In the wide realm of ’90s TV shows for kids, with the limited acting skills and ridiculous plots, Goosebumps was one of the most memorable — more so for the awful acting than anything else. One of its episodes shares the same name as this next band, who make spines tingle in a completely different way.

Ghost Beach are seductively good, with endless factors shaping their sound. In parts it sounds like synth-laden ’80s pop, and on others resembles a punk-rock vibe with lengthy guitar solos, like on single “First Time”. Their confused adolescent genre is a result of influences from the likes of Depeche Mode, Daft Punk and The Police. The American pairing are reminiscent of an early Hot Hot Heat, with a semi-fem vocal, unashamedly bathing in a pop bath – and I don’t mean the bubbles. They produced something that’s a lot more grown up. Saying that, they have the fun factor, the nonchalant attitude, and a contagious “let’s not stop partying until we throw up” glitter factor — especially on tracks like “Empty Streets”. It’s the sort of a song for an all-nighter party.

Ghost Beach have not set sail for the UK as of ye,t but I’m hoping they’ll plonk their anchor down at some festivals next year. They sound perfect for a festival, in a forest with fireworks.

RIYL: Hot Hot Heat, The Drums, Erasure, White Rose Movement, Foals, She Wants Revenge, Robots in Disguise, Washed Out, Daft Punk, The Police, Sting

Ghost Beach – Bones

Ghost Beach – First Time

Ghost Beach – Empty Streets

Official Site / BUY

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VCMG – Spock by Mute UK

The synth-based super-duo VCMG comprises Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore and Erasure’s Vince Clarke, both responsible for some of the most successful electronic projects in the history of music. So to call it a super-duo may be an understatement. Anyway, I already covered the formation here, along with some essential DM tracks. So check that out for the background of how and why the duo is reuniting for the first time since 1981.

Their first EP, Spock, was released today via Beatport. In anticipation of its wide release on 12/13, VCMG are streaming the album’s self-titled track. “Spock” is pure techno — instrumental repetition heralded by buzzing synths and intricate drum loops. I was hoping for something a bit more, I don’t know, poppy? But this will certainly appeal to the techno crowd, even if it evades the Depeche Mode/Erasure camp quite a bit. By the sounds of it, Spock may be one of the most experimental pursuits of either producer’s career.

Depeche Mode / Erasure / BUY

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Synth-pop powerhouses Martin Gore and Vince Clarke have formed a band, VCMG, and will release a series of EPs and a new album in early 2012. Their first EP, Spock, will be released November 30th through Beatport, followed by a wide release on December 13th. Clarke and Gore last shared album credits on Depeche Mode’s 1981 debut album, Speak & Spell.

The two first worked together in the late ’70s, when Clarke, Gore, and Andy Fletcher were a part of a band called French Look, which would later become Composition of Sound and – with the arrival of Dave Gahan and departure of Clarke in 1981 – its ultimate incarnation, Depeche Mode. Clarke went on to form several projects (Yazoo, The Assembly) until his greatest success with Erasure, the popular electro-pop duo with Clarke and Andy Bell.

Gore has served as the chief songwriter of Depeche Mode, the most successful electronic band in music history. A strong case could be made that Clarke and Erasure, who have sold over 25 million albums, are in strong running for second place. So to call VCMG a synth-pop supergroup (say it fast) is certainly not an overstatement. It’s pretty much a given that their debut full-length will be lots of fun. As for the album’s sound? It may be more minimal-leaning than either of their main projects. “I’ve been getting into and listening to a lot of minimal dance music,” Clarke recently said, “and I got really intrigued by all the sound… I realized I needed a collaborator… so it occurred to me to talk to Martin.”

Depeche Mode – Stories of Old (studio outtake)

Depeche Mode – Somebody

MP3: Depeche Mode – John The Revelator

Erasure – When I Start To (Break It All Down)

Erasure – Be With You (Starshapes Remix)

Depeche Mode / Erasure / BUY

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The stripped-down sound of Warm Speakers provides an excellent example of modern-day bedroom pop. Long Island native Patrick Berlinquette follows in the footsteps of names like Washed Out, Neon Indian, and Toro y Moi in crafting a sound full of nostalgia, with ‘80s electro-pop meshing with several electronic fusions from the ‘90s onward. For Warm Speakers specifically, Berlinquette touches on the trip-hop/dance infusion perfected by Massive Attack and Portishead. This is especially the case on more subdued efforts, like the hypnotically aquatic and slightly Hail to the Thief-inspired “Where the Comma Lands”. A pulsing drum beat is led by a mellow bass as he interweaves several whispery vocal lines, not too far from the dubstep of Thom York/Flying Lotus collaborations. The percussion is not nearly as involved, but the strong vibrating lead is there. It’s not a surefire single like the effervescent “The World Around You”, but “Where the Comma Lands” is arguably the finest example of Berlinquette’s burgeoning production skills.

Berlinquette’s potential is on full display for Mezcal Noon, his debut 5-song EP. In addition to the beautifully ambitious scope of “Where the Comma Lands”, he offers  a few slightly more accessible efforts that cater to recent trends in electronica. The angelic vocal harmonies and suavely incorporated arpeggio-led hooks of efforts like “The World Around You” and “Waves” fit within the “chillwave” scope of Berlinquette’s most recent influences. The appropriately titled “Waves” mixes Berlinquette’s vocals as if he were entrenched in an underwater cave, a wonderful contrast to the gleeful whistling and booming brass-synth that fills the nook’s surroundings. “Verda” is on the more experimental side purely due to Berlinquette’s vocal dominance. He takes on a colorful electro-pop croon reminiscent of Erasure’s Andy Bell for the track’s majority; it would sound linear if not accompanied by chilling backing vocal accompaniments, a vital accomplishments for many surging artists from How to Dress Well to Wild Beasts. Berlinquette’s smooth vocals are one thing. But it’s his ability to interweave layers of them with such cohesion and beauty into his mesmerizing compositions that make Warm Speakers so memorable.

You can purchase Warm Speakers’ EP, Mezcal Noon, on GroopEase for ONLY $2 over the next 24 hours… I’d get on that. You can also preview the album below:

RIYL: Washed Out, Toro y Moi, Neon Indian, Memory Tapes, Massive Attack, Portishead, Thom Yorke, Radiohead, Flying Lotus, How to Dress Well, Wild Beasts, Erasure,

Warm Speakers – Where the Comma Lands

Warm Speakers – The World Around You

MEZCAL NOON EP by Warm Speakers

Bandcamp / Facebook / BUY (ONLY $2!)

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Contemporary interpretations of rhythmically inclined genres, like R&B and soul, have remained a continuous trend. Quality predecessors have already shown the style to appear timeless, so that is one attributing factor, but its abundance today in independent music circles is more indebted to its seamless maneuverability in sampling. That is not a reference to straightforward cut-and-paste samples, but rather the ability of R&B and soul classics to cohesively take on different forms when tempo and sequencing is altered and cross-bred with original ideas.

Combine this with the accessibility of home recording and you find a likely source for a movement that contains names like How to Dress Well, Avey Tare, El Guincho, Toro y Moi, and James Blake. Some of these artists have fallen somewhat lazily into the “chillwave” tag, which fails to render an all-encompassing categorization despite the attempts of some bloggers. There is no need to lump How to Dress Well and James Blake into the same category despite some shared characteristics; they each tout similar influences, but deliver with such different approaches – of varying levels of intimacy, sampling, and structural maneuvering – that any newly concocted genre tags are unnecessary and somewhat insulting to the artists.

Autre Ne Veut (“I want no other”) is a fine example of an artist following in the footsteps of these aforementioned influences, all while sounding completely different from them. It’s a one-man project with virtually no other information; the frontman remains elusive and anonymous – much like Burial, Neon Indian, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra in their earliest phases. He has a voice that resounds with the flamboyant swagger of Scissor Sisters, Erasure, and Hot Chip – combined with a nasally confidence reminiscent of CYHSY’s Alec Ounsworth.  Backing him up is a swanky, grimy, and absurdly infectious swarming of vibrating ‘80s-inspired synths, pulsing drums, and subtle moog bass. On his wildly impressive Body EP – which follows up last year’s acclaimed eponymous full-length – Autre Ne Veut offers up four memorable songs that showcase a dizzying variation of his R&B-meets-swanky-electro-pop sound.

Deliveries on the EP range from the sexy yet straightforward electro-pop of “Your Clothes” to the brilliant sampling of “Not the One”, which repeats She Wolf’s anxious clamoring over an exotic and invigorating composition that only fully stands alone during the final minute. This is easily the song’s best moment after such a climactic build-up; it keeps the listener wanting to delve more into Autre Ne Veut’s clearly impressive songwriting abilities, even if his tendency to write concise pop songs can get the better of him. Instances like this, though, show just how great of an atmospheric builder his compositional skills can be. “Just Return” is highly reminiscent of The Knife, complete with shrieking synths that stab at the listener with a futuristic fury that also takes cues from Kraftwerk.

Perhaps the most notable is opening effort “Sweetheart”, which evolves from a ghostly synth pad and ambulance siren to a full-on anthem with extraordinary dance floor appeal. Expect this one to get a boatload of remixes, hopefully most of them quality. “Sweetheart don’t think we’ll make it out,” he sings before the burst of whirring synths. You can hear glimpses of Of Montreal’s swagger, Cut Copy’s electro polish, and Grimes’ darkly omniscient progressions – but overall Autre Ne Veut is a singularly unique accomplishment bound to make waves.

RIYL: How to Dress Well, Avey Tare, El Guincho, Toro y Moi, James Blake, Scissor Sisters, Erasure, Grimes, Cut Copy, Hot Chip, Of Montreal, Kraftwerk, Burial, The Weeknd

Autre Ne Veut – Sweetheart

Autre Ne Veut – Just Return

Autre Ne Veut – Two Days of Rain (from eponymous release)

Official Site / MySpace / BUY

The post Autre Ne Veut appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

The subdued form of electronic-pop that NYC-based Silk Flowers pursue is a glittery cross between industrial ambience and chillwave. Behind their simplistic leads of bass-synth and keyboards, the trio presents interesting pieces of percussive-laden samples that range in feel from chaos to Shangri-la. More often than not, the song’s backgrounds mimic the sounds of a metropolis or grimy scene of industry. The stuttering chiptune-like synths of “Chance” slowly progress over a ringing reminiscent of a harbor busy with freighters and forklifts, while the bouncy griminess of “Frozen Moments” is supplemented by an ambulance-like whirring in the distance. Early Ariel Pink comparisons are fairly abundant, though it would be wiser to use his friend John Maus as a point of comparison. His beautiful arrangements are sometimes lost behind a unique mode of production that reflects the soundtrack to a 1980s science documentary. But once you can get over his bizarrely deadpan vocals and style of production (think Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos”!), it is clear that his lack of recognition is slightly absurd. After all, anyone who influences a promising act like Silk Flowers deserves their due.

Their second album, Ltd. Form, is a great find for any fan of Maus, OMD, or Depeche Mode. “Fruit of the Vine” pursues a more conventional rhythmic route, complete with a straight drum loop more reminiscent of club-ready dance than atmospheric synth-pop. Once a floating arpeggio gets things underway, an airy synth pad flutters with a sort of whimsical elegance, sporadically overlapped by a grimy synth more akin to Daft Punk than Air. Once the spacey synth arpeggio returns, we are introduced to the group’s unconventional vocals. Similar to Maus’ deadpan drawl, the voice is neither dominating nor melodically sweeping, but beneficial nonetheless. Dave Gahan can be credited as a huge influence to this styling as well. Silk Flowers sometimes have the tendency to meander along too much, like on the overly placid “Covered Lamp”. It has nothing to do with it being an instrumental effort, as many of the tracks on Ltd. Form are just that. The excellent “Small Fortune” uses slick guitar reverberations reminiscent of Daft Punk and Ratatat over caressing synth pads that, once again, resemble a sci-fi sort of exoticness.

The infrequency of vocals on Ltd. Form proves for effectiveness in the long run. The immediate use of them on “Band of Color” may catch listeners in the midst of the album off guard, but the slick variety of the track provides no obstacles. In fact, many listeners will likely wonder why vocals were not featured more prominently after listening to this. Here, it resembles Devo’s automated swagger behind stabs of synths and murky bass lines. For different effect, the whispering vocals in “Present Dreams” provide a solemnly haunting effect, like the sounds of a dolphin’s sonar across the distance of a dark sea. The arpeggio that subsequently follows is quite beautiful despite its simplicity, hearkening back to ‘80s synth-pop in the vein of Erasure and Yazoo. While Ltd. Form has nothing that will jump Silk Flowers to the echelons of contemporary synth-pop recognition, it will appeal to a niche that has been waiting long for an original release that is tributary without being derivative.

RIYL: John Maus, Depeche Mode, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Ariel Pink, Devo, Gary Numan, Air, Erasure, Ultravox, The Human League, Blancmange, Heaven 17, Visage

Silk Flowers – Small Fortune

Silk Flowers – Band Of Color

Silk Flowers – Frozen Moments

Blog / MySpace / BUY

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This generation of dream-pop artists are more successful than most genre revivalists, which aside from great songwriting can be attributed to dream-pop’s straying from anything resembling “outdated”. In the realm of electronic pop, Erasure’s debut album, Wonderland, was one of the catchiest releases of the ’80s. But it was also marked by production that, by today’s standards, is clearly outdated. In addition to Wonderland, Flood produced classics by The Smashing Pumpkins, U2, PJ Harvey, and Depeche Mode, all of which find their material replayed today and remembered as reverential touching stones rather than outdated relics of an era. His chameleon-like abilities allowed him to shift between decades and styles, even if he stayed in the alternative category for the most part.

Flood’s talent as a producer is evident, and his diverse success comes from his tendency to produce for the songwriter’s own strengths; instead of treating it like an assigned job, his work instead resembles a personal engagement. Thus, if Vince Clarke’s songwriting is entrenched in an ’80s ideology, he will not risk cohesiveness for the sake of stylistic alteration. This practice was echoed for the rest of Erasure’s career, Flood producing or not, and it resulted in their enduring success. So ask, what other bands were created in the ’80s and still produce good albums? Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Erasure… you get the point. All bands that are not afraid to retain the sound that their fans are familiar with, all because they recognize how to produce songs in accordance with their strengths as songwriters and instrumentalists. Think about it… none of those bands have ever had a “disastrous” album because of their fearless attitude toward the future of their respective genres. And they probably never will.

The songwriting on Wonderland was no weaker than any classic, but it was consumed in a sound defined by its time. Erasure did not find overseas success until the popularization of synth-laden dance clubs coincided with their releases, showing the rest of the world just how far the British duo was above their contemporaries. And by that, I am not referring to artists like Depeche Mode, who were in more industrial territory by then. By Erasure’s breakout, they had elevated themselves beyond conventional synth-pop at the time, and more into the sophisticated synth-rock fusion that defined most of their later material. Another popular emerging genre at the time was dream-pop, a classification that is certainly more popular in 2010 than when its forefathers burst out in the mid ’80s. Much of it was indebted to fans of ’60s pop, who combined those harmonic additives with guitar tones and layers of production that were not available during the British Invasion. It is comparable to how clips from the ’80s and ’90s are now used as samples in the songs of today… a relic from the past re-energized in a new light.

Now dream-pop finds itself in an interesting place. It was originally the byproduct of an adoration for revivalist genres and contemporary production, which one could say for most sub-genres. But now a new breed of dream-pop has emerged, one that takes the original ’60s influences but with doses of ’80s post-punk, ’90s alt-rock, and ’00s indie-rock to produce quite a remarkable sound (when done in the vein of a Beach House, Grizzly Bear, or The Radio Dept.). One may notice from these three examples that many genres – from folk to electronica – intersect at this point, especially in regard to the newly inducted “chillwave” label. Dream-pop and chillwave do dabble in a variety of similar components, but their differing points are related solely to the production. The Flood’s of today are now faced with a similar situation, asking whether to abide by the conventions of pre-made sub-genres or align themselves with a songwriter’s individual strengths. It can be so easy to become allured by a stylistic trend, only to abandon an artist’s true strengths in favor of which genre-of-the-month audiences are searching for on Google.

This was originally intended to be a feature of up-and-coming dream-pop artist Tamaryn. There is little that I need to further address though, as their debut album The Waves excelled in piquing my interest in its beautiful intersection of genres, indicative of the more positive trend stated in the previous paragraph. While some of the California-based group’s songs do show the signs of inexperience (the blissful melodies are occasionally over-distorted or cluttered, or there is an over-reliance on tone over melody), there are so many worthwhile attempts here that it puts The Waves up along any dream-pop release of this year. Appearing on Mexican Summer – the same label as Ariel Pink, Best Coast, and Washed Out – Tamaryn fits in perfectly with the meshing of dream-pop, post-punk, and blurred-out avant-garde that has brought the label great recognition. Get lost in the brooding drag that is “Choirs of Winter”, or become immersed in a self-titled cut that transitions between squeaky clean post-punk riffs and boisterous eruptions of noise, reaching a point of immersible bliss that is saved only for a special type of artist.

It is the type that produces to their own strengths, failing to abide by stylistic customs to attain a larger following. Whatever you want to call Tamaryn – whether it be dream-pop, post-punk revivalism, or even chillwave – it is clear that the band’s music excells in their own personalized format.

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Tamaryn – Choirs of Winter

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Tamaryn – The Waves

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Slowdive – Alison

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Erasure – Cry So Easy

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Mazzy Star – Flowers in December

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Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumors

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Beach House – Walk in the Park

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Mexican Summer

Tamaryn: MySpace

BUY

The post Dream-Pop Takes Flight, Pt. 2 appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.

Kamp! are a sight to behold. They are on the cusp of an global breakthrough, yet at the moment remain confined to a Polish fan population that rightfully feels as if it has the best kept secret in electro-pop. Their sound rings of no foreign distinction, choosing to present a familiar version of the genre that brings to mind artists like Cut Copy and Tesla Boy. Essentially, it is the type of electro-pop that avoids the occasional pretension of other electronic genres, often being over-repetition or reliance on sample-based development. Kamp! produce purely great pop music that is minimally reliant on contemporary production. The reverb or droned keys are far cries from acoustical production, but the bells and whistles are minimal enough to divulge a sensational melody that could stand on its own even after an acoustic rendition. Transposing to an acoustic format is something that most electronic artists cannot accomplish without stumbling over the technologically astute components of their recordings. In this genre, an ability to do so represents a far more genuinely engineered and enjoyably straightforward vein of pop music.

“Heats” is the latest single from Kamp! and could potentially serve as their entry into the big time. While perhaps too developmentally paced for mainstream radio, it has a whiff of coolness in addition to songwriting that stresses proper patience throughout its five-minute run, opting to work in vocal melodies early as opposed to repeating the central loop for several minutes. Instead of muddled repetition in the vein of house music, we are graced with Tomek’s vocal abilities early on, as well as the musical intuitiveness of fellow members Radek and Michal. I hate to say that Tomek sounds a bit like Bono in the beginning, but it’s true. He has the same sort of confident clarity, with the European accent and dragging croon only making things more noticeable. As the music grows in complexity and hook-laden fury though, the styles of ’80s rockers and Kamp! begin to grow more noticeably apart. For example, the comparison to Cut Copy is more evident on “Distance of the Modern Hearts”, a brisker and more dance-friendly counterpart to the majestic glow of “Heats”.

Although their most recent offering only includes these two songs, it is certainly enough to predict future success. The single’s accompanying track, “Distance of the Modern Hearts”, is more in the vein of ’80s electro-pop upstarts like the Pet Shop Boys. Kamp! do not rely as much on complexity or mood like on “Heats”, but succeed in their more house-oriented efforts through the creation of sheer infectiousness (which is usually the point for songs like this). One can begin to appreciate production techniques too though, like the sudden burst of synths a bit after the two-minute mark of “Distance of the Modern Hearts”. Moments like these make it a particularly good reason to show Cut Copy fans the work of Kamp! Certain comparable songwriting flourishes are unavoidable. Back to the song, it is worth noting that the synth solo at the conclusion wraps things up nicely. “Heats” and this track both succeed on vastly different stylistic fronts, and that immediate exposition of variety is encouraging when considering the trio’s future. At the moment it looks very bright, and all one needs are these few tracks to hear why.

RIYL: Cut Copy, Tesla Boy, Chromeo, The Presets, Hot Chip, Junior Boys, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Friendly Fires, The Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, LCD Soundsystem, Neon Indian, Passion Pit, Ladyhawke, Simian Mobile Disco, Calvin Harris, Miike Snow, Hercules and Love Affair, Muscles

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Kamp! – Heats

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Kamp! – Distance of the Modern Hearts

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Kamp! – Breaking a Ghost’s Heart (Radio Edit)

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MySpace

Facebook Page

Brennnessel Records

The post Kamp! Out! appeared first on Obscure Sound: Indie Music Blog.