Calvin Harris - Ready for the Weekend (Fake Blood Remix)

I mean, who isn't? Ready for the weekend that is. The quintessential goal of all Americans: to reach that pinnacle of free time and post-work liberation - the weekend! Fake Blood make sure we're soundtracked when leaving the parking lot for the afternoon commute by twisting up the Calvin Harris original, stripping it of the awkward british vocals and concentrating on some bouncy beats and drum breaks. A guaranteed head-nodder/mood raiser perfect for Friday night preparations, especially in the last minute and a half where FB go full-on club and taste solid buzz.

Calvin Harris - Ready for the Weekend (Fake Blood Remix)

Miami Horror - Don't Be On With Her

The arcade disco fires up immediately, breaks slightly for compressed guitar noodling, then calms and builds back up again before highlighting what must be the cheesiest keyboard bass tone heard in years. They're all classic tricks, even down to the rapid-fire handclaps and the barely there "Woo"s here and there. Less a song than a quick glance into a party of an indistinct era you're unsure if you're invited to or not. Might as well go in.

Miami Horror - Don't Be On With Her

Sally Shapiro - Love in July

Talk about timely: Our love befuddled Sally Shapiro returns, albeit in a different season altogether, wandering through the streets, demanding her love in the current month. "Give me your love in July," she commands. You got it, Sally. Producer Johan Agebjorn strikes no new gold with his production, but instead mines old gold that is still bright and shiny. Though a few key changes are enough to keep my ears alert, as is the glassy slightly bent tones of Shapiro's voice. She pleads, we'll listen.



Sally Shapiro - Love in July

Air - Do The Joy

A buzzing guitar emerges from the dustcloud, and with a few tremolous keys we're right in the middle of a 50's sci-fi soundtrack. The aliens are coming. You can hear them radiating above. But then, what are these sweet piano chords competing with the terror? It must be Air! Returning with their new album Love 2! This explains the robotic proclamations, the plucking xylophones, the gradual shift from the tense to the joyous. "Do the Joy" is an odd maneuver for a first single, but after Pocket Symphony's barely-there, brooding slow-jams (definitely a good thing!), the new song is a nice sign that there's still some heaven amongst the menace.


Air - Do the Joy

The Tough Alliance - 1981 -

When pondering the open-ended imponderable future of one's life, what better feeling than to picture one's self an unstoppable juggernaut, capable of overcoming any obstacle, perhaps even time itself. The Tough Alliance give us the soundtrack to such an attitude with their beautiful "1981 - ", a delicate shuffle complete with padding drums and a gorgeous helping of pan flute. A strange addition to be sure, but one that completes a beautiful mental projection sure to rouse anyone from uncertainty. As the lyrics explain, the unknowable is, of course, "all in my head".

The Tough Alliance - 1981 - ______

Woolfy - Return of Starlight

Imagine if you will, a seminal 70's disco hit spinning on a turntable. The song's beats, fast and flurrious, have the crowd in heat. But this isn't the 70's, it's 2009, and damn if we don't want to just chill. Now behold the magical man named Woolfy, who has moved his paws over to the mixing board and is gently, but deliberately, dragging the tempo down to turtle speed. All of a sudden things get cosmic, dreamy, totally... cool. "Return of Starlight" puts us in the passenger seat on an interstellar bounce. We look out the windows, see the galaxies, and ponder about our arrival home, until we spot something nostalgic in the distance. "Oh, Captain, I think we're home," we hear. Sounds about right to me.

Woolfy - Return of Starlight

Housse de Racket - Synthétiseur

If there are two things I really can't get enough of, it's French House and good live electronic music. Today, Housse de Racket (Parisians Victor le Masne and Pierre Leroux) are delivering both. First we have an extended remix of their first single Synthétiseur, a solid addition to the canon, with all the glittery synths, vocoded catch phrases and disco guitar you can handle. The Daft Punk and Justice influences are palpable and delightful. Second, we get a different take on the same song, as Victor and Pierre perform the song live with a drum set and wailing electric guitar. The recording's not too hot, but the performance is on fire. They take the song in a completely different direction and get the audience going absolutely nuts. With further listening, it emerges that despite Synthétiseur's overtly techno feel, Housse de Racket's upcoming first album will actually be filled with jangly guitar and drum jams. But still, the echo of that French House sound keeps coming, as you can hear in the video for "Oh Yeah!" Oh yeah, indeed.

Housse de Racket - Synthétiseur (Housse de Racket Remix)

Housse de Racket - Synthétiseur (Housse De Racket Live Mix)