Big in 2010: Five acts to have on your radar
New year means new music; time to pleasure your ears
Alex Kozela
Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Detour
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One of the more refreshing new genres to come to the surface of the musical world in the last year is that of chill-wave, which can best be described as lo-fi synth-pop with filtered vocals and electronic loops. Toro y Moi, the alias of South Carolina musician Chaz Bundick, is the top name in the genre. His successful integration of thumping hip-hop beats and soulful yet distorted vocals help make his debut album, Causers of This, due February 23, a smoother, more danceable version of Animal Collective. The album's stand-out track, "Talamak," has been featured on Kanye West's blog.
DELPHIC
Uniting dance floor electronics and rock has historically been remarkably difficult to master. Artists such as Bloc Party have implemented electronic beats alongside their indie sound to mixed reviews. Manchester-based quartet Delphic have done this seamlessly and may have recorded the first great album of 2010 with Acolyte, which was released in the UK earlier this month. The band's sound is radio-friendly yet tremendously true and organic; debut single "Counterpart" is a perfect representation of this. The song is a six-minute electronica romp which the band's brilliance is effectively shown. Even from the beginning of the track, a glitchy Kraftwerk-like beat comes blazing into your ears out of nowhere.
THEOPHILUS LONDON
Last year, KiD CuDi was a breath of fresh air for hip-hop, as his spacey electronic beats and his impressive flow of singing mixed with rapping turned into a groundbreaking album in Man on the Moon: End of the Day. Now it is Brooklyn's Theophilus London turn to further evolve hip-hop to new heights. London's "TNT" would have no problem fitting on CuDi's album, with its ice-cold electro beats and refreshing lyrics. Clearly drawing inspiration from a variety of musical sources-he cites Quincy Jones and Ian Curtis as influences-London is the antithesis of mainstream hip-hop. And there will be plenty of opportunities to see him in 2010; he has teamed up with Mark Ronson and Sam Sparro to form the band Chauffeur and his debut album is expected to come out soon as well.
DARWIN DEEZ
Speaking of new scenes such as chill-wave, now comes the "indie rock with a side of calisthenics" and "happy music for sad people" of New York-based Darwin Deez and his backing band. Just one listen of the infectious single "Constellations," which sounds like the Strokes' Julian Casablancas singing on a Phoenix track, makes it tough not to become hooked. With a strikingly unique image-Deez has shaggy-poodle hair that he wears with a shoe-lace headband-and a fresh indie-pop sound, his debut album, which is due out this spring, is definitely not one to overlook.
CHAPEL CLUB
It seems as if every year, a new band comes out of England that dons all-black garb and draws heavily on the post-punk sounds of the Cure, the Smiths and Joy Division. Last year, that band was the White Lies. This year, that band is London's Chapel Club. One might think that this style of music is being vastly overplayed and it's time to move on. Not so. With To Lose My Life, the White Lies scored the UK's first straight-to-number-one album of 2009, and the hype is similar for the gloom-rock quintet Chapel Club. Bands like the Smiths and Joy Division may be influences to many, but because they were so groundbreaking for their time period it truly isn't surprising that new bands continuously add their own twist to their style and become successful. Time will tell if Chapel Club is able to continue this trend, but with songs like new single "O Maybe I," early signs indicate they will.