Blogarhythms

Not too long before the start of my conspicuous absence from this space I posted about a couple of “keyboard bands,” proclaiming my love of synthesizers and how I planned on starting a “keyboard band” of my own in the process. Neither of the acts in this post are “keyboard bands” per-se, although they both make use of synths, but writing this post does have me thinking I might just have to add a laptop to my hypothetical band’s synth-dominated lineup.

I heard a couple of tracks from Gothenberg, Sweden-based Soultronica act Little Dragon earlier this year, and although I loved them I assumed I’d never hear anything from the band again. There’s just a certain subset of fresh bands you hear a song or two by only to find they’ve faded into the mists of time and the internets. So I was surprised to say the least when I happened upon the news that Little Dragon actually had a full-length out on Peacefrog, a label I was actually familiar with! The self-titled record is permeated by the influence of sultry Jazz and Soul, eclectically loungey Trip-Hop, dubby Electronica, quirky-but-soulful Pop a-la Steely Dan, Prince-esque riffs and keyboard flourishes, and grainy 8-bit video game music, topped with arresting vocal work from former Koop vocalist Yukimi Nagano, who reminds me quite a lot of both Amel Larrieux and Corinne Bailey Rae. The minimal-but-bouncy single “Test” (peep the video) is one of a few cuts on the album that seemed particularly Minneapolis-ish to my ears.

Listen to Little Dragon “Test”

Toronto, Canada-based male/female duo Roar and the Wolf could easily have been one of those “now you hear them, now you never hear from them again” sort of groups as well. They’re super-independent, self-releasing their music, and offering it for sale via the internet, so it’d be real easy for them to lose people’s attention, or worse yet, just never gain it in the first place. The latter is what would’ve happened with me, had I not stumbled upon their not-exactly-brand-new album Motor Boatown, Mountain Goatown in my travels through the “series of tubes” which make up the interweb. Upon repeated listens it’s proven to be one the best laptop Pop albums I’ve heard since Ben Gibbard and Jimmy Tamborello told us all to Give Up back in winter of ‘03. With a framework of abundant synths, electronic tones of all sorts, finely chopped & spliced samples, and jittery beats draped in an assortment of diaphanous melodies and breathy boy/girl harmonies, Roar and the Wolf’s intimate songcraft puts a human heartbeat behind the circuit boards and microchips.

Listen to Roar and the Wolf “You Are Mine”

Although unforeseen circumstances have dictated that my synthesizer money has had to go towards other, more pressing, financial demands I remain certain that I’ll be getting my mitts on that microKORG soon enough. The laptop on the other hand might have to wait a while.

-El Keter