D-Floor Magic = Yes Giantess

Once upon a time, around 1983/1984, Michael Jackson (circa Thriller) and Prince (circa Purple Rain) had a torrid love affair and birthed a glorious synth-pop miracle child and it's name was Giantess.

Little Giantess was kept hidden in a secret music lab called Neon Gold, and fed a steady diet of John Hughes movies, Whitney Houston, Kajagoogoo and bits of Bowie, and through this miraculous concoction of eighties magic, Giantess morphed into a foursome of strapping young lads with a penchant for pop music.

Fast forward - 2010 and Giantess is now YES Giantess - clearly because the response to their dance floor driven jamz was an emphatic "YES" - and they are rapidly tearing up D-Floors across the country with their supersonic synths and infectious hooks.

Tuff N Stuff, the standout track off their 2009 EP You Were Young (produced by Passion Pit's Ayad Al-Adhamy), is grade A electro and it's catchy chorus is impossible to dislike. My low-fi loving friend over at Gnarly Sauce Music even admitted to feeling bubbly and filled with neon love after listening to Tuff N Stuff!

I recently caught Yes Giantess live at Santos Party House and they were AWE-SOMEEEE! Singer/keyboardist Jan Rosenfeld was all smiles as he sang and bopped around the stage with the same energy as Duckie from Pretty in Pink.
Surprisingly, the place was pretty empty, which is why I feel the need to share the awesomeness that is Yes Giantess, because in my world, they are totally radical and most excellent!

Sweet Jams -

Yes Giantess - Tuff N Stuff
Yes Giantess - The Ruins






New Video for "The Ruins"





Photos from the show at Santos:

The Postelles - White Night EP

It's The Strokes, mixed with a bit of du-wop, peppered with Ska, and smoothed out with some Motown vibes, and it's damn good. New York City based band, The Postelles announced the release of their debut EP White Night, due out March 2nd through Astralwerks. Interestingly enough, the EP was produced by "Stroke" Albert Hammond, Jr. at Electric Lady Studios in NYC - the resemblance is clear. But these guys are much more than just a new take on "the strokes," and their spin on the whole resurgence of fifties du-wop is unique and layered.

The quartet are launching a tour to promote the EP, and it begins with a few stops at Bowery Electric on February 10th and February 17th, before heading out on the road with Hockey (another great band from the left coast). The Postelles, whose name is reminiscent of the sound their tunage brings, will be making an appearance at SXSW in March and I expect they are a band we'll be hearing a lot more from in the coming year.

White Night consists of three tracks:
01. White Night
02. Sleep On The Dance Floor
03. Looking Glass

Here's an awesome older song -

The Postelles - 123 Stop

Oh No Ono - Oh YES YES YES!!!

 
Denmark breeds them well, I'll definitely say that. Oh No Ono is the newest batch of Danish broods to get hyped in the states and it's certainly understandable why. Besides being quite easy on the eyes, the psych-pop quintet delivers majestically synthesized rock, complete with the quintessential androgynous vocal (made popular by fellow Danes - Mew, amongst others), and juxtaposed instrumentals that blend airy flutes and bells with deep orchestral violins and drums.
Their fourth and latest effort, Eggs is a splendid smorgasbord of those styles -

Lucky for us, Oh No Ono is currently on tour in the US, and will be playing a set of shows this week in Manhattan and Brooklyn - WOOOOHOOOO!!!
Tomorrow, Tuesday January 26, 2009 Oh No Ono is playing a FREE SHOW at Sound Fix Records in W-burg at 7:00 pm.

Sadly, their Wednesday show at Mercury Lounge with Bear in Heaven is sold out - which I would have totally shelled out the whopping $10 to attend (had I formerly anticipated that the show would actually sell out) - Bear in Heaven is another psych-pop outfit from Brooklyn, with a different, yet equally awesome stylistic approach
Bear in Heaven - Deafening Love is a sweet track off their album Beast Rest Forth Mouth!

Anyway, the dapper Danes are playing a third show at Union Hall in the BK, on Thursday and tickets for that are still available.

I am most excited to see the band live - hopefully they will live up to all my hopes, dreams and naughty expectations....

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite Oh No Ono tracks from Eggs:
Oh No Ono - Helplessly Young
Oh No Ono - Internet Warrior
Oh No Ono - Swim