the sunday superlative - 5/31/09

This Week: Boing-Boom-Tschak, Techno-Pop.



I like my electronica. Maybe a little too much. Even this week's theme heading is a geeky electro reference. But let's be honest: you know that old saying, "The fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach"? Not true with me. The fastest way to my heart is through a well-crafted electropop song. As much as I love ambition and creativity and envelope-pushing, sometimes I just wanna dance. Here are a few choice cuts by artists who share that sentiment.

Party on, Wayne.

Fischerspooner - "Never Win" (mp3|5.48MB)
It's nice to like a song just because it's catchy. Fischerspooner is not a pretentious band. I wonder if they know what pretensions are (I mean, they're a duo named Fischer and Spooner, respectively; I'm not sure you can get much more unpretentious than that). They just make straightforward, often very well written dance-pop that no doubt thrills just as much on the floor as it does through the headphones. "Never Win" is my personal favorite from their 2005 sophomore album: it's an energetic stomp through lyrical themes that, while not exactly new to pop music, come across as relatively lightweight and fun just because of the guys' approach. Check it out. You'll be humming it to yourself on your commute tomorrow morning, I promise. Or, well, actually I don't. But it is highly addictive.
(from the 2005 album Odyssey)

Ladytron - "Destroy Everything You Touch" (mp3|9.28MB)
It took one song for Ladytron to win me over forever. One listen to "Destroy Everything You Touch" and I was a goner. This wasn't merely one of the best tracks of 2005; it's shaping up to be one of the best singles of the entire decade. It's the kind of song so good that the band will have to struggle for the rest of their career to even come close to matching its power, as good as their other stuff may be (and it certainly is). Moving away from their prior plasticky-sounding electroclash stylings, they created a more full-blooded and domineering sound with their '05 opus Witching Hour (the entirety of which you also need), and as a result created something most electro fans will have an extremely hard time saying "no" to. "Destroy" is an icy, pounding, vigorous song, but sexily so. In essence, I imagine it's everything these guys (and gals) ever wanted to do with their music. It's certainly everything I'll ever want from it.
(from the 2005 album Witching Hour)

Plastic Operator - "Singing All the Time" (mp3|6.63MB)
It's the vocals. I've spent months dissecting this song, trying to figure out just what makes it so charming. Instrumentally, it's just your standard, run-of-the-mill synth swooner, but the slightly accent-laden voice of Pieter Van Dessel takes the song and knocks it clear out of the park. It seems appropriate for a song called "Singing All the Time," no? His highly melodic delivery is soothing in an almost preternatural way. I can't get enough of it. It's perfectly lovely, and in hindsight one of 2007's most overlooked gems. Too overlooked, in fact: Plastic Operator is the band that foiled even the supposedly infallible Amoeba. As much as I'd still gladly sell my soul to that heavenly Hollywood landmark, I asked a clerk specifically about these guys and he came up empty. Ah well. That's what the internet is for, right? Right. Check it out. It's the kind of buried treasure that inspires you to dig for more just so you can match it. That, to me, is pretty inspiring.
(from the 2007 album Different Places)

Pure Reason Revolution - "AVO" (mp3|8.01MB)
Sorry if I keep harping on this band, but I can't help it, okay? They are responsible for what is incontestably, in my eyes at least, one of 2009's finest albums, and the sad truth is that no one outside of a smallish cult following knows about them. Contrary to what most fans might say, this year's Amor Vincit Omnia is a marked improvement over their also-great 2006 debut The Dark Third: they've moved away from a lush, Floydian prog-rock into a more synthetic electronica while still holding onto the epic tendencies and stylistic touches that made them unique in the first place (multi-part vocal harmonies, anyone?). It's a small wonder the best songs are actually the ones that rely most heavily on their newfound synths and drum machines. Despite many stand-out tracks, they could not have chosen a more fitting closer than "AVO." What starts off as a gentle piano ballad with electronic embellishments gradually escalates into a life-affirming war cry, with the album's title being chanted over and over to astonishing effect. Simpy put: you need this song if you don't have it, and you need to listen to it again if you do. It's that good.
(from the 2009 album Amor Vincit Omnia)

yeah okay i did four songs again but its not like i had a choice in the matter

As always, send lovemail/hatemail/anymail related to the Sunday Superlative or even some synth bloops of your own to fridayfiveradio@gmail.com. The latter is especially true if your name is Thom Yorke and you want my personal opinion on your band's new album in advance of its release.