Barely a day passes without another mash-up band hitting the scene. The past decade’s emergence of various genres and styles of music being combined to create new sounds is not particularly new, and is rarely executed in any kind of stylish manner.

But Fenech-Soler are one in a line of acts taking influence from indie, electronica, pop, and rock music to create something new and innovative with spectacular commercial and artistic success. Fenech-Soler’s electronic and dance influences have made their tracks a staple in the rise of so-called “indie discos”, where DJs have been furiously creating club remixes to indie tracks in an effort to invigorate the floor.

The all-male four-piece rocketed to fame last year with two tracks, “Lies” and “Demons”. Both have racked up nearly one million YouTube views combined, so it’s safe to say the UK quartet is steadily growing in popularity. Their digital presence spawned a self-titled album later in the year – leading to, of course, an excess of trance, dubstep, hip-hop and DNB remixes. Fenech-Soler are giving away a few of these remixes on their site, as well as an acoustic session they performed earlier in the year called the White Versions EP.

Now, they’re back with the release of “Stop and Stare”. It’s a near-ambient arrangement of lyrics set against a gritty electronica backdrop, all accompanied by a stylish low-light video. Fenech-Soler are now lined up to play a whole line of festivals, though were forced to take a short hiatus from gigging recently as Ben, lead singer of the band, was treated for testicular cancer. Thankfully he reports that the treatment was 100% effective and they will be back on the road shortly, just in time to play some great UK festivals, which include Glastonbury, Blissfields, Oxegen, Camp Bestival and LeeFest, among others.

RIYL: Daft Punk, Arctic Monkeys, Miami Horror, Friendly Fires, Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, Delphic, MGMT, Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, Van She, Monarchy

Fenech-Soler – Lies

Fenech-Soler – Demons

Fenech-Soler – Demons (Sigma Remix)

Fenech-Soler – Stop & Stare (acoustic)

Fenech Soler – Lies (WolfChild Remix)

Fenech-Soler – Fenech-Soler [CD]

Fenech Soler – Deamons (Christian Sonderfeld remix)

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Jay Watson and Nick “Paisley Adams” Allbrook are not unfamiliar with success. They are used to it as members of Tame Impala, the group from Western Australia that released perhaps the best psychedelic-rock release of 2010 in Innerspeaker. It was a beast of an album that has drawn acclaim for a genre too familiar with criticism. Their own project, Pond, will inspire kudos for similar reasons. Many contemporary “psychedelic” artists ignore the concept and aim of the genre, which to many is the emission of music that is both invigorating and calming; the namesake alone recalls the intent, which should be receptive to a subdued and tranquil mindset without being too simplistic or over-done. It is understandably a thin line to tread, so I find the premature criticism against psychedelic-rock as “a genre for fetishists” to be a bit off, as success within the genre is renowned to the point of the style being inarguable. When you hear quality psychedelic-rock, you just know it. Innerspeaker was one of the few psychedelic-rock releases in the past few years able to accomplish that.

It is easy to throw around criticism when artists focus too much on how their pedals sound or whether a sample from an actual psychedelic track would fit, and THEN attempt to call themselves psychedelic musicians. Call it a plague brought on by our modern days, where the superfluous multitude of sub-genres dilutes the tradition of certain styles. Or you could pin it on the availability of technology, which could allow your little brother’s guitar to sound like David Gilmour if he familiarizes himself with Pirate Bay. These are absurd things to blame it on though, like blaming a McDonalds for obesity. More options should result in more creativity, not an over-dependence on substitutes for artistic expression. No one wants to hear “drone-rock” with three chords played over a Native Instruments program, just like how listeners could give a shit if you play a backwards loop of a Jefferson Airplane song over ambiance. Optimistically, hearing shameful examples like these makes Tame Impala and past psych-rock heroes sound even better. These revered groups do not need inferior comparisons to prove their selective worth though.

Watson’s history with Tame Impala goes back to their beginnings, as he performed on their 2008 self-titled debut EP. Allbrook has been touring with them for several years and was named an official member earlier this year due to his participation on Innerspeaker. Tame Impala’s head honcho/lead songwriter, Kevin Parker, has returned the favor for his friends by playing live with Pond on occasion. Their fourth studio album, Frond, was released earlier this month and is clearly their best. Chalk it up to experience perhaps, but regardless this is an album that is not a far cry from Innerspeaker, both in terms of quality and style. Pond treads in areas of garage-rock more than Tame Impala by using a sharper tone of distortion and less reverb, while sharing some electronic components that never override the psych-rock feeling. For example, the trickles of synths during “Mussels Tonight?” is not distracting or superfluous, while the vocoded bridge in the middle is simply preparation for a dizzying guitar progression that recalls the best of the genre.

Under the gauzy layers of guitar in “Cloud City” there lies a bit of funk, which in addition to the garage-rock in the self-titled cut and extensive prog-rock in “Duck and Clover” provides for Frond’s fresh perspective on psychedelia. There is not one effort on Frond that lingers away from psychedelia, but the flourishes of various stylistic attemps within concise bridges or outros is always delightful. The last four minutes of “Frond”, for instance, is a beautiful arrangement of orchestral elements and guitars that evolves with superb organization from the track’s initial pop-heavy leanings, which is led by a sprightly piano and choir-like procession. A track like “Torn Asunder”, which recalls Suede and Brett Anderson in more ways than one, contains the type of songwriting that most psych-rockers envy. Complete with delicate keys, a calming background of strings, and flourishes of woodwinds, this is the type of effort that will stun a listener making their way through the entirety of Frond. The album has so many surprises, twists, and hooks that one may question its stylistic consistency, even if it is clear. It just contains so much excitement and variation, two components that modern psychedelic-rock has been lacking.

RIYL: Tame Impala, Here We Go Magic, Suede, Beach Fossils, Midnight Juggernauts, Male Bonding, Wild Nothing, MGMT, Wavves, Friendly Fires, The Faint, Justice, The Teenagers, Late of the Pier,Phoenix, Shiny Toy Guns, VHS or Beta, Klaxons, Lotus,  Passion Pit, Wolfmother, Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Hawkwind, Devendra Banhart

Pond – Frond

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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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