Fridae

Hot New Talent Alert: Van She

Straight from the sunny shores of Sydney, Australia comes the breezy, new-wavish electro pop of Van She. The group is signed to Modular Records and will finally releasing their much-anticipated, self-titled EP in North America on August 15. First single from the mini album is the deliciously infectious "Kelly" that is the ideal song for making out according to the video that was directed by Nicholas Randle.

The handsome quartet of Nick Routledge (vocals, guitar), Matt Van Schie (bass), Michael Di Francesco (synths) and Tomek Archer (drums) first got together last year when they responded to an ad in Sydney's Drum Media Magazine. Their common love for groups like Daft Punk, Devo, Sigur Ros and The Mars Volta set off a spark that has put the band in high gear for international success. That special aura that Modular Records provides sure does help as well to get the band noticed. The Australian label has been on the forefront of putting out some of the best new acts in 2005 and 2006, including Arjan Writes faves The Presets.

Like a lot of bands inspired by '80 music, Van She has a mighty fine sense of fashion with their colorful square ties and white skinny jeans. All the gay innuendo aside, their yummy drummer wearing an image of Karl Lagerfeld on his t-shirt in the image above needs to get bonus points just for giving proper credit to the fashion gods that have made this world a more fabulous place. Check out Van She. Highly recommended.

Watch Van She "Kelly" [YouTube]
Download Van She "Sex City" [via MySpace]

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Stream New Pet Shop Boys Mixes
The buzz about the Pet Shop Boys' new album "Fundamental" faded quickly after it was released last month. I think one of the reasons is that the group has not made much time to do press in some of their key markets. I remember that when "Release" came out, the group was easy to get a hold of. But EMI and Rhino might have been overthinking their p.r. strategy and have been extremely picky with making Neil and Chris available to the media. That's really too bad. "Fundamental" is a great album and deserved a lot more coverage.

In any event, Pet Shop Boys released their new single "Minimal" in Europe yesterday and there is a lot to be excited about. The digital single on 7Digital contains 7 mixes including some very hot ones by Telex and Tiga. You can also get a unique UMYX remix at 7Digital that allows you to remix the track yourself on your PC or Mac. Really fun. Preview clips of the single mixes below. (Click here to buy the entire single or separate tracks on 7Digital.com.)

Telex Hell Remix
Telex Heaven Remix
Superchumbo's Light And Shade Dub
M-Factor Dub
M-Factor Mix
Tiga's M-I-N-I-M-A-L Dub
Tocadisco's Sunday At Space Mix

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Stream Ne-Yo "Sexy Love"
If you're disappointed by the abrasive beats of Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back," check out Ne-Yo's sugarsweet pop-soul tune "Sexy Love."

This song reminds me of what Quincy Jones recorded with Michael Jackson during the "Off The Wall" sessions in the early '80s. The song was composed by Mikkel S. Eriksen and Erik Hermansen of Norwegian songwriting team Stargate. The duo constructed an extremely solid pop song with a lush melody, slick background vocals and a subtle instrumentation laid over a contemporary beat. Even when you're not a fan of soul and R&B, I'm pretty sure many of you will appreciate this song for its nostalgic qualities.

Stream Ne-Yo "Sexy Love"

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Stream The Similou "All This Love"
While on the topic of Mylo, check out a new track by Swedish duo The Similou that easily could have been produced by the Scottish DJ. The band's "All This Love" is one of the contenders to be the European summer hit of 2006 with its slick '80s "rainbow stylings" and carefree lyrics. And yes, the guys even bring back the keytar. It's 1985 all over again!

Hailing from Gothenburg, The Similou are Jesse and Dizzy who first met in a recording studio in 2003. They share a love for everything '80s but it was their differences that set off a creative spark. "Dizzy and me are quite different, have different musical references, so of course this is reflected in our songs," says Erik in the group's press bio. "Dizzy is more musical and a skilled producer. I am more of a restless idea maker, I like the energy and weird sounds and ideas. I
think this can be heard in our music.”

"All This Love" is a fun track that will surely have audiences screaming for more. But The Similou's musical take on the '80s has all the ingredient of a gimmicky one hit wonder. The rubik's cubes in the video are just a little over the top. Personally, I favor the pop-crunchy tunes of Swedish duo Lo-Fi-Fnk who are less explicit in their use of '80s instrumentation and hooks. It all makes it a bit more interesting.

Listen The Similou "All This Love"
Watch The Similou "All This Love"