The Hotness is your daily look at 3 new songs that are amazing, essential, and are sure to make you horny. Ok, the last part isn’t necessarily true. But if you don’t like at least one of these three songs, you need to check 1) Your testosterone levels 2) Your estrogen levels 3) Your hearing.
Capital Cities is an LA-based electropop duo comprised of Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian and are easily one of the biggest breaths of fresh air that I have heard in quite some time. It’s no secret that the electropop genre is WAY too oversaturated and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to separate yourself from the rest of the pack. But in the end, good songwriting trumps all, and Capital Cities’ debut EP is full of so much quality that I’m pretty sure it’ll end up firmly inside my Top 10 EPs of 2011 come years’ end. Off the top of my head, I can’t even think of anyone in the EP category that even comes close to matching these guys song-for-song with better choruses, vocals and gorgeous lyrics than Capital Cities. I don’t have anything witty or revolutionary to report about them or their sound as I’m too busy dissecting their gorgeous lyrics, but you must check out their single “Safe And Sound” and everything else these guys record. (Ah, fuck it..I’ve also included their gorgeous song “Love Away” as well. So good. Enjoy!)
*Captital Cities’ self-titled debut EP will be self-released on 18 June.
http://capitalcitiesmusic.com/
Capital Cities “Safe And Sound”
Capital Cities “Love Away”
Handsome Furs is a Montreal-based synthy indie rock duo made up of singer Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexei Perry. They’ve released 3 albums thus far, but I have to admit that, until a friend sent me their latest single What About Us a few months ago, I hadn’t heard of them. Their synth-punk-dance style could not be more up my alley unless they were New Order..that’s how good these guys are. Need more proof? Well let’s just say that ANYONE who is able to get me to go running for anything other than balls on a tennis court deserves mad props. I absolutely LOATHE working out, but Handsome Furs’ latest album has had me working my ASS off in a place other than the bedroom. Ok, that was crass. Just buy their album, OK?
(Click the arrow on the side of the SoundCloud player to download the song for free!)
*Handsome Furs’ third album, Sound Kapital, is 28 June on Subpop Records.
http://handsomefurs.com/posts/dispatch/
Handsome Furs “Repatriated” (FREE DOWNLOAD!)
Ren Riz and Van Go Lion are independently two of my favorite new artists. Together, they’re almost as good as Nutella. Dayum. Ren Riz is an Australian DJ whose brand of nudisco is as hot as anyone out there right now. I learned about his music through Monsieur Adi, another one of my favorite DJs. Van Go Lion is the Portand, OR-based dance pop duo of Amy Paige and Josh Loerzel and have been responsible for some of my favorite pop songs of the last year or two. Amy’s low voice is the perfect antidote to the high-pitched obnoxious wailing that seems to rape my eardrums on a daily basis. Not a whole lot else I can say about these guys other than to add them to your list of artists to watch for the foreseeable future and check out their eargasmic collaboration, Faces, below.
(Click the arrow on the side of the SoundCloud player to download the song for free!)
http://www.vangolion.com/homepage
Ren Riz featuring Van Go Lion “Faces” (FREE DOWNLOAD)
