Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream

I got an e-mail the other day from an independent Canadian musician Vivek Shraya who has just recently released his debut album If We’re Not Talking. I was duly impressed with the tracks that I’ve heard thus far, and it seems to me that Shraya has got a sound that can take him to the top of the elbo.ws charts. The song “Fevered” sounds vocally like an excellent Apples in Stereo song that’s got somehow got mixed in a blender with Of Montreal’s catchy 60′s pop rhythms. “Chemistry” is a little more on the electronic side, with a pounding beat and some kitchy guitars. Be sure to check out his myspace here, and buy If We’re Not Talking.

Listen to “Fevered” (4.8/5)
Listen to “Chemistry” (4.5/5)

It is just a matter of time before electropop supergroup, Dragonette, blows up somewhere, whether in Canada, the UK, the US, the blog world, at trashy high school dance parties, or at least at zombie dance parties. The band has already established relentless credibility with the pop music blog Popjustice. It seems the band is mentioned every other day and the blog has deemed Dragonette their “favourite new pop act of the last four years.” Hmm…what about Gareth Gates? I’ll keep backin’ Gareth with you Simon–how’s that comeback album coming?

The band, whose first full-length album Galore is due to release in the UK this August, has had moderate success with the first singles “Jesus doesn’t love me” and “I get around.” The band has just released its third single, “Take it like a man,” which includes a sultry video based on ‘Boogie Nights.’ Galore is a masterful collection of edgy pop tunes that are suitable for the rock club, the dance floor, or the bedroom. Vocally, Dragonette’s frontwoman Martina Sorbara bares some resemblance to Gwen Stefani, and seems to be an even bigger badass than Lily Allen. She says “yes when [she] oughta say no” and, as she proclaims in the harmlessly trashy “Black Limousine,” she’s a “woman with taste and a girl with true ambition.”

Brooklyn-Latino duo Pacha Massive has just released their debut album All Good Things, and I guarantee you will be impressed. Pacha Massive melds the best of electronic basslines, salsa rhythms, and silky smooth vocals to get you out of your chair and onto the dancefloor. These are sexy, mysterious beats that recall the Bossa Nova of Joao Gilberto and evoke comparisons to Thievery Corporation and Massive Attack (coincidence I guess). All Good Things is more of an niche album, as it probably won’t find its way to the blogosphere (it hasn’t yet at least). For some reason, latino-based music never really seems to sell big in the US–I don’t think there’s a stigma of anything towards it, but that just seems to be the trend. Well don’t be a bumbling fool and ignore Pacha Massive.
Go and check out their myspace here from some tracks, and then buy the album here.

Listen to “Oye Mira” (4.8/5)
Listen to “Drive” (4.6/5)

Out of Reykjavik, Iceland come a trio backed by Sindri Sigfoessen that write mellowed pop songs laced over gentle strings and Beirut-like trumpets. Their debut album The Ghost That Carried Us Away is really a case-and-point for lo-fi folk that avoids over production that often clutters arrangements that are written to be bare. The end result is a band with an identity that straddles between Air’s vocals, Andrew Bird’s violin, and Beirut’s trumpets. This sensitive outpouring is a delightful album, although it seems that at times it fails to be diverse enough. Both bookends of the album are well-crafted and stand on their own, but the middle tracks (‘Sailor Blue’ and ‘Lost Watch’) seem to just get lost in the mix. However, tracks like ‘Libraries’ impress with their more prevalent drum rhythms that lend to a more upbeat approach to the folk song. Or take a listen to ‘I Sing I Swim’, a twangy piano jingle that is sure to be in your head for days.

Go to their myspace for more tracks.
Listen to “I Sing I Swim” (4.7/5)
Listen to “Owl Waltz” (4.75/5)

First, listen to him live on your computer as he twangs it up with a Charley Patton song, “I’m goin’ home” (4.37/5)
Tonight, watch (and listen) to him live on your t.v. as he performs on Conan O’brien
Also, check out the CSV archives on Andrew Bird:
– Listen to the mp3 of his Dr. Stringz performance
– Read the album review of Armchair Apocrypha
– Read about and see pictures from his performance at Northwestern University (plus hear “11:11″ live)