The Lanskies Invade Britain

The Lanskies are not what you think. They're not what anyone thinks. This French band sounds about as French as fish and chips. What they do sound like is something remarkably British. In fact they are so British you'd swear the band were secretly Normans coming to reconquer ol' Blighty. Their latest single, Romeo is such an homage to what The Futureheads or XTC sound like that it might actually just be them in disguise.

Romeo is an angular, jagged, power pop record that's jumpy, nervous, and just witty enough to make things interesting. The songs here are catchy and so energetic that they might just cause uncontrollable spasms if you're not careful. Guitars slice in and out, drums pound and push, and the vocals sound like they came straight from, "A to B," onto this record. Romeo is an awesome four song slab of staggered pop music that takes the best of British pop over the last five or six years and pastes it over every song present.

The Lanskies might actually be French, but I challenge you to find one ounce of Chanson on this record. This is purely British pop and it makes one wonder if the Anglo-Saxons haven't invaded the continent using a clever disguise. Whether Normans or Anglo-Saxons the music still kicks butt and Romeo is a record well worth your attention. Now if they can just crank out an album it'd be like 1066 all over again.

Brothertiger's Golden Years

If you were to look up luxurious lush synth pop in the Websters Dictionary of Pop Music (if it existed) next to that phrase would be a picture of Brothertiger. This one man outfit handcrafts chilled out pop music that's like a vacation in aural form. Upbeat and hovering around the slow motion disco just like a cat, Brothertiger is sly and seductive and his album Golden Years sounds like the perfect soundtrack to an impending retirement.

With synths washing over synths, vocals whispering into your ear, and laid back beats gently moving things forward this is the sound of a thousand sunsets rolled into ten songs. Golden Years is a ridiculously good record and seems so not bothered by its environment you can't help but just sway along with it. This is the sound of a utopian world where the word stress is unknown and only pleasure is exists. Opulent and exuberant in the most relaxed of ways Golden Years never ceases to cool down and chill out.

Dreamy and ethereal Brothertiger's Golden Years is an ode to doing nothing. It's hushed tones, seductive swathes of sound, and slow hypnotizing songs succeed on every level. This is a beautiful and catchy record that proves one man can do it all and do it well. Brothertiger has knocked it out of the ball park here on a really slow curveball. If you've ever wanted a taste of the good life Golden Years is a perfect sampler for what could be.

Far From Being Twerps

Far from being pests or even slightly annoying, Twerps makes me wonder where the heck people come up with ideas for band names. All questioning aside, it's a healthy dose of irony because Twerps are rather pleasant. Their self-titled album is a jangly bit of goodness that brings to mind classic Ozzy pop, Felt, and anyone who's ever been called fey.

With a jangle and a bit of shyness Twerps shuffle their way across their album almost as if they're too afraid to actually finish it. An overwhelming sense of tweeness permeates the feel of each and every song and the result is a set of songs that almost seem too introverted for their own good. That being said, the record is awesome. It's such a throwback to so many classic jangle pop records that it made my heart race. The geekiness and overwhelming sense of happy sadness just makes this record so cool it's impossible not to want to listen to it again.

With fragile guitar riffs, practically depressed vocals, and an impending sense of doom Twerps sing out of tune, whisper themselves into a good cry, and let their guitars string them along for eleven songs. It's magical stuff that's the best record from 1986 that’s been released this year. Out of place, out of sorts but nonetheless brilliant, Twerps have created a record that will appeal to anyone who ever thought that all the best indie pop bands came from the late 80's.

Burning Hearts Are Not Extinct

With a sound that harks back to Elizabeth Frasier and a name that harks back to post hardcore, Burning Hearts are one confusing little band. Their album Extinctions makes things even more confusing because it's not a reflection at all of what the album is about. Confused? My guess is they might just want you to be as you listen to their swirly, ethereal, post-gazing pop.

Extinctions is an absolutely gorgeous record that wafts in like a breeze, floats on by, and disappears back into the ether without raising a finger. The sounds that Burning Hearts create are calming, gauzy, and shimmery and hark back to something the Cocteau Twins, Slowdive or even The Sundays may have done in the early nineties. Extinctions is a strummy and meandering record that's seemingly lost in its own dream and doesn't want to wake up. It's a glistening, shiny, sparkly dream that you'll not want to leave and because Burning Hearts so easily write songs that linger on for ages, you might not be able to.

With all kinds of confusion at play here, Burning Hearts plays tricks with your sensibility and mind and eventually have their way with your ears. That's ok, because it's worth it as Extinctions is a gem of a record. With fragile and ethereal songs and a sense of vulnerability Burning Hearts will either lull you into a hypnotic trance or make you weep openly. Grab a box of issues, slow your breathing down and just float away with Extinctions until the very end.

Jenny Owen Youngs Is An Unwavering Band Of Light

Jenny Owen Youngs is a singer/songwriter, Jenny Owen Youngs does not write singer/songwriter songs, she rocks too hard for that. Her album An Unwavering Band of Light is an obvious indication of where Jenny is coming from and why her songs are out of the ordinary. Utilizing a whole host of instrumentation, sounds, and melodies An Unwavering Band of Light is a great little rock and roll record buried underneath a pre-determined stereotype.

An Unwavering Band of Light is a good record because it shatters the notion of what a girl with a guitar can do. This isn't a moany, boring, acoustic record, rather it's a kick a little butt record with enough rocking riffs to make you sit up and notice. When you throw in Jenny Owen Young's fantastic voice and her keen pop sensibility you're left with a record that channels its inner rocker through spectacular original songs that are as quirky as they are good. Jenny Owen Youngs brings so much more to the table than your average songwriter and her ability to take the loads of ideas running around her head and put them into original sounding songs is commendable.

She might be lumped in with the singer/songwriters of the world but Jenny Own Youngs is a rather good artist. Her album, An Unwavering Band of Light has it all and it doesn't waver from offering something more. It's an entertaining record that made my ears perk up and won me over. An Unwavering Band of Light is something worth spending time with and my guess is that's all Jenny Owens Young wants.

Wirescan Head Off On A Vector

British synth pop purveyors Wirescan go about things the old fashioned way. Using S-VHS technology (ADAT??) and using as little processing as possible Wirescan take us back to when the sounds were pure and were true to the synthesis that was originally intended. While that's kind of odd for synthesizers to sound pure it's the honesty in the recording process that they strive for that sets them apart. Having just released an EP of classic instrumentals that go under the guise of Vector, Wirescan seem destined to go back to the future.

With songs that take retro-futurism to a new level Vector is like listening to classic 80's tunes on a Muzak station in space. It's cold calculated beats, mechanical synth washes, and robotic feel give the record an early wave-ish pop feel that's distant but still danceable; think Gary Numan if he were happy and you’re on the right track. Melodies hide behind beats and peek out when you least expect it and while the record may be instrumental Wirescan somehow make these melodies, harmonies, and songs linger on and on and on. While I really think Wirescan would benefit greatly from a vocalist, Vector is still a very good EP of clinically proven synth pop.

Creature Aren't Pretending

Canadian group Creature fills a gap currently left wide open by the absence of folks like Goldfrapp, Garbage and Curve. While they're not quite as overpowering as the aforementioned bands, they do channel that dark grooviness that makes each of those bands so good. Taking synthpop and making it feel dirty; Creature creates sensual, seductive pop music that lurks around the dance floor while keeping a keen eye on the big pop song. Their latest EP, No More Pretending is a glammy, slinky, pop treat whose hooks are so large that you can see them a mile away.

Working with the legendary Stephen Hague the band have taken their songs polished them to deadly perfection and placed six of them on this new wave/disco punk electronic battle weapon. The songs here are slick, exceptionally well played and so poptastic that if given half the chance they'd give the Billboard Top 40 a run for their money. From Lisa Ivvy's sensual sighs to the hi-gloss sheen of each chorus this is a superb record. If No More Pretending is any hint of how their sophomore album, Sick Imagination will be we are in for one heck of a treat.