A couple of months ago I had the luxury of driving large pick-up trucks with satellite radio (albeit always cringing at the gas consumption) for work up in Bancroft. During that time I began to consistently listen to BBC Radio 1. For one, their morning show, hosted by Chris Moyles, is excellent and I've always found British humour to possess a certain level of sophistication and nuance that North American humour lacks (Fawlty Towers being forever the greatest British sitcom ever made...though now somewhat dated). What also struck my ear was how pleasantly surprising in quality were some of the new British pop and electronic acts breaking into the scene. BBC Radio 1 primarily plays Top "100-ish" music, which I more often than not steer away from. However, in this instance, as I sat in my truck, I thought to myself "Damn...this shit is good!". This is very difficult for me to state because I tend to shun a lot of mainstream music. I by no means am calling this the 4th or 5th incarnation of the British Invasion, rather, it is simply catchy pop music that's easy to listen to. With that said, here are a few songs and artists that caught my attention (excluding Mumford and Sons...I'm not hopping on that bandwagon...yet).
Florence and the Machine - Dog Days
Florence and the Machine comprise of lead singer Florence Welch and host of other artists as supporting cast, providing background music. In the purest sense, they are predominantly an indie mish-mash of all genres. The BBC played a large part in promoting the band and their first full-length album titled "Lungs", released in 2008, and they have since garnered mainstream success both in Europe and North America (Being Top 40 in the UK for 65 weeks and counting isn't too shabby). In particular, their song "Dog Days" exudes an almost 1960's hippie revolutionary quality to it, with certain parts of the song reminiscent of Peter, Paul, and Mary folk. It's currently being played rather consistently on Canadian radio now, so don't be surprised if you haven't already heard this:
Ting Tings - Hands
The Ting Tings are an indie electronic synth-pop duo hailing from Manchester and London (Jules De Martino and Katie White, respectively). Most likely a band with a limited lifespan, vehemently riding the ever transient synth pop wave until it attenuates (I swear it only took me 5 seconds to think up this description), their new single "Hands" is nevertheless a warm comfort to all those automatons out there day and night who are simply "working too hard" (you'll see what I mean when you hear the chorus). The song / video itself reeks of "Flocks of Seagulls" and early 80's New Wave, but I challenge you not to crank the volume up when listening to it.
Grum - Through the Night and Can't Shake This Feeling
Grum, the stage name of DJ Graeme Shepherd, is extremely new to the pop scene, with his debut album, "Heartbeats" released this past May. The album, heavily influenced by early 80's electronic and disco is already being compared to Daft Punk's Discovery. Having downloaded and listened to the album, I can wholeheartedly say it is electronic music at it's finest. However, Grum's finest attribute is his penchant for hilarious video concepts, for which I have included two here. "Through the Night" may be the best 80's bromance since Top Gun, and Can't Shake This Feeling can only be described as, well, food porn.
Marina and the Diamonds
Marina simply makes me happy. Born in Wales, she's the offspring of a Greek father (dare I call her a Greek Goddess?) and Welsh mother. It is so refreshing to see an pop artist produce songs with intelligent lyrics and yet maintain the lighthearted "fluffiness" that should be inherent in pop music. I call her the anti Katy Perry because her songs are mainly an attack against the lavish and homogeneous Hollywood and entertainment lifestyle. No more is this poignant than with her song "Hollywood" where she states that after touching done in LA, FOX producers gawk and say "Oh my God, you look just like Shakira, Oh No, you Catherina Zeta", to which she retorts "Actually, my name's Marina!". I would also just like to thank Marina for wearing clothes in her videos, while still being able to make every guy's jaw drop (seems to be a skill lacking in a lot of artists these days). Below are three of her songs off her 2010 debut album "The Family Jewels".
Ash has had a rebirth of sorts in the last few years....though nothing comparable to Girl from Mars
You should listen to BBC 6 on the Internet. Very good for indie music. Another good UK band is the Smoke Fairies who recently released an album. Kind of folky and ethereal.
oasis, blur, pulp, the verve, and to a lesser extent ocean colour scene and ash. the soundtrack for my youth.