A Derogatory Term

I apologise to any one who comes here simply for tracks to put in their cd wallet to play through a couple of CDJ’s. Most of the below tracks are to be listened to with not much more then a head bounce, however there are still a few original dance floor destroyers (you will have to decide/find that for yourself.)

Hot Chip – Made In The Dark

I will start off with probably the most talked about release – Hot Chips – Made In The Dark which I have so far thoroughly enjoyed. Hot Chip’s last two albums Coming On Strong and then The Warning were very far apart but at the same time shared the quality of genius musical minds. Made in the dark shares Coming On Strong’s quirky chilled electro pop with The Warnings tougher electro house club anthems. My two favorite songs on the album would have to be Hold On and The Wrestler, and I think that’s because they would have suited their previous albums so well (Hold On in The Warning and The Wrestler in Coming On Strong) although they have evolved into the sound of the dark.

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Hot Chip – Hold On
Hot Chip – Wrestlers

MGMT -Oracular Spectacular

The next band is a neo new wave indie/electro rock band whose song Kids is currently in my opinion one of the greatest songs I have ever heard. I do not really think I can explain how good this song is on paper without hand gestures, facial expressions and tone in my voice, but I will try – THANK YOU MGMT FOR CREATING THE MOST PERFECT SONG I HAVE EVER HEARD!!! – Do you get it yet?? Time to pretend is also a great track and the lyrics are a great story of realising that being a loose rock star is not always the best decision in the end – because you will miss the simple things.

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MGMT – Kids
MGMT – Time To Pretend

Fujiya & Miyagi – Transparent Things

Fujiya & Miyagi are a little electronic trio from the UK making contagious minimal electro disco which reminds me of happy times. Ankle Injuries is a killer track where the running bass line will hook your ears and give you a little slack to bop to. Their 2006 album Transparent Things is a fantastic composition which is great to listen to in its entirety.

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Fujiya & Miyagi – Ankle Injuries
Fujiya & Miyagi – Collarbone

Grand National – A Drink and a Quick Question

Grand National’s second album A Drink and a Quick Question is a brilliant blend of rocky chord progressions and progressive electronics. I am not to sure how songs like Cut By The Brakes would do in a club as it is a little soft although it is the right speed. All their tracks are really cool and original and I am very excited about their sound, hopefully more bands will follow.

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Grand National – Cut By The Brakes
Grand National – Tongue

Friendly Fires – EP’s

Friendly Fires have not released an album yet but I thought they did deserve space on this post. They have a few promising EP’s which look like they are leading to a very explosive album. I might leave the words and let the music do the talking until the album release.

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Friendly Fires – On Board
Friendly Fires – Photo Booth

Superthriller – Superthriller 2

Superthriller Motherfucker. Superthriller are another very original band which sound almost like an old Jazz, Blues or Funk band plugged into electronics which I have never heard before. The singers voice and style of words also reminds me a little of Prince which I think is pretty cool. Basically they are just making really fun tunes which are easy to listen to and can get you in a good mood. The lyrics in Superthriller Motherfucker of “Your mother, your mother every body just fuck your mother” are a little disturbing yet some how catchy.

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Superthriller – Superthriller Motherfucker
Superthriller – Different But The Same

The Rapture – Echoes

The Raptures 2006’s Pieces of the People We Love is still one of my favorite albums of all time and their live performance (which I get to see again this weekend at Good Vibes in Sydney!) is one of the best I have ever seen. Yet I have to admit that until a couple of weeks ago I had never listened to their first album Echoes except for the track “House of Jealous Lovers”. This fact I am not proud of but after hearing Echoes I can now truly claim that I am a fan. I knew I was in for a treat when the album started with the track Olio which made Echoes sound like a sequel rather then a prequel. Enjoy some great James Murphy style (He produced the album for DFA Records) cowbells throughout House of Jealous Lovers

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The Rapture – Olio
The Rapture – House of Jealous Lovers

Metric – Grow Up and Blow Away

Metrics album Grow up and Blow Away was originally a slightly mistaken purchase. A few seducing Metric remixes (caused by the lead singer, Emily’s beautiful voice) lead me on a search to what I thought was their new album. I would later found out that Grow Up and Blow Away was actually recorded in 1999 and just re-released in 2007. The album is very chilled electro pop layered with one of the smoothest voices I have ever heard. The track Rock Me Now is more a spoken ballad but I find the story so cool and the male chorus just perfect.

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Metric – Hardwire
Metric – Rock Me Now

The Tough Alliance – A New Chance and New School

I thought I would combine both of The Tough Alliances albums as I have been listening to them for about the same amount of time. I find it hard to even describe the sound of The Tough Alliance, maybe like ambient, electronic rock?? The track Something Special is off their most recent album A New Chance and is the opening track of a great album which is very easy to listen to because of how well it flows. Koka Kola Veins from their first album is a different sounding track and does not really highlight the overall sound of the alliance although it is probably one of their best.

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The Tough Alliance – Something Special
The Tough Alliance – Koka Kola Veins

Sons and Daughters – This Gift

Sons and daughters album This Gift gives me my raw indie rock fix although it could even be close to punk. The female vocals complemented by distorted guitars, bouncey beats and harmonies remind me a little of The Sounds and that is definitely not a bad thing! I am personally glad a more rocky album made this post.

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Sons and Daughters – This Gift
Sons and Daughters – Rebel With The Ghost

Well I hope that after listening to some of the above tracks that you go and at least purchase one of the albums from Itunes – If I could recommend just two it would be MGMT and Hot Chip but they are all worth it. I would just like to warn you that there is an overkill of great tracks above so please take your time and try to take it all in…..