitar solo that builds into the outro. Many bands have tried, come up short and flat out sounded cheap attempting the sound of this Swedish duo, who has magically found the party-worthy medium between three decades of rock (ELO), pop (Beach Boys) and dance (Daft Punk). Simply stated, “We make straight pop with a twist of club in it,” as explained by Pacific! themselves in an interview with Anthem last year.

And yes, I know I’m over a year late to this. I have Pacific’s Moshi Moshi labelmate, Breakbot, to thank for introducing me after hearing his remix of “Runway to Elsewhere,” which follows the aforementioned handclaps with a slinky synth bass line straight to the club. 

Download “Runway to Elsewhere” (Breakbot Remix) (from the Hype Machine, 2008)

10:01am Indie Pop, Nu-Disco, Sweden
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LIST: THE 80s MEET THE 00s

Nostalgia never sounded this good

oday’s songs may initially bring your sexuality into question. And if they do, I must ask you to chill out, homophobe. They’re actually as close to the 80s pop sound we’d all like to remember than anyone this side of the Killers has gotten. Besides, the decade would have fallen to RATT had the music industry not turned a blind eye to sexually ambiguous pop stars (here’s lookin’ at you, George Michael). I’ll start this series out with five tracks from across Europe, all of which I’ve secretly been devouring since last year:

Private “My Secret Lover” (from My Secret Lover, 2007)

He was the mastermind producer behind Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet.” Now fronting Danish chart-toppers Private, Thomas Troelsen unveils the bouncy and infectious “My Secret Lover.” It’s a song anyone a slave to their hormones could relate to: “I met you at the club no further comment / I said ‘Baby, let’s go back to your apartment and girl, take off your clothes, let’s make this place a mess.” While lyrically it may have been a bit crass for the 80s, the chorus’ vocal melody has been snatched from the Reagan era’s own King of Pop. Not to mention the music video’s intro, which sports the same cheap, green strobe effects seen in MJ’s “Rock With You.”

Jay-Jay Johanson “Rush” (from Rush, 2005)

This haunting slow jam swings in beautiful harmony much in the same way Tears for Fears would have 23 years ago. Like Tears’ “Head Over Heels,” sweeping synths and desperate lyrics make “Rush” a heartbroken Swedish companion.

FrankMusik “3 Little Words” (from 3 Little Words EP, 2008)

I’ll be honest: Whereas the other songs in this post come from genuine, established acts, “3 Little Words” brings the cheese as evidenced by the song’s music video. Still, London’s FrankMusik, a fashion school dropout, may just be 2009’s synth pop band to beat — that is, if you trust the BBC’s Sound of 2009 poll, which also ranked Passion Pit, another new favorite of mine, 2K9’s “best new music talent.”

Heartbreak “We’re Back” (from Lies, 2008)

Perhaps the most modern-sounding electro song of this bunch, Heartbreak’s “We’re Back” starts out like a B-side to the first Ladytron album. But once the first chorus hits, it’s the deep baritone of frontman Sebastian Muravchik going on about the disco that puts “We’re Back” somewhere along the Italo-Disco timeline. As a duo, Heartbreak also bares some resemblance to fellow Londoners Pet Shop Boys — in a retarded cousin (note the pasteled windbreakers and overly enthusiastic flailing) sort of way.

Juvelen “Everytime” (from 1, 2008)

The fretless bass that travels throughout this song is most likely synthesized. The angelic voices probably are, too. But this song, along with all of Juvelen’s output, is some of the freshest synth pop I’ve heard in a while. Vocally, this Swedish seducer is the second coming of Prince. And while that’s probably most listener’s selling point, it’s the driving bridge at 2:53 that strikes like Hall & Oates on the verge of suicide.

8:11am List, Nu-Disco, Dance, 1980s, Music Video, Denmark Sweden U.K.
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VIDEO MASH-UP: PLEJ - LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Vampire obsession sweeps Sweden in Make-Out Music’s first video mash-up

Photo: www.plej.se

Plej “Safe Place” (from Home Is Where the Heart Was, 2008)

ot even Sweden was immune to the Vampire Revival Craze of 2008. Whereas goth tweens and their middle-aged Midwestern moms got wet for Twilight and HBO’s True Blood, Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In served up boners to both horror and indie fans alike. It had such buzz that an American remake is already in the works for 2010. And since we don’t have the best reputation for adapting films, the chances of grasping the true heart of the story — an innocent romance that burgeons between the helpless Osker and protective Eli — are unlikely as the studio heads demand more ketchup blood.

Ripping off Butter Team’s “zany mash-ups,” here’s Make-Out Music using a vampirical idiom to introduce a mash-up of a movie that had more bark than bite with music by Swedish trip-hop duo Plej.

7:21pm Video Mash-Up, Music Video, Film, Trip-Hop, Sweden
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