Kiss
Carly Rae Jepsen
Schoolboy/Interscope
Anything that comes with three names should be better than good – it should be amazing. Right…except in the instance that those three names make you sound like your neck is blistering shade of scarlet. That and your home address should be some American backwater swamp or bayou. Fortunately, Carly Rae neither looks nor sings like some kinda swamp thing. Instead, her polished pop is infectious like poison ivy. If you have lived through the pox that is Call Me Maybe or Good Time and still ache for more, here…please, gorge yourself. Otherwise, this is just another reason to loathe executive producer Justin Bieber and all that inflicts on our world. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Jape
Ocean of Frequency
HUB
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and the same goes for albums; for instance, the cover of Jape’s Ocean of Frequency might give you the impression that you’re in for something interesting. Instead, you’re in for a pretty forgettable album with an annoying sound pallet. If you go into it expecting a lot of corny synths and stylistically inconsistent singing, there’s nothing to surprise you. Granted, The Oldest Mind and Too Many People are worth checking out, but beyond those two pretty decent tracks, it’d be pretty safe to give Ocean of Frequency a miss.- Kane Tenadii-Hay
Lucifer
Peaking Lights
Weird World Record Co
If this is what Satan sounds like then can somebody please pass him my mobile number (if he doesn’t already have it, that is) because I think he sounds dishy. Peaking Lights are an ambient dream pop duo who aren’t about the quick short song: most tracks stretch over six minutes plus. While potentially a little same same, it’s the beauty of soundscape that matters here: Beautiful Son is a hypnotic downspiral of intoxication, Midnight pushes at darker corners and Dream Beat makes mad love to an 8-bit karaoke machine. All the while vocalist Indra Dunis lulls and coos as though singing from behind several thick curtains. Sigh. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Good Morning To The Night
Elton John vs. Pnau
Mercury/Etcetc
I was fearful that, on listening to this endeavour, the gravitational pull of Nick Littlemore’s vacuous ego would consume my world. Fortunately, however, Elton John adds some much needed credibility to this endeavour. Overall the sound is very old skool disco pop, as you would expect with an icon like Elton John involved. At times it is a little too loungey and formulaic, but there’s an appeal here that makes this easy to slip into the summer speaker system. The title track is a purebred winner, Karmatron is electro bluesy swagger while Phoenix is effortlessly clipped pop, heavy on the soaring joy of a catchy chorus. Does wonders for reinventing Elton John. – Scott-Patrick Mitchell
Voltaire Twins
Apollo
Brother and sister act Voltaire Twins have released their fifth EP Apollo, joining the expanding ranks of home-grown indie talent including the likes of San Cisco and Tame Impala. Apollo is a collection of indie/electro beats dripping with synths and pent-up teenage angst as can be heard on stand-out track Young Adult, as well gems Solaris and Silhouettes. Indie music followers will no doubt be familiar with the pair from 2011’s hit single Animalia. And while Voltaire Twins are by no means re-inventing the electro wheel, there are some great songs here and I look forward to a full album from them. – Troy Treeby.
