The stunning rising hit and feel good end of summer anthem “Remember When (Push Rewind)” (currently atop my personal chart) has paved the way for former White Tie Affair frontman Chris Wallace’s debut solo album, Push Rewind.
There are no stunning revelations within. It’s a slick pop record focusing on to-the-point and often empowering lyrics set to shimmering melodies that will light up radio playlists. No complicated themes, no hidden meanings, Chris and his songwriting team tell it like it is. Best of all are Chris’ sharp, unique vocals. There is no doubt that this boy can sing and his voice will take him far. Compare the studio version of “Keep Me Crazy” and the acoustic version – Chris Wallace doesn’t need fancy effects on his voice to cut to the chase or dazzle you.
Another great thing about Push Rewind is that it won’t ride on the success of “Remember When”. Superlative songs like “Hurricane”, “Time Bomb”, the soulful “Don’t Mind If I Do”, and “Invincible” emerge at every turn, making the album a breeze to hear, and best of all, making you want more, hence the title of this post.
Push Rewind is finely crafted, shiny pop made by a team who know their stuff for a singer with a fine voice. Pop music fanatics should flock to this record. Next stop: Chris Wallace live shows, where the essence of these songs will be brought to life. Buy it on iTunes – U.S. folks can get “Remember When” for free this week! You can also listen to excerpts of the songs on Chris’ website right here.
Colin’s new Unsung Hero mixtape finally dropped today, but preceding it last week was “Over It”, which isn’t as heavy as “Fight Of My Life” and “Invincible”. Even in more of an accessible pop vein like this, the Toronto performer’s sympathetic vocals and resolute lyrics are extremely powerful. Expect more of the same grittiness in the mixtape, but I’ll save my comments about Unsung Hero for later in the week. In the meantime start yourself with “Over It” bydownloading it right here.
Sky Ferreira featuring Blood Orange “Everything Is Embarrassing”
At last, it’s a Sky Ferreira song that captures the sexiness and vulnerability I saw on stage in New York City in April 2011. It’s a pretty sparse and fragile sound from her upcoming EP Ghost that could easily put the much-praised Sky in the same leagues as Ellie Goulding in no time. More like this please… and remixes could send clubs positively spinning.
Vague-à-bonde “Evolved”
Hailing from Minneapolis, Nicole Brenny has recorded her second album under the name Vague-à-bonde, and in advance of it comes “Evolved”. Not far removed from Sky Ferreira or Ellie Goulding but with the tough edges we find with Pink and Rihanna, “Evolved” starts out gently unassuming and then seemingly out of nowhere comes this amazingly hooky chorus that will simply slay you. After all what would a vague-à-bonde be if not restless? I can’t wait to hear a live performance of “Evolved”. Get thefree download right hereand look for more soon from Vague-à-bonde.
Sam Sparro “We Could Fly”
Backtracking to the soul/funk and emotional pop combo of Sam Sparro’s sophomore album Return To Paradise, I would like to humbly suggest “We Could Fly” as the next single. After the video of the the downbeat but cathartic “I Wish I Never Miss You”, “Fly” could serve as a reprise of the vibe of the first single “Happiness” and with some innovative remixes will help this intriguing album gain momentum again.
River Tiber “What Are You Afraid Of”
As regular readers know, I consider Toronto band River Tiber to be one of The Finds of 2012. I adore the many moods of the debut album From Now On, particularly “Someday” and “Symmetry”, which reached #1 and #2 on my personal chart. Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Tommy Paxton-Beesley, River Tiber segues into more experimental electronic pop/rock on “Afraid”, full of gorgeous smatterings of electric guitar, which all resonate through the images in the video. Watch below, and look for many more fine things to come from Tommy and River Tiber this Fall.
Vista Cruiser featuring Vanessa Barfod “I Dig, You Dig”
A humorous party rock song will always get my attention if the whole package rises among the generally inane setting. Such is the case with Montreal’s Vista Cruiser, comprising Mich and Andy Manaras, who were more known for rocking out a decade ago than the fun electropop behind “I Dig, You Dig” would let on. But with platinum award-winning producer John Nathaniel somewhat uncharacteristically at the helm, and a clever, eye-popping video, you will have a tough time getting the song out of your head. So party on…
Elle Vee featuring Tek-neek “I Like Girls”
Hailing from L.A., Elle Vee is Lindsay Vinarsky, a diverse songwriter whose “I Like Girls” puts her definitively in Britney Spears sounding territory but with lyrical bite that takes no prisoners along along with a well-placed rap. Give a listen below and check out numerous other songs, which show some other sides of Elle Vee on her Soundcloud page.
A reminder, in anticipation of its video launch on Saturday, September 8, do check out Jane Badler‘s wonderful “Yesterday’s Tomorrows” below in all of its original glorious drama and then in the so chi chi Stormby’s Drama Mix. I’ll have the video coverage on the weekend. There are all kinds of details onJane’s Facebook page .
The top of my personal chart is tighter than ever, as DATABOY’s “Dreams Are Gold” gives way ever so slightly to “Remember When (Push Rewind)” by Indiana-born Chris Wallace, which advances to #1 just before the release date of his album Push Rewind (album cover art above, reprise of the video below). There’s a lot of the Top 10 that stays the same – with good reason, the songs on this chart are especially strong – but in the midst there is some notable movement.
Kyle Patrick has been to Singapore, the Philippines, and Malaysia these past few weeks. The house that The Click Five built over there is significant, and Kyle’s “Go For Gold” is making great strides on their charts. From his self-titled EP, “Gold” is definitely winning, and climbs to #6 on the chart. Down further there are two new entries to the Top 10. The spry Green Children remix of Foster The People’s “Houdini” works its magic at #9, while fastest riser “Spectrum” by Zedd featuring Matthew Koma is headed for the upper reaches, advancing 21-10.
Mark Thursday, August 30 on your calendar to watch the New York episode of The CW network’s new show “The Next”. The supremely talented Baiyu is one of four contestants – and her competition had better be on their game! Best of luck to Baiyu 🙂 Her song “Hunter” climbs to #11 on my chart. Her coach on the show is none other than Nelly.
Several other upwardly mobile songs continue towards the Top 10. “We Dance 4 Reason” by Latvian dancer, model, DJ/producer, and singer, Poptronik performer Markus Riva vaults 20-14, followed directly by the long-lasting “When She Was Mine” by Lawson at #15. Watch their video for the UK Top 5 hit “Taking Over Me” below. The third chart entry for DATABOY, the splendiforous “Genius”, jumps to #16, with “Long Time” by Sweden’s John De Sohn and singer/songwriter Andreas Moe (also still residing at #7 with “Collecting Sunlight” himself) rising to #17. The feel good vibe of L.A.’s Saint Motel continues at #22 with the swinging “Benny Goodman”, while “Emergency” by Audio Playground with Snoop Dogg is up to #24.
All of our new entries are by performers who have already visited the chart, some more recently than others. We’ll start with a couple of doubles, please. The highest new entry at #20 is the instantaneously ear-pleasing pop of Ellie Goulding with her first single from the upcoming Halcyon album (artwork above) with “Anything Could Happen”. While “Lights” took its sweet time getting to the upper reaches of the international charts, the response to “Anything” should be swifter. Ellie’sfree downloadcover of The Weeknd’s “High For This” continues to climb at #19. Then we have the good natured dance floor fun brought to us by Portugal’s Carlos Nóbrega, whose latest song “Music Makes You Lose Control” (#23) will be sure to inspire much dancing at those upcoming Hallowe’en parties. The anthemic “Turn It Up” is lifted to #12 as well.
After “Scream” from this past Spring, one could see that UK duo Bim are headed in the right direction as they create songs for their upcoming sophomore album. Their latest single, “Lights Out” (video reprise below), is afree downloadthat combines the emotion of the songs from Scatterheart and some wickedly powerful vocals to create a song that is completely captivating and arrives at #27. Their “Head Over Heels” got to #3 on my chart in 2010. Lastly Kyle Brylin is back with some slick electronica featuring catchy melodies and hooks like we heard last year in “Everything I’m Missing” (#5) and “Never Love A DJ” (#8). From his latest 4 song EP comes the emotional house track “Hurricane” at #28. So that makes Kyle (Patrick), Kyle (Brylin), and Kylie on the chart – a nice triple play 🙂
AND DON’T FORGET: A year in the making, the Poptronik festival in Sitges, Spain will be a dream come true for electronica fans on September 1 and 2. Needless to say I’m jealous of all those who can party on the beach to some great performers, including Andy Bell of Erasure, Markus Riva, Adam Tyler, SIRPAUL, Garcon Garcon, and many more. Best of luck to all involved!
One of my current songs of the moment is Zedd’s irresistible “Spectrum”. A truly captivating, feel good (despite the end) video, featuring “Sons of Anarchy”‘s Taryn Manning, makes it one of the best views and listens around. Look fast for both Zedd and Matthew!
Kyle Brylin “Hurricane”
Our Kyle keeps the electronica comin’ on his new 4 song EP We Should, which features this rich emotional house song, which keeps you thinking while you get your work out. This is Kyle’s most promising original effort since last year’s similarly clubby “Never Love A DJ”. Other songs include the biting title track, “Making Memories”, and “Inferno”. Do blonds have more fun? Get it on iTunes.
Kid Massive featuring DATABOY “Good Girlfriend”
We all know what happened when fave duo DATABOY went Danish and met up with DJ/producer Rune RK – we got the mesmerizing “Memorize Me”. Fellow Dane DJ/producer Kid Massive (aka Benjamin Pedersen) brings the boys into the mix for his upcoming release with the new single “Good Girlfriend”, which is a rollicking and slamming good time, and we would expect absolutely nothing less.
Marco “Heartbeat”
18 year old Marco Santarlasci is the latest young buck from NYC to cause young hearts to flutter with his earnest and soulful debut single “Heartbeat”. He’s got a lovely imperfectly charming voice that carries the genteel video storyboard along. Watch for great things from Marco – put him about halfway between Conor Maynard and Jesse McCartney.
Ross Lynch “Heard It On The Radio”
I don’t normally slide over to the Disney side of the fence to write about one of their performers too often, but 16 year old Ross Lynch (Austin on TV’s “Austin & Ally”) has a natural screen presence, and seems to have the musical chops as well, playing guitar, drums, bass and keyboards. So his debut single “Heard It On The Radio” is a breezy and joyous summer day on the beach whose chorus stays in your head afterwards. He’s also in the band R5, featuring his brother Ryder, who is one of the Warblers on TV’s “Glee”.
And here’s a new dance mix for you, featuring excerpts of 18 songs in 39 minutes. This is what you’re getting into 😉 : The Zedd/Matthew Koma and Kyle Brylin songs above, plus others (many on my current chart – shameless plug) by RAC/Penguin Prison, Baiyu, Foster The People, Florence & The Machine, The Knocks/Mandy Lee, Bright Light Bright Light, Darren Hayes, Lana Del Rey, Markus Riva, John De Sohn/Andreas Moe, Nina, DATABOY, Ellie Goulding, Bim, Sky Santos/Carlos Nóbrega, and The Weeknd. Guaranteed to make you move in all kinds of different ways! Let me know what you think – I’m particularly proud of a couple of the mixes, since I haven’t done this in a while 🙂
01 01 DREAMS ARE GOLD DATABOY 02 02 REMEMBER WHEN (PUSH REWIND) Chris Wallace 07 03 SPECTRUM (Calvin Harris remix) Florence & The Machine 04 04 TIME BOMB Kylie Minogue 06 05 HOLLYWOOD RAC F/ Penguin Prison 08 06 LOTION DATABOY 09 07 COLLECTING SUNLIGHT Andreas Moe 11 08 MOVES Bright Light Bright Light 14 09 GO FOR GOLD Kyle Patrick 03 10 ONE KISS Jeronimo 12 11 ANGEL Darren Hayes 05 12 SECRET FEAR Daniel Bedingfield 15 13 HUNTER Baiyu 19 14 TURN IT UP Carlos Nóbrega 23 15 HOUDINI (Green Children remix) Foster The People 16 16 CHASING THE SUN The Wanted 17 17 TURN UP YOUR RADIO Monti Montañez 10 18 ALL OUR LOVE Gentlemen Hall 20 19 WHEN SHE WAS MINE Lawson 24 20 WE DANCE 4 REASON Markus Riva F/ Ralph (PER) New 21 SPECTRUM Zedd F/ Matthew Koma 26 22 HIGH FOR THIS Ellie Goulding New 23 GENIUS DATABOY New 24 LONG TIME John De Sohn F/ Andreas Moe New 25 BENNY GOODMAN Saint Motel 28 26 EMERGENCY Audio Playground F/ Snoop Dogg 13 27 THESE ARE CENTURIES River Tiber 18 28 WAITING FOR THE FEELING Bright Light Bright Light 21 29 NOTICE ME Vincent Did It F/ Quigley 25 30 CELEB Tao Hypah
My current Top 4 songs are going to be hard to dislodge. This could in fact be my favourite Top 4 of ’12, and only a few other songs released earlier in the year – including Rune RK & DATABOY’S “Memorize Me”, Eric Saade & Dev’s “Hotter Than Fire”, and “Someday” by River Tiber – would be in the mix with them! What’s going to be interesting is to see who gets a turn at #1, which could happen as early as two weeks from now! Stay tuned 🙂 PS Chris Wallace’s debut album Push Rewind will be out September 4 as “Remember When” starts to crack radio airplay!!
Fleshing out the Top 10 are some joyous tunes by RAC & Penguin Prison, DATABOY (making it two out of three), former #1 Jeronimo, and Andreas “he’s everywhere (including elsewhere on the chart)” Moe, with new Top Tenners not surprisingly from Bright Light Bright Light (currently kicking it in France – so jealous!) and Kyle Patrick (coping with massive Singapore love).
Special mentions outside of the Top 10 must go to Baiyu, with the title song of her Hunter mixtape resting at #13, as she appears on The CW Network’s new show “The Next” starting Thursday. Best of luck, love 😀 Then there’s the ever-so-busy Carlos Nóbrega, whose powerful dancefloor filler “Turn It Up” climbs to #14 as he releases yet another new song, “Music Makes You Lose Control”. This one is Carlos at his best, fun and dramatic at the same time! Listen to the snippet below – you won’t want to miss out on the full song, so get it on iTunes!
Foster The People’s Green Children remix of “Houdini” magically becomes the fastest riser, leaping 23-15 while singer Mark journeys through India. Also on the rise are Darren Hayes’ delightful take on Madonna’s “Angel”, “When She Was Mine” by rising UK quartet Lawson, and “We Dance 4 Reason” by Latvian star and radio DJ Markus Riva. You won’t be able to go anywhere soon without hearing Ellie Goulding’s magnificent new “Anything Could Happen”, as I wrote about on the weekend, but in the meantime her rendition of The Weeknd’s “High For This” is up to #22.
A common theme throughout 2012 has been a series of unique voices. One such young man, who, like Andreas Moe, is popping up everywhere especially in dance music circles, is Matthew Koma (ab0ve), who hails from Long Island and was once in a group called Bandcamp. One of the brightest songs of ’12 and a current Top 5 Dance Club Play hit is the second song in the chart called “Spectrum” by German DJ Zedd, featuring Matthew’s ear-catching vocals that sound like nothing this year has had to offer, as well as some dreamy lyrics (“breathing you in when I want you out…”). He’s also featured in Alesso’s latest club hit “Years”, and will be touring some upcoming dates with Owl City. You can hear both songs below plus excerpts of Matthew’s EP Parachute, available on iTunes.
The next debut is of course more from DATABOY, whose Dreams Are Gold album is the full length release that is resonating with me most throughout the year. Its emotional content, smart stories, and of course amazing beats and rhythms put smiles on my face each time I hear it. I’ve grown a bit attached to opening song “Genius” – it’s simply a fun song to listen to in the car, and it definitely throws people for a loop the first time they hear it. I humbly suggest you keep in mind the TV show The Big Bang Theory and a certain animated self-proclaimed genius when listening 🙂 But you’ll have to give it a preview on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Genius/dp/B008F9FV7U and buy it there or on iTunes!
At #24 is “Long Time” by John De Sohn, featuring Sweden’s Andreas Moe, and currently in the Billboard Top 25 of the Dance Club Play chart. I had some comments about it in a recent blog post. The full length version appears on Tiësto’s Club Life Volume 2: Miami compilation. You’ll hear a lot more from Andreas before the year is out!
Lastly at #25 is the quirky “Benny Goodman” by L.A.’s Saint Motel, currently touring their album Voyeur, which I wrote about recently. Below is a video of the band jazzing up the song and swinging along in a studio performance. They also released an equally quirky video for “1997”, which you can also check out below. The band has this neat way of making you watch… 😉
Clearly, the song of the week, and possibly for the next several months, until the arrival of her new album Halcyon, is Ellie Goulding’s “Anything Could Happen”. Right from its first bar, it bridges the gap nicely between alt.pop fans of Kate Bush and the massively successful sound for those who enjoy Adele. Its tidy, sparse sound will resonate from stereos and radios and draw people in instantly. I enjoyed Ellie’s last record, preferring songs like “Starry Eyed” and her free download of The Weeknd’s “High For This” over the growing radio success of “Lights”. “Anything Could Happen” also to me contains her best vocal – especially at the soulful acapella part. It will be absolutely everywhere in the Fall, so be prepared!
ZACPOOR “Skyscraper” and “Lego House”
Now you must know that I won’t bring you a cover version (or two) unless I think it’s special. L.A. singer ZACPOOR first came to my attention a couple of years ago with a fine mid-tempo ballad called “She’ll Be Breaking Hearts”. Since then, all kinds of good has happened to him, connecting with hot producer MDL. As advance notice of ZACPOOR’s upcoming full release, we have a taste of the collaboration with covers of Demi Lovato’s “Skyscraper” and Ed Sheeran’s “Lego House”. Yes, I know covers of both songs have been viral in volume since their releases. But it’s ZACPOOR’s voice, which has progressed so much since I first heard him, that makes both cover versions much bigger than life. “Skyscraper” (a free download, no less!), in fact, blows Demi’s original right out of the water, it’s such a goddamn hard song to sing anyway, and ZACPOOR completely nails it. His version of “Lego House” has a strong element of class about it that isn’t present in the original. Both songs are for those who truly appreciate interpretations of songs that turn out so unique. Absolutely can’t wait till ZACPOOR’s album is upon us! Listen to both below.
Pet Shop Boys “A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi”
Unlike the much-too-low key “Winner”, ” A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi”, from the EP of “Winner”, which is due in Canada on August 28, is classic PSB, in good company with their equally charming songs such as “What Have I Done To Deserve This?”, “Love, Etc.”, and “I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind Of Thing”, with a Neil Tennant vocal at its finest and a great rhythm and melody for summer driving. Listen (and of course dance to it) below.
The Presets “Ghosts”
While I’m still digging the initial release of “Youth In Trouble” from their upcoming album Pacifica, Aussie duo The Presets have released the official first single, “Ghosts”. As with “Youth” and many of their most popular songs like “My People”, “Ghosts” has incredible atmosphere with Julian’s commanding and anthemic vocal – why do I envision him on a pirate ship? 😉 Sure to fill the dance floors everywhere, look for Pacifica to be The Presets’ best and most successful effort yet. The three years between albums will be well worth the wait.
Bim “Lights Out”
Following the very different sounding but entertaining “Scream” from this past Spring, UK male/female duo Bim are back with “Lights Out”, available to you as a free download in anticipation of their next full album following 2010’s gorgeous Scatterheart. “Lights Out”, like “Scream”, is a lot more forceful and urgent than the songs on the downside of love which we heard from Bim on Scatterheart. Bigger choruses, and more alternating vocals between the singers, go hand in hand with their talent of making songs with stunning climactic moments. Listen closely and revel in this one – more great songs coming from this talented pair. Watch the video below.
Psy “Gangnam Style”
K-Pop looks to finally break out huge worldwide thanks to Psy’s “Gangnam Style”, and in particular its very flashy and fun video. I’m not much of a fan of the song, which is an updated knockoff of Technotronic’s “Pump Up The Jam”, among others. But the good time delivery by singer as well as its knockout video – especially the choreography in the last minute or so – will mean that you will be hearing it at weddings and other similar events for years to come.
It’s arrived so quickly after the initial video of “Invisible” from the Hunter mixtape, but it’s all about the exposure for delightful new talent Baiyu, as she will appear on August 16 on the CW’s new show The Next as a contestant. Fortunately, “Make Believe”, featuring match-made-in-heaven duet vocals by American Idol 6 contestant Paul Kim, is one of the best songs from Hunter. The simple video, with use of eye-catching colours and featuring both singers, should help enhance the buzz for Baiyu and ignite some interest for Paul Kim, whose voice just soars. Watch the video below and mark August 16 on your calendars!
Jessie Ware “Wildest Moments”
Similar to the triumphant breakthrough that was afforded to Lana Del Rey at the end of last year, largely on the basis of online word-of-mouth, we are now introduced to 26 year old UK singer Jessie Ware, whose debut album Devotion will be upon us in the coming weeks. Aside from an initial single and an appearance with SBTRKT, we now have “Wildest Moments”, which places her potent voice somewhere between Leona Lewis and Florence Welch. Not a bad place to be at all, with a most unique-sounding single despite somewhat deliberate pacing. Watch below.
Roz Bell “Ur Place Or Mine”
Toronto singer Roz Bell has so many flavours of pop music up his sleeve that it’s dizzying 😉 We heard from him in the Spring with a Nashville-inspired bluesy hard luck story called “Half A Man Down”. His latest, “Ur Place Or Mine”, harkens back to a pick-me-up like 2009’s “Endless Summer Night”, with a melody that goes hand-in-hand with the end of summer and featuring some of Roz’s higher register a little more too. Can’t wait to hear the full album package of what Roz has been recording for the last while too. Listen to “Ur Place Or Mine” below.
Russ Chimes “Back 2 You”
I’ve been waiting to hear what renown DJ/producer Russ Chimes would come up with after the successful triad of 2010’s “Midnight Club” songs and videos “Never Look Back”, “Tertre Rouge”, and “Targa”, as well as his enjoyable Expressway mixes. Out on Beatport now, but coming to iTunes in September is “Back 2 You”, in which Russ doesn’t let go of any momentum, building and building the power of the record until its soulful climax. Listen below via Soundcloud and try to stay still 😉
It seems like only yesterday that Swedish-born London-based singer/songwriter Andreas Moe came to my attention because of his sparkling and understated “Collecting Sunlight”, which currently resides at #9 on my personal chart. But that song and its accompanying EP seem to be the solo culmination of a lot of work that’s been happening behind the scenes.
For one thing, I learned not long ago that he is also the vocalist on Avicii’s “Fade Into Darkness”, which became a hit overseas late last year. It has obviously been overshadowed in North America by the chart success of “Levels” – but not enough to prevent Andreas from being flown to Tokyo last month to sing it in front of a crowd of 5,000! Another hit overseas is now materializing into a dance club success in North America. That’s “Long Time” as featured in John De Sohn’s song, which went multi-platinum in Sweden. Andreas recorded a pensive version of it acoustically for his Collecting Sunlight EP. Listen to both below.
Just this past week, a song Andreas co-wrote got to #1 in the Netherlands. That’s “Alles Overwinnen” by Nick & Simon (listen below – even if you don’t know Dutch 🙂 ). And another song came to my attention, more in the dance vein, which is “Cracks” as featured in the Norman Doray release. This song has the potential to be a great dance club companion piece to “Long Time”. Listen below. There is no doubt in my mind that with all of this activity, Andreas Moe is going to be beyond the bubble in the very near future! 🙂
Gentlemen Hall “Makes Me Feel Alive”
Starting this past week, Gentlemen Hall are posting songs from their upcoming album every month. After generously offering their fine EP When We All Disappear for free – still on my active playlist after all these months, with “All Our Love” getting to #7 on my personal chart – the sextet is taking its time to get their album just right while soliciting active feedback from their fans about the new songs. “Makes Me Feel Alive” sounds sparse at some times and then multi-layered at others. It’s a compelling showcase for all that they can do both musically and vocally. Every instrument gets its due and the harmonies are wicked. Give a listen below and watch online for more!
Shawn Desman “Nobody Does It Like You”
After some national success last year with songs like “Electric”, Toronto’s Shawn Desman is back with an easy going, funky, sexy vibe in “Nobody Does It Like You”. The groove just makes you want to sway and dance, or get up close and personal with your love. Shawn has a slick new look and his vocals are top notch. He’s come a long way since local dance hit “Don’t Wanna Lose You” back in 1999 and has been no stranger to my chart over the years. Watch the video below. Dancing is encouraged.
Devon Pax featuring Jeronimo “The One”
I am just such a sucker for an R&B ballad, but after listening blindfolded it might surprise you that “The One” comes from a young white Dutchman named Devon Pax. A bonus attraction is a featured vocal from the talented fellow Netherlander Jeronimo, who just recently reached #1 on my personal chart with his jaunty “One Kiss”. While it suffers a bit from too much studio trickery to accompany such simple lyrics, Devon’s vocal prowess shows through in this lovely song. Give a listen below.
Zach Matari “What You Are To Me”
R&B songs seem to be finding their way to me lately, and I was particularly impressed by “What You Are To Me” by a 17 year old from New Jersey, Zach Matari. It’s a sweet song that crushes on Zach’s object of his affection, accompanied by the snazzy video below which shows off many fine shots of New York City. Zach’s voice has a nice mix of inspiration from the likes of Ne-Yo, Omarion, and other fine singers. It would hardly surprise me if Zach Matari doesn’t get to the next level with this song. I’m looking forward to more from him 🙂
My bi-weekly chart of favourites is delightfully abuzz of a great bunch of new songs, which is making it increasingly difficult to rank every two weeks. So the ups and downs of songs look like they will be a bit dramatic during these summer months, and the wait for #1 for some top notch songs may continue longer than it normally would.
DATABOY score their third number one song on the chart with “Dreams Are Gold”, a song that’s awash in as great a melody as it is with lyrics that totally hit home for me with its message. They’ve already been on top with “Just Once” last summer (also included on their Dreams Are Gold album), as well as with Rune RK for “Memorize Me”, the song that brought sunny Ibiza sounds to my winter months. Be sure to listen to “Dreams Are Gold” below.
That means that “Remember When (Push Rewind)” by Chris Wallace, which is starting to get national radio play in the U.S., moves up to #2. It’s surely a contender for #1, but it’s a matter of WHEN it will get there with “Dreams Are Gold” ahead of it. That also means “One Kiss” by Jeronimo, one of my most played current songs, drops somewhat early to #3 but should hang in and around the Top 10 for a few more weeks. And did you know that one of Jeronimo’s songs is the Cartoon Network ID for some parts of the world (outside of Europe and North America)??
The fastest riser on the chart, because I can’t get it out of my head 😉 , is “Timebomb” by Kylie Minogue, which soars 15-4 somewhat in anticipation of what she’ll release next. All of Kylie’s 5 songs that have got on my chart have reached my Top 10; “Timebomb” surpasses the #5 peak of “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” to become her biggest chart hit. Watch her performance from “The Voice” (UK) below. Daniel Bedingfield has been performing some gigs in L.A., which hopefully bodes well for them to spread to other parts of North America in the near future. “Secret Fear” jumps to #5, matching the same peak of “Wrap My Words Around You” back in 2005.
You can view the full chart using the link under ***BILL’S PERSONAL CHART*** to the right, or you can clickright here. You can hear all of the songs on the chart or watch their videos by clicking on the pics on the chart page. Any free downloads that are identified are sanctioned by the performer. There’s always a tiny place at the bottom of the blog post with tags and the statement “Leave A Comment” – please feel free to do so
The rest of the Top 10 moves up, with the exception of “All Our Love” by Gentlemen Hall, which slips to #10. “Hollywood” by RAC featuring Penguin Prison climbs to #6, and DATABOY’s concurrent Top Tenner “Lotion” moves to #8. The second new entry to the Top 10 is “Collecting Sunlight” by Andreas Moe, which arrives at #9.
The third newcomer to the Top 10 is the highest debut this week.The Calvin Harris remix of Florence & The Machine’s “Spectrum (Say My Name)”turns the song into a most colourful and rousing dance hit that is the current UK #1. It bows on my chart at #7, giving the band their second Top 10 hit following 2009’s “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)”, which got to #2. I’m glad “Spectrum” got release as a single as something needed to give new life to the Ceremonials album while Florence waits to return to touring after throat problems caused some gigs to be cancelled.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the chart continues to be busy below the Top 10. “Moves”, the song by Bright Light Bright Light that’s immersed in a late 70’s disco strings arrangement, leaps 21-11, while “Angel” by Darren Hayes (the flip side to the single of “Talk Talk Talk”) is right behind, up 16-12. “Go For Gold” has certainly arrived right in time for the Olympics, so don’t be surprised if Kyle Patrick’s song (moving 23-14) gets some deserved attention during the many weeks to come. Kyle has also recently released his self-titled EP on iTunes, while “Go For Gold” continues to be a free download. Watch the video below.
I’m pleased to report that New York singer Baiyu is a contestant on the new CW show “The Next”, which features Gloria Estefan, Joe Jonas, John Rich, and Nelly as panelist judges. The show begins on August 16, so be sure to tune in to see how far this talented gal can go. In the meantime, watch her video for “Invisible” (#22) below. The club-oriented title song from her Hunter mixtape also climbs to #15.
“Chasing The Sun” by The Wanted charges to #16, while Monti Montañez’s “Turn Up Your Radio” (from This Beat Is… Poptronik Volume One) moves up to #17. The high dose of summer energy that is “Turn It Up” by Portugal’s all round entertainer (and fellow Poptronik performer) Carlos Nóbrega vaults 26-19 (listen below), while UK foursome Lawson reach #20 with “When She Was Mine”.
I’ve previously written about 3 of our remaining 4 debuts, which you can see/hear below. Foster The People’s “Houdini” (#23) is a real sleeper that comes alive in the clubby Green Children remix. Poptronik performer Markus Riva (who is also a DJ on Latvia’s Capital radio) gets his second chart entry with the pulsating “We Dance 4 Reason” at #24. “High For You” was written and originally recorded by Toronto’s noted The Weeknd and has received some radio play as well in his home city. Ellie Goulding puts a slow grooving spin on the song, which is also a free download. While the pop world delights with playing her song “Lights”, “High For This” arrives at #26 on my chart. Lastly, as with their Billboard Top 10 Dance Club Play hit, “Famous”, Canadian trio Audio Playground has found that their latest single “Emergency” (featuring Snoop Dogg) has broken out of Quebec. “Emergency” lands on the chart at #28.
Last I heard Saint Motel, the L.A. quartet had captivated me with the weird and wondrous “Dear Dictator”, reaching #5 on my chart mainly through the spiffy Sam Sparro remix, which was good enough reason to make a second video for the song. Both videos for “Dear Dictator” are enjoyable in their outlandishness. The band consists of A/J Jackson (vocals, keyboards, guitars), asharp (guitars, vocals), Dak (bass), and Greg Erwin (drums).
I didn’t get a chance to see the band when they played in Toronto in 2010, but that changed on Monday when they played to a small crowd at the Drake Hotel. What was particularly noteworthy about this performance was that they probably would have given the same tight performance if they had played to a much larger audience. I had already been listening to their new album Voyeur online, and the live show allowed the songs to sparkle and their personality to show better than on record.
Voyeur doesn’t strike me as overly unique, but it does draw you in with many influences, which generate a Duran Duran meets Foster The People via grunge kind of overall sound, with some reverence to pop/rock of the 60’s too – the band even performed a fine and unexpected cover of Brenton Wood’s 1967 hit “Gimme Little Sign” in concert. Five singles from the album have already surfaced on iTunes, and these form the core of Voyeur. The melodies create rich, layered tunes, with lyrics that take second place until you get to know Saint Motel’s sense of humour and perspective.
There are lots of highlights. “Puzzle Pieces” (with its interesting video below shot from singer A/J’s point of view and directed by him) swings along with its keyboard lead. “Benny Goodman” takes a clarinet sample in tribute to the title musician but spins off into enjoyably wild directions. “1997” is loaded lyrically and musically with a well-structured mix of guitar, keyboards, and horns. “Honest Feedback” takes pleasure in receiving something that’s often difficult for people set to a rather carefree melody. “Balsa Wood Bones” is probably the most serious song, obviously about a gutting breakup that shows that these guys don’t always write fun songs. And there’s “Daydream/Wetdream/Nightmare”, their mini rock opera which goes places that other attempts have yet to go.
Overall, Saint Motel offer much more than meets the eye and ear. These guys are definitely out to have a good time, but part of having that good time is going for a great ride. Voyeur makes for a most intriguing soundtrack to that ride. A video for “1997” is due imminently; in the meantime, watch “Puzzle Pieces” and listen to “Benny Goodman” below.
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