Lincoln Jesser :: "We'll Be Fine"

It is a feature of both the synthesizer fever of the past few years and the crippling hype of modernity that causes so many artists to look down at their keyboards and think, "Somewhere in you is the five note sequence that can rocket me to fame." But it's a pop math problem: In what order should those notes go? Which of those thousands of possibilities will be the magical panacea that will launch a career from the depths of a regional club scene, a college campus, or a bedroom. The dream proves powerful. Just ask MGMT, who largely made their career on the four or five note hook of "Kids". Progeny of Los Angeles, Lincoln Jesser answers the question immediately on "We'll Be Fine", a quick stutter-step of electro-pop that will remind the listener of the very excellent debut solo EP from the RAC. Of course, this is all a trope; we've all seen it before. But even this expectation does little to remove the charm from the ebullient hooks and subtle, creeping sadness of "We'll Be Fine". As Jesser sings, no matter the odds or the history of synthesizer pop, "still we try."

Prides :: "Out Of The Blue"

Glasgow three-piece Prides announce their arrival with a nasal and modulating synthesizer loop. Sitting just short of the five-note hook for MGMT's "Kids" in terms of pure catchiness, "Out Of The Blue" leverages this synth line against slamming percussion loops and a glittering backdrop of digitized sounds, an instantly memorable debut single. Sounding a bit like We Were Promised Jetpacks playing an Erasure cover, the winsome moral victories of Scottish music blend easily with the adolescent fatalism of synthesizer pop. Much of the charm of "Out Of The Blue" lies in the repeated lyrical motif of the word, "no", a head-shaking, visceral and emotive response. An instant-repeat candidate, the kind of band that will seize the ears of talent buyers and A&Rs alike, "Out Of The Blue", despite all these assorted "no's", only waits for the larger affirmation that surely awaits in the coming months.

Reptar :: "Orifice Origami"

Past the graphic title of "Orifice Origami" is the first chord of summer. Reptar, a band about to rise somewhere between Givers and MGMT circa 2008, unleash an absolute burner behind the lyrics, "Something's not alright here" as synths buzz and shiver as if they were struck with a gigantic, youthful gong. The rest proves a summertime anthem with little doubt that this will be one of the breakout bands of the next few months as they tour with GROUPLOVE and make their way into the hearts of thousands of relentless, face-painted youth. Stream below, like the band on Facebook for a free download or, just click here.

Capital Cities :: "Safe And Sound"

Remember the first time you heard "Kids" or "Sleepyhead"or "1901"? Each of these summer anthems were so transcendent that in retrospect you don't need to attach band names, only the years 2007, 2008, and 2009 respectively; the songs spoke for themselves and the bands blew up. In 2011, it will be Capital Cities, a Los Angeles electro pop act with a buzzy summer jam, "Safe And Sound", replete with a hefty downbeat and an airbrushed trumpet hook. Easy rhymes like "even in a hurricane of frowns/we'll be safe and sound" or "in a tidal wave of mystery/I know you'll be standing next to me" and lyrics that run in exact time with the 4/4 time signature make "Safe And Sound" instantly digestable, the kind of lather, rinse, repeat pop that is so intensely satisfying. In the first lyric, "I could lift you up," served over stomping synths, arrives as the thesis statement. Even three years later everything is still going to the beat.

Listen :: Capital Cities - "Safe And Sound"