There are a lot of great new songs out there. These are only a few of them.
Great Good Fine OK’s Syrupy ‘Already Love’
Photo Credit: Great Good Fine OK.
The Brooklyn synthpop duo Great Good Fine OK (Jon Sandler and Luke Moellman) have released “Already Love,” which pairs the catchy choruses of corporate pop with the creative exploits of the scrappier artists in New York’s most popular borough.
The 80s-laden sugar they pile on is earnest, though. Don’t mistake this for some kind of cynical genre study.
Enjoy this song and see them live. They’re performing in a variety of states and Toronto.
Paperwhite Releases ‘On My Own’
Photo Credit: Taylor Lucas.
Paperwhite has been busy this year, periodically releasing singles in the run-up to the release of the duo’s new EP.
The songs have generally been tighter, somewhat dancier, and more polished than their previous fare, but they all retain the same gigantic sense of wonder that paradoxically feels so intimate.
This time around we have “On My Own,” which has an unmistakable Tears for Fears vibe that nevertheless is 100 percent Paperwhite. There’s no confusing this with anything but another great song from Brooklyn-based siblings Katie and Ben Marshall.
The duo are doing live shows, including one with Great Good Fine OK in Brooklyn. See if you can experience their brand of bliss.
Castlemill Calls for ‘Play Time’
I’m going to be all Vehlinggo and throw in something off the wall here. Castlemill is a very unknown American score composer who is able to create compelling and quirky work in several different genres.
He’s currently working on video-game projects, and “Play Time” sounds ripe for inclusion in some kind of fantastical game that obliterates the boundaries placed on the imagination. It also sounds a bit like some of the eccentric fare coming out of Japan from artists such as Boogie Idol and CrazyRomantic.
Although he’s not quite there yet, I could see Castlemill getting on the same track as Disasterpeace — creating intuitive video game scores that lead to opportunities to create killer and profoundly popular film scores.
Avec Sans Brings on the ‘Heartbreak Hi’
Photo Credit: Avec Sans.
British duo Avec Sans (Jack St. James and Alice Fox) recently released “Heartbreak Hi,” a delightful synthpop cut that fluctuates in intensity from aggressive caution to blissfully carefree.
The arrangement has great hooks, massive choruses, and gorgeous vocals. The single will be on their forthcoming album, which they’re working on now. Actually, you can pre-order it right now before its June 3 release.
As an aside: I’m going to throw this out there. Maybe Great Good Fine OK, Paperwhite and Avec Sans could spearhead some dreamy synthpop/dancepop festival in Brooklyn?