annie - tube stops and lonely hearts
celebrating 90's rave culture and italo house, pop dance norwegian diva annie returns with this steady hypnotic number co-produced by the UK pop powerhouse xenomania. it's not as insta-catchy as her previous efforts, but it sure is nice to hear new material after 4 years away. welcome back!
gossip - move in the right direction
[um... this kind of falls under the WTF category. i mean, i don't mind a beth ditto singing along to dance infused music, but this is kind of a misstep don't you think? i mean, even as a 'pop' song it's kind of not very good! i'm blaming producers xenomania for this mess... sigh...]
gossip - perfect world
[returning with new material since 2009, gossip are back and sounding more mature than ever (call me crazy, but i kind of hear fleetwood mac here). with an upcoming album called 'joyful noise', the collection originally started as a collaboration with mark ronson and eventually moved to the UK with the xenomania crew. it's an interesting mix and from the sounds of the 1st release, gossip are focusing on slow burns as opposed to their instant reaction past hits. i dig!]
feist - i feel it all [link 2] [good ol feist returns on the video front with yet another fun joy of life (this time with FIREWORKS!) collaboration with patrick daughters. i wonder how many times they had to rehearse with this one?]
duffy - mercy [link 2] [hailing from wales, duffy has been working with bernard butler (suede) for the past two years, honing her songwriting and vocal skills before getting the record label red carpet push that seems to surround her the past month. if you haven't discovered this polished retro star yet, now's a great time to get in on the bandwagon before her album is released early march. i'm a fan!]
adele - chasing pavements [link 2] [with her debut album 19 just released and this current single at #2 for the 2nd week in the UK charts, i feel like my duty to push adele to the masses is pretty much done. at this point, this gal is already a 2008 success story in my book. if you want to check out her recent cover of the strokes' "last nite" on the bbc live lounge, click here]
dawn landes - twilight [link 2] [there's always something peaceful and poignant when i hear modern bluegrass (especially when a female voice is involved). with a fine line from being folk music, acts like gillian welch and alison krauss constantly enter my playlist with high regard. now i can add NYC based dawn landes into my mix. i've only heard a few tracks from her album fireproof, but what i have heard is just lush. twilight reminds me of something you would hear at a modern day last chance saloon (ironic that the video is set in a beauty parlour). sigh...]
gabriella cilmi - sweet about me [link 2] [working with hot UK producers xenomania (sugababes/girls aloud AND upcoming 2008 projects by annie/franz ferdinand), aussie born uk based gabriella cilmi is quickly being hailed at amy winehouse-lite. not sure if that's fair or accurate, but there is something interesting about her voice. hopefully her debut album will produce some better tunes other than this catchy, yet 'bleh', 1st single.]
PS: if you are totally feeling duffy, here are two more videos just for you:
jools holland's annual hootenanny feat duffy - first cut is the deepest [the annual all star show in which the ever amazing jools holland gathers together his favorite voices and invites them to perform on his amazing stage. this year duffy was brought into the mix and rightfully so. this is just wonderful!]
PSS: check out this cute cover version of peter bjorn and john's "young folk" by dawn landes!
