#58 Nixon, "Tiffany"

What do I have to prove to you, Tiffany?
You were the one who said to me let me be

I love it when bands come out of nowhere to make something brilliant. By "nowhere," I'm not referring to Norway, the birthplace of the band Nixon, which has more than its share of good artists, but rather that a group previously unheard of and unbuzzed about could suddenly release upon the world a debut single like this slice of delicious synth-using pop-rock, one of the year's most underrated (or undeservedly unknown) songs. The synths here aren't Van Halen-style nor omnipresent Veto Silver style--more just dabbed on top to make the song sparkle while the lead single flirts with doing the flowing melody in a big sweeping vocal style without ever going all the way. Shake off most of the musical melancholy that characterizes a lot of Norwegian music and add a revving beat under the chorus and some presumably French whispered female vocals, and somehow it all becomes almost epic without ever becoming properly loud. On "Tiffany," Nixon makes creating great music sound effortless--what more could you ask for from a debut single?

Find it on: Überpop