Phebe Starr has been buzzing about on the Australian music scene for a decade or so. We’ve watched from afar, often admiring her pop chops but harboured a secret wish for a REALLY big pop moment to happen. ‘Lover’ might just be the one. In collaboration with Froyo (adored their single ‘Heart’), ‘Lover’ is a soft synthed and gently funky blend of quirky 80s – a bit Wendy and Lisa, solo electro sounding Stevie Nicks, hints of Pebbles’ ‘Girlfriend’ but also the sci-fi indie of They/Live or ‘Head First’-era Goldfrapp. There are so many things we love about this – all of the nods and references combine to beautiful effect. Phebe’s new album ‘Dirt’ will be out on 24 May.
It’s been ages since we’ve batched up the best in new remix action for you but we have four belters for you today.
79.5’s self titled album on Razor-N-Tape was a proper disco/soul delight last year and we’re enjoying the remix EP which recently dropped. Album highlight ‘Our Hearts Didn’t Go That Way’ gets a housed up disco dubby rework courtesy of label boss JKriv.
Magnus and Kel have both leant their equally smooth vocals to quality projects recently. One being a collaboration with Daytona. The summery vibe of ‘Love The Way’ has been afforded a nighttime neon glow thanks to Dim Zach with full on 80s drama aplenty.
Soulwax always save their best work for Marie Davidson – see their legendary take on ‘Work It’. It’s no surprise they’re back on remix duty for Marie’s recent banger ‘Y.A.A.M’. Play those two remixes back to back for guaranteed melodic techo transcendence.
It’s a second shout out for Michaela May this weekend. Her ‘Abyss’ collection just dropped and it includes a slice of sophisticated synthwave supremacy thanks to Tholos and Jonny Spalding’s subtle rework of ‘Crying At The Radio’ which now feels like a lost Laura Branigan classic.
Four of the best new pop tunes for you right here and we’re bringing pop in a bunch of different forms. We’ve got some funk pop, 80s pop, yacht pop and some good ole Scandi electro too.
‘It’s Just Love’ is the third single taken from Nikka Costa’s forthcoming ‘Dirty Disco’ album and it’s the release of the summer we are looking forward to the most. Nikka continues to channel Prince circa ‘Controversy’ through to ‘Parade’ and it’s making us so darn happy. There’s nobody better to keep that squelchy and taut pop funk sound alive than Nikka.
Michaela May released her ‘Abyss’ collection yesterday (too short to be an album , too long to be an EP!). It brings together the stellar run of singles she’s had as well as a couple of newbies and a pulsating remix too. ‘Beautiful Thing’ is the standout for us – it’s like 5 of your favourite 80s pop classics rolled into 1. Michaela’s pure pop voice manages to recall both Martika and Olivia Newton-John. The production is punchy and bold and we gotta love those power synths.
We have to admit to a touch of nervousness when we learned that Harriet was covering one of our all time most adored songs – the yachtpop classic ‘Sailing’ by Christopher Cross. We need not have worried because in the always reliable and classy hands of Steve Anderson on production, this rework is just sublime – tear inducing even. Dare we say it there’s even more emotion in this new take and of course Harriet effortlessly delivers that crystal clear blue vocal.
A touch late with this one but no better way to round out this crop than with some scintilating Scandipop. Margaret Berger picks up from where she left off with ‘Oblivion’ and gathers momentum with her comeback with the Royksopp-esque ‘Karma Is A…’. Those bubbling and icy synths work a treat and we love Margaret’s vocal on a thumping pop track like this.
Blow Pop is the brilliantly monikored Bubble and Xantham. We were bemoaning how boring and safe some of the big pop releases were on New Music Friday and then we came across ‘2 Jobs’ and it delivered everything we needed. First up the song includes one of the most genius lyrics we’ve heard all year in “all day, CEO, all night CE-ho” and it sets the scene nicely for the tale of Bubble and how a woman’s work is NEVER done. Musically there is just so much going on – to give you a flavour we’re going to say it’s Self Esteem meets The Subways with some Say She She. It rocks, it funks and the chorus packs a wallop. ‘2 Jobs’ is part of a diverse sounding 3 track single (see ‘I Think I Like You’ for a major pop bop). Can we also say that single artwork is bloody fantastic. Thanks Blow Pop for a massive injection of fun into our musical weekend.
Dabeull’s collaborations with HolyBrune have always delighted us here at Teases & Dares – consistently classy affairs. Another T&D featured artist in the form of Reva DeVito is the latest to cook up some magic with Dabeull and we’ve picked their track ‘Look In The Mirror’ to share with you. It’s taken from Dabeull’s new album ‘Analog Love’ which, guess what, also includes some sonic treats with HolyBrune (and other names too). Back to Reva and it was her ‘Goodbye For Now’ record which made us a fan. She co-writes ‘Look In the Mirror’ – it’s delicious and authentic sounding disco with flashes of early 80s funk too.
A laid back disco house groover with Handmaids Tale-esque lyrical content was not what we had on our bingo card for most played new tune of the week but that’s exactly where we are! It’s a very big T&D welcome to ALANA and her stunning ‘Motherless Money’ release. The Henry Binns (from Zero 7) produced single version is the lushest thing we’ve heard this year. Then add the Balearic meets squelchy acid vibes of the remix courtesy of Franky Boissy and D-Stone and this Salon Phonics Records release really becomes a value for (motherless) money affair! “Did you sign the NDA” is a lyric line destined for ALANA merch – can we speak that into existence?
We’ve stumbled across a punk banger this afternoon and it’s lead us down a Dead Pony rabbit hole – we’re not a bit sorry about it. On first listen two of our favourite bands were recalled in Shiny Toy Guns and Be Your Own Pet. Both of those bands know how to rock but also sure craft (well, crafted in the case of the sadly defunct Shiny Toy Guns) a walloping pop chorus. Speaking of a chorus, the one on ‘Rainbows’ is monster sized and I hope the band are ready to hear this screamed back at them at their forthcoming live gigs and festival experiences. ‘Rainbows’ achieves that rare feat of the perfect blend of synths and guitars in a way Metric would be pleased with. On the visuals, Anna stomps her way through the music video with the boys thrashing along beside her – they appear a tight unit already with charisma by the bucketload. Being behind on a new music discovery is not always a bad thing, by coincidence the band’s album ‘Ignore This’ just dropped so our timing turns out to be about right!
Teases and Dares 