Popforward: Betty Who
Proper POP Alert! Aussie newcomer Betty Who is the latest potential pop gal on our radar. Her single “Somebody Loves You” has been on mad repeat, and we only just discovered it yesterday! Inspired by Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, the track was written after a failed long distance relationship as told by her, but you wouldn’t know giving its infectiously joyous nature. The straight-up ’80s jam is pure unadulterated pop: bouncy, sprightly, and unabashedly catchy. Betty also exudes charm and charisma in spades in the music video (embedded below). She’s currently unsigned, but not for long I bet. If you like Alphabeat, or old-school Madonna/Whitney/Janet, this should be right up your street. Seriously, if this song doesn’t have you grinning like an idiot by the end, then you sir need to cheer up a bit.
That was great fun wasn’t it? Did I mention it’s out now as a free download too?
MP3: Betty Who – Somebody Loves You
Download remix stems of “Somebody Loves You” if you fancy having a go at it, or grab another free track “Fire With Fire” at her Soundcloud.
Shout-out to the always excellent Singles Jukebox for turning me on to this.
Popforward: Saint Lou Lou
Mysterious Aussie/Swedish twin duo Saint Lou Lou managed to win me over with just one perfect little gem of downtempo dream-pop. “Maybe You”, their first and only song to date, is a sublime synth-pop ballad with an ’80s-indebted ‘quiet storm’ vibe. It’s melancholy yet hopeful, subdued yet tender. It’s the kind of track you can imagine yourself hearing on the radio in the back of a taxi cab on a rainy late-summer night. In fact, I’m surprised they didn’t add thunderstorm sound effects to the intro, so I guess I’ll make do with an open tab of Rainymood.com.
The music video is a gorgeous, sensually-shot black-and-white slo-mo affair. Watch it below, and check out some excellent remixes after the jump.
NEW SINGLE: Gypsy & The Cat – Sorry
Potential summer blog hit alert! Aussie indie duo Gypsy & The Cat are back with a brand new single “Sorry”. And if you expect more sun-kissed, feel-good, catchy hipster-pop, you won’t be disappointed. File this under the same category which the likes of MGMT, Passion Pit and Miike Snow frequent. A music video for the track has just been released, and you can see it here if you don’t mind a bit of gross-out weird-for-the-sake-of-being-weird humor.
“Sorry” is out on August 17.
More on Gypsy & The Cat.
LISTEN: Sam Sparro – Last Night (feat. Róisín Murphy)
Pop mad hatter Róisín Murphy has joined forces with that guy that sang “Black & Gold” for a midtempo funky boudoir jam called “Last Night”. The freshly leaked collaboration was rumoured to be on the deluxe edition of Sam Sparro‘s new album “Return to Paradise”. Honestly I found this to be a bit bland and cringeworthy, but then some new Róisín is still better than no Róisín. Sam Sparro’s output has always been mostly miss for me except “Black & Gold” which is a classic, and I’m not feeling his new ’70s disco direction much either. Róisín, on the other hand, got to add yet another bulletpoint to her longlist of collaborations with everyone from David Byrne to The Feeling. At this point her featured tracks are probably enough to fill a full-length album and some. Still no solo music news in sight though *sighs*.
STREAM: Sam Sparro – Last Night (feat. Róisín Murphy)
Hear her other recent guest vocal stint on David Morales’ “Golden Era”. Sam Sparro’s new album is out now in UK.
Covercentric: Lykke Li Sings The “Unchained Melody”
When Lykke Li was on tour down under, she popped by Triple J HQ for an acoustic live session. For the station’s “Like A Version” segment which is basically an Aussie version of Live Lounge, she delivered a haunting cover of The Righteous Brothers‘ 1965 classic “Unchained Melody”. The perennially brooding Swede’s got that uncanny ability to sing like she’s alone in a cavernous cathedral, even if she’s just sitting comfily in a studio. With this melancholy performance, Lykke has officially joined the Melody cover club, previously inhabited by the likes of Gareth Gates, Clay Aiken and Air Supply. I quite like how she bluntly answered “No” when asked if she likes the movie “Ghost”. Lykke’s got no love for claymaking doomed lovers! Listen to her version below, and grab it for free if you like.
MP3: Lykke Li – Unchained Melody (Righteous Brothers Cover)
Watch her whole set on Triple J’s website.
Buy her recent iTunes Session album.
More on Lykke Li.
Covercentric: Mark Ronson & The Business Intl Covered Tame Impala
Last week, Mark Ronson & The Business Intl‘s member Rose Elinor Dougall mysteriously asked for Australian cover suggestions on Facebook. It turned out it was for Triple J’s “Like A Version” feature, and apparently rather than choosing a random SAW-era Kylie song “for the LOLZ”, the band took the cool route and covered Tame Impala’s “Solitude Is Bliss”, which by itself is a great swirling psych-pop jam. Rose and Andrew Wyatt (Miike Snow) took charge of the vocals. Listen to their take below, and get a bonus cover of Alicia Keys’ “Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart” featuring MNDR done for Live Lounge last year after the jump.
MP3: Mark Ronson & The Business Intl – Solitude Is Bliss (Tame Impala Cover)
