I'll promise my heart but there's one dark aside

I've got this ongoing list of albums coming in 2010 that I'm eagerly anticipating. Mixed in with the new entries from acts who've already released something are artists and groups who have yet to really try to establish themselves (for the purposes of this post, that excludes anyone who by the end of 2009 will have commercially released an actual intended-to-be-played-by-the-radio single, including as a famous part of an earlier group) but have already given me reason to hope for what they'll do. The bad news is that in many cases my excitement is based on only a couple of songs, making any statements about their potential precarious...but the glimmers of promise are too much fun to ignore.

DYNO
Coming out of TEN, the people who brought you Erik Hassle, is this Swedish electronic pop-rock group. It remains to be seen whether other TEN members will get involved or whether DYNO will get the sort of international deal Erik ended up with, but the group's day in the sun has been long coming; like Erik's "Hurtful" before it finally took off, their song "Deliverance" has been around for ages, albeit in different forms and under different titles. It's the strongest of the songs on the group's EP from last year, Dig The DYNO!; it may not be full of guitars, but it sports a stadium-ready chorus, complete with chanty "yeah yeah yeah"s, to go along with its percussion base and synthetic blips. Elsewhere the group goes much more '80s electro, to good results on the nearly mushy "Emotional," but they never fully surrender themselves to a pure '80s synth sound; there's always a band element to their music, just with some '80s sparkle heavily mixed in. They've got more to offer than this EP, though, if material like "Destroy! Destroy!" is any indication.

Listen: "Deliverance"



Find them on: MySpace
Buy: the group has yet to specify when their first big release will come out, but you can buy their Dig The DYNO! EP on iTunes internationally in the meantime.
Other people writing about them: #1 Hits From Another Planet, Don't Stop The Pop

Fabio Lendrum
Calvin Harris's '90s rave and Hadouken and Frankmusik's spastic electronic styles meet much more pop vocal lines in the best songs of this major label-signed British singer; it all adds up to a chart-friendly dance-pop style which isn't actually that much like the aforementioned artists, but male electronic pop acts are few and far between enough that that's the best I've got. His ballads so far don't have anything on "Vacant Heart" or "Your Boy," but "What She's Got" is appealing barely-intelligible clashy electro-pop, "Don't Wait For Me" and "Everybody Glows" work that pop-meets-rave angle to great results (the same could be said for "Can't Help Myself," though it tones itself down into a more pleading tone), and "Trouble" is bouncy electro-pop. As pop as Fabio's work is, music like this always benefits from quality better than the 64kbps you'll hear on MySpace, so it might be a bit too early to jump to conclusions about much other than available-in-proper-quality "Wait For Me." His songs sometimes don't quite finish off their melodic thoughts quite like I want them to, but they tend to make up for it with neat little production tricks.

Also: best popstar hair in AGES, which cannot be overstated as a matter of importance.

Listen: "Don't Wait For Me"

Find him on: MySpace
Buy: I'm not certain, but given remixes are being made, his first single might be "Don't Wait For Me. Whatever it is, it should be out via Warners--maybe via imprint Eternal Records--in 2010.
Other people writing about him: Popjustice, This Must Be...Pop!

DollFace
A former member of never-quite-off-the-ground retro girl group the Silhouettes, British singer DollFace has gone electro for her solo career. The clear standout of the material on her MySpace is "Ms. Jamaica," which fits into the post-RedOne world; while the other songs aren't without appeal ("Boomerang" has a feisty '90s sound to it, and I still swear I've heard it somewhere before), "Ms. Jamaica" is the moment that makes you think DollFace could both fit in and bring something welcomingly new to Britain's modern charts.

Listen: "Ms. Jamaica"

Find her on MySpace
Buy: I'm not sure if she's signed yet.
Other people writing about her: Karinski, Popjustice

NiteVisions
A new incarnation of the group formerly known as the Electric City, NiteVisions' publicity so far is mainly based on the fact that it's made up of two boys who are the children of two members of Duran Duran and that they're a Xenomania project. Very little has been heard from the group under this name, only a clip of "Fire," but it seems safe to say they're influenced by the era their parents began making music. Mainly all we've got to go on so far is potential, but come on, doesn't the prospect of Xenomania + boy duo + a sound influenced by Duran Duran, Gary Numan, and the Cars pique your interest at least a little bit?

Listen: a clip of "Fire"

Find them on MySpace (no music there yet)
Buy: nothing yet--I'm not sure they've signed to a label, but they're being shopped around
People also writing about them: Popjustice, BBC

Hurts
If Hurts were still Daggers, I'd be immensely excited about the fact that they finally had some sort of outside-of-Popjustice buzz around them in the music industry--in fact, their album would be my most anticipated release of 2010. As that group, they fulfilled my desperate need for '80s pop-rock-dance full of energy and with soaring, perfect choruses and performed by possibly my new favorite band frontman; songs like "Lost In The Distance" and "Death It Feels" are some of my favorite MySpace-only songs ever.

Unfortunately, Daggers is no more, replaced by the seemingly two-person formation which still includes singer Theo. It's not the first time the group has changed, but this time it seems they've gone much darker, more melancholy, qualities which Daggers certainly had but were balanced by songs that were, well, just plain more fun; the fact that not every song was a stylish brooding slow-paced meditation about loss helped me appreciate the songs that did meet that description more.

The three songs we've heard from Hurts so far seem to show that the quality of material is still there. "Illuminated" is beautiful, "Wonderful Life" deserves crossover success, and "Unspoken" (which comes complete with a Fred Falke remix) has wiffs of a demo about it but still has some truly lovely melodic elements; in short, I love them all. It's just that all indications so far are that we've lost the group that was equally capable of inspiring hands-over-head, standing-in-place jumping up and down and requiring a strut-filled command of the stage from Theo. I hope I'm wrong and, even if I'm not, I'd wish them luck based on these new songs alone; I could just be a bit more enthusiastic if I had some indication that, somewhere along the line, the fun was still waiting for us.

And, hey, if nothing else, they're working on their debut album in Sweden, so that's got to count for something, right?

Listen: "Wonderful Life"

Find them on MySpace
Buy: they're signed to Major Label, the Richard Stannard-backed subsidiary of Sony. "Wonderful Life" is receiving radio play and is, I think, set to be a single, but as to whether it's a "buzz single" or "actually meant to conquer the UK single," I'm not sure. In the meantime, a double-sided Daggers single, "Money"/"Magazine," is available on iTunes internationally; it's worth it for the excellent "Money" alone.
Other people writing about them: Worrapolava, #1 Hits From Another Planet, Popjustice, Karinski, NME


Jessie Malakouti
Will Jessie's "Standing Up For The Lonely," ever get a proper release? Now backed by Xenomania, the positioned-as-attitude-filled American singer's proper debut single was first played on the radio midway through 2009 but has yet to take off or receive much publicity outside of Jessie's opening for the Saturdays. The former member of Shut Up Stella put out some songs before working with Xenomania (including "Trash Me," which "If U Seek Amy" instantly made me think of when I heard it and which Jessie claims was ripped off by said song), but it's her work with the British songwriting group that has me most excited. Besides "Standing Up For The Lonely," a dance-poppy brush-off to boyfriend, the highlight of her material seems to be "Who's That Man," a throwback to '80s pure pop musical breeziness wrapped around heartbreak. Her live styling may sometimes be...ill-advised, but I'll be willing to forgive and forget if she keeps putting her slightly Gwen Stefani-ish voice to songs like this one.

Listen: "Standing Up For The Lonely"

Find her on MySpace
Buy: supposedly, "Standing Up For The Lonely" is now set for a January release by Hard2Beat. In the meantime, you can download a free megamix of a few songs with a mailing list signup here
Other people writing about her: Popjustice

Daisy Dares You
Singing catchy small-band-gussied-up-with-electronic-production pop songs, young British singer Daisy is going to have trouble beating her key song, "Number One Enemy." Even as a demo, it captures a welcome youthfulness and freshness while also having just a bit--only a bit--of a cool indie-pop feel. Daisy can go more electronic (the results in "Next Few Minutes" are great) or add in some piano, but her voice tends to have a sweet, laid-back vibe (just a bit like the effect of Lily Allen's voice) even when she's giving attitude, which gives an innocent, easy-to-listen-to quality to her music. Some songs, whether they're musically or lyrically simple, give off a vibe of sweet simplicity; Daisy does those incredibly well (see "You'll Be Fine" for proof)...but we really can't let go of how much fun there is in "Number One Enemy."

Listen: "No. 1 Enemy"



Find her on MySpace
Buy: nothing yet, but she's signed to Jive and you can download "Daisy Dares You" for free with a mailing list signup here
Other people writing about her: The Guardian, Karinski, Into The Groove, Mumuuse

Rosanna
Much as I wish I had some official news on Rosanna, I don't, meaning putting her on this list is pure speculation; there's been no word I've seen about when an official release from this former member of Swedish girl band Play will be forthcoming (she's represented by UK-based Crown Music Management, but that's all I've got). That's a shame, since her pop songs need to be unleashed upon the world as soon as possible. From the cutesy bubbly electro-pop of "Gameboy" to the more expansive mid-tempo electro ballad "Waterfall," Rosanna has given us multiple reasons to get excited. Count on collaborations with Tortuga (who you may know from Isabel Guzman's music) and Jim Eliot of Kish Mauve (yes, he may have written Kylie's "2 Hearts," originally done by Kish Mauve, but he also co-wrote Ladyhawke's "Crazy World," "Love Don't Live Here," and "Better Than Sunday") to appear on her sure-to-be-great album whenever it does see the light of day.

Listen: "Gameboy"



Find her on MySpace
Buy: no solo releases from Rosanna yet, but besides her work with Play, you can hear her provide vocals on some great modern electronic pop songs, "Oh!" and "Fast Car," on Swedish electronic artist Kocky's second album, Stadium Status, available on iTunes internationally
Other people writing about her: Don't Stop The Pop, Popjustice

Jessie
Originally going under the name Jessie J, British singer Jessica Cornish had her first taste of major chart success as the co-writer of Miley Cyrus's "Party In The U.S.A.," and, to be honest, none of her original, soulful solo material from years ago thrilled me, but with a voice as strong as hers and with the (American) label investment it seems is going on, she should end up with some material worthy of her. She's worked with Dr. Luke (though whether that material will be heard outside of the Miley song remains to be heard), Robert Allen (Rihanna's "Disturbia" and Chris Brown's "Forever"), Warren Felder (Jennifer Lopez's "Mile In These Shoes," Chris Brown's "Superhuman") and Toby Gad (a million things, from Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry"/Beyonce's "If I Were A Boy" to the Veronicas' "Untouched" to Sita's "Happy"), and it seems likely little if any of her earlier material will appear on the album ("Sexy Silk" won't, at any rate). Said album was supposedly going to come out this year, but, with no real news on that front, it seems safe to assume it's pushed back to 2010.

Listen: "Rainbow," a song from the past few months which might or might not be on the album, sung live by Jessie over the actual song

Find her on MySpace
Buy: her debut album should be out next year on Universal, in the U.S. and on Island in the UK
Other people writing about her: Worrapolava, Popjustice

There are also many artists who I've got even less to base speculation on but am still interested in--many of the artists debuting in Melodifestival, for example, or maybe some of the other Xenomania acts. I thought about including young British singers Ellie Goulding (who mixes indie pop-friendly vocal stylings with electronic production on songs for a sort of twee pop-meets-gentle-electro-pop sound) and Marina + the Diamonds (quirky electronic pop not afraid of pianos) especially since I think their singles ("Under The Sheets" and "Mowgli's Road," respectively, though it was "The Shampain Sleeper" that first sold me on Marina) may be more on the buzz single side of things, but I wasn't quite sure; they'll appear on an upcoming list, if I can ever get everything together. The same probably holds true for Red Blooded Women, and in retrospect, I guess Simon Curtis could have qualified for this, couldn't he? Edit: oh, Sam Taylor should be in here too, shouldn't he...assuming an album is actually coming?

Who did I leave out?

You're just too good for me

For the past few months, one of my main default "I don't know what song to play" sources for music has been Swedish songwriter and producer Kocky or, more specifically, my two favorite songs of his. Both are collaborations with Rosanna, the former Play member and solo artist of the brilliant "Gameboy," and come from his second album, Stadium Status. They're electronic in base but not in an '80s throwback sort of way, instead having a modern catchy sheen with its roots in dance but which doesn't add up to dance-pop. There's a bit of R&B thrown into the mix, too. Reading that description, you won't really get a feel for what Kocky's music sounds like, but a few listens to his productions will give you a feel for the generally fun style he's got going. I'm sure he'd totally disagree with me, but there's something kind of bubblegum about his beats, a fact I love--despite all the synth obsession going on, no one else quite has this sound going.

"Oh!" was, according to Kocky, inspired by an electro-house remix of Fergie's "Glamorous" which Rosanna loved. He took from it the idea to mix pop/R&B with a harder dance track and the result was a bleep-filled but still melodic song with a welcome bite to its chorus. The beats in "Fast Car" don't pound with the same intensity, but they're not meant to: the music has a bit more sashaying or strutting and bounce to it--though it's still propelled forward--as Rosanna works a car analogy for all she's worth.

To buy Kocky's second album, Stadium Status, go here (physical) or here (digital). It's also available on iTunes internationally.

Next up: maybe Erik Hassle (very good international release-related news about him came out recently!) or that German dance-pop.

This Gameboy's off to a level higher

I know Swedish singer and former member of Play Rosanna's had some buzz around her already--in fact, it was Don't Stop The Pop writing about her new material that introduced me to it--but I can't help taking the opportunity to shine the spotlight on her as well. As I mentioned a little while back, I'm probably going to end up writing about her work with Kocky, too, but in the meantime, let's focus on her own material. Rosanna may have grown up from her time in Play, but she still has a partly girlish voice. That's not a bad thing, though; it brings a playfulness to her music. Put that voice over some really well done poppy electronic backings, and you've got a great recipe. Use that recipe to make a whole album and...well, you'd have a pretty welcome solo debut on the music scene.

Gameboy is (as of right now) my favorite of her solo material, but that may be just because it's the poppiest of the songs we've heard so far from her. With all the cute beats bubbling up out of that musical backing, you might expect the lyrics to be just as lighthearted, and in a way, they are, as the title gives away; on the other hand, the device of the title is just the center of the song's key double simile, with Rosanna explaining to some poor girl, "He played you like a Gameboy, like a Gameboy/Couldn't find a better toy" and "He got what he wanted/Don't need no more." It never completely loses its sense of musical fun, though, even if the main verse-chorus structure is set aside less than three minutes into the song for a fade out with Rosanna quietly speak-singing lyrics that take a turn for the darker.

"Gameboy" isn't yet commercially available nor is there news of any sort of commercial solo release for Rosanna, but you can visit her MySpace here and buy her work on Kocky's latest album, Stadium Status, here (physical), here (digital), or internationally on iTunes here.

Next up: that male songwriter or a German female singer whose new song I've already mentioned on here.

A good beat never hurt no one

I was going to try not to have any more interruptions of my countdown until it finished, but I can't help it--I need to take a moment to talk about some things I'm listening to.

Remember Johan Krafman and his Ola-meets-the-Bassflow-remixes-of-Martin-Stenmarck song "Disarmed"? Well, he's uploaded another Bassflow-produced song onto his MySpace. It's called "Chain Reaction" and, though it's not instantly as addicting as "Disarmed," I'd eagerly buy an album in this sound.

Speaking of songs you can listen to on MySpace, I also noticed today that the full radio version of Jeanette's "Undress To The Beat"--a kind of Holly Valance-esque song (I say "kind of" partly because that's not a perfect comparison but also because I don't want you to get your expectations too high) I mentioned my interest in a little while ago--is playing on a MySpace site here. It'll need some time for me to decide its long-lasting value, but I'm willing to give it that time. Its co-writers include Johan "Kermit" Bobäck (Cyndi Lauper's "Into The Nightlife" and "Echo," Elin Lanto's "Speak 'n Spell," Darin's "Seasons Fly") and Måns Ek, I think.

Do you ever wonder to yourself how you've been missing out on an artist all this time? That's how I'm feeling about Swedish artist Kocky (the artist name for David Åström) at the moment. I've always known of him, for sure, but I've never really paid proper attention to him, so yes, it's all my fault for not picking up on him earlier. It's his connection to Rosanna, whose new music I've been excited about since Robpop wrote about it some months ago, that got me to check him out now. I'll be writing more about him in the future as I digest everything, but I just wanted to give you the heads-up--he may have multiple moments of amazingness. Basically, HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE HYPE. Check out his MySpace in the meantime.

"4-Ever Juvenile," a Kocky single, features Tinchy Stryder, and Frankmusik is reporting that his first "proper" single (apparently "3 Little Words" wasn't it) will be "Better Off As Two," will come out in March, and will have a rap from Tinchy added in. A supposed tracklisting for Complete Me has popped up on a British CD retailer site as well as a supposed release date, June 22. A March release date, as had originally been reported, probably would be too quick, so I can live with the wait. The tracklisting:

1.) 3 Little Words
2.) Better Of As 2
3.) Confusion Girl
4.) When You're Around
5.) Complete Me
6.) Boyfriend
7.) Your Boy
8.) Wonder Woman
9.) Vacant Heart
10.) Done Done
11.) Run Away From Trouble
12.) Olivia

My first reaction was "oh thank goodness, 'Vacant Heart' is on it." My second was "aww, no 'Questionable Times.'"If "Boyfriend" is "Gotta Boyfriend"--and it might not be, I've got no idea--I think I've heard versions of all but "Your Boy" and "Wonder Woman," but that's fine; this is Frankmusik, so much of what we've heard will probably have been tweaked anyway and his album should be made as great as possible, so I can hardly hold him sharing songs with us early against him. Plus, there's always b-sides to look forward to. The kind of but not totally ballad title track is uploaded on Frankmusik's MySpace at the moment and it's worth your time.

I've now had two different lines from Daniel Merriweather's as yet unreleased material running across the top of my blog, if that's any indication of my interest in the soul singer's upcoming Ronson-produced material (though oddly neither from his new proper lead single, "Change"). I adored "Stop Me," so I'm hoping he'll end up with something to rival that cover.

I've been meaning to mention here on the blog and not just in comments elsewhere that I really like "Boys And Girls" and "The Fall" on young British singer Pixie's MySpace. "The Fall" is catchy light-on-its-feet British pop and "Boys And Girls" is a little heavier, with verses kind of influenced by that popular '60's sound, but with a bit of electro-without-actually-being-electro crunch in the chorus to cancel that out; let's put it this way: I'm exhausted of that sound, and I love it, so it's not really in that style. She's got some great songwriters behind her, so hopefully her teen pop will end up with a great year both in quality and commercial success.

While I'm on a MySpace roll, I might as well write about Jasmine Baird, who I've loved for quite some time...once again, since DSTP introduced me to her! I need the full version of "The Truth" like you have no idea. I've got absolutely no idea how to describe it, beyond AMAZING. It's got a huge opening, maybe somewhat '80's a la Cyndi Lauper but modern, too. Listen to it on her MySpace here. I'd really love for it to be her who releases it--it's the sound of a brilliant songwriter and artist creating a new space for herself in the world of pop.

Different is Dangerous's list of 2008's best remixes has me listening to the Designer Drugs remix of Mariah Carey's "I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" over and over again. It has so much more energy, sparkle, and ...vroom reworked like that.

You know what someone really needs to turn into a proper pop song? "Heavy Leather," this made for TV commercials and shows song. It's got this deep bass groove, kind of a little bit like a Goldfrapp song or Christina Aguilera's "Keeps Gettin' Better" (though it's older than that song). Listen to it in the background of this video clip or this video clip. Someone turn that riff into a real song, please.

Daggers have uploaded a less joyous synth filled ballad to their MySpace. "Death It Feels," "Money," and "Lost In The Distance" are still this synth-pop group's key tracks for me, but when are they going to conquer the world like they deserve to? I'd go groupie for these guys.

Courtesy of Worrapolava, I've been playing Adam Ant's "Playboy" today. I've always loved "Goody Two Shoes" (which was just written about by the much-missed CFB Goes Pop girls), but I think I may feel a proper listen to the greatest hits of his I own coming on soon.

If you're interested in what albums I'm excited about in the coming year, you couldn't do better than read #1 Hits' and MuuMuuse's lists of the albums they're most excited for--together, they cover everything I would have included that we definitely know about (well, I'd probably throw on a few more artists participating in this year's Melodifestival).

The list could go on, but I'll cut it off there for now. Oh, wait, one more thing: Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You." As I've said elsewhere, I'm nervous about how this song will hold up in the long run for me, but right now I'm playing it a lot. Dan Priddy's electro "The Truth" fits in that same category, though I'm playing it a lot less than the very easy to listen to "My Life Would Suck Without You."

Turning fighters into lovers

(Elements of this post have been sitting as a draft for quite some time, so not all of these links are to incredibly recent posts; that just means that they've stood the test of time, though.)

A few songs I was introduced by blogworld that I think are worth your time:

Poptastic posted "Watch This Space," a song from (the Paul-promoted British High-School-Musical-as-TV-series) Britannia High (watch the scene from the show below). It's a great pure pop song with a dance beat underneath the chorus.



PopJustice featured a clip of a song from Alesha's new album, "Let's Get Excited." It's more up-tempo than most of the sampler. Have I said on here that "Colours Of The Rainbow," the track her website is giving away, is enjoyable, too? It is.

#1 Hits From Another Planet wrote about Norwegian project Karatkorn's "The Distance In A Romance," which is lush dance/electro-pop--absolutely gorgeous. Kind of Kylie-esque, but that beautiful spacey side of Kylie, not the full-on disco rush, though it's not a slow song.

MuuMuse introduced me to the latest music from Blake Lewis--he features on a Darude cover of "I Ran" by Flock of Seagulls. Take it for what it is, an opportunity to hear Blake's vocals on something--don't go in expecting something like his debut album.

Fizzy Pop raved about the debut single from British duo Same Difference (and put it in proper pop history context), and with good reason--"We R One" is pure "pure pop" heaven, key change and all. A must-listen, definitely.

Don't Stop The Pop introduced me to Swedish singer Neo, whose song "Flower Power Supergirl"--poppy, uptempo, camp, catchy (not enough men making music like this)--is one I'm eagerly looking forward to being able to buy--album out this week! The same post also included a mention of Rosanna and her excellent song "Gameboy," with a promise to write more about it in the future.

On the non-introducing songs but still excellent front...

Adem wrote a fantastic review of Girls Aloud's "Out Of Control." I'll probably never get around to properly writing up my thoughts on even one of the songs off of it, but "The Loving Kind" and "Miss You Bow Wow" are my favorites at the moment.

Fabtastic Music made me wish Charlotte Perrelli would get to do a tour like a big US or UK act would.

Olga Loves Yuri took us on a tour of Norway with Annie.

XO's Middle Eight gives us more information about Take That's upcoming album, one which I'm very excited for (and I still love the video, cheese and all).

I adore D'luv's personal post about Pet Shop Boys.

Pop Music Notes is such a welcome part of the pop blog scene--you'll read about artists there that aren't really being covered elsewhere (as well as some who are). John's also being making me really jealous by writing about all the concerts he's been to recently.

Gosh, you start on this and you just keep thinking of a million things you want to link to...best to continue later, though, or else no one will bother with any of this.