album : madison’s dance-pop on 'the noise some people make'

It may still be a long time coming (January 11, 2011), and it may not have anything to with Oregon (except for the recent RAC remix) or even the West Coast, but Madison’s debut EP, The Noise Some People Make, is electro-hot. And it may be only four swift songs, clocking in at under 13 minutes (we have two of them for you below!), but they’re soon to be burning up the dance-pop charts across the country.

With the same spunk and blonde eye-appeal as Norway’s Annie, Madison comes to us from NYC via Miami with her self-proclaimed “high fashion for lowbrows” first exposed with sunny, faithful love on her single "#1" (below), which mixes the sexiest, breathless moments of Goldfrapp with poppier synth lines.Thumping electro flatulence and acoustic plucks mark the opening of a building dance jam where clever, sensual lyrics coax you to keep the “Lights Low” because “this ain’t no church, there ain’t no steeple.” Although the third track “Superwoman” loses traction due to its lack of lyrical originality, it is ripe for radio play as it perfectly fits somewhere between Britney and Gaga. With posh, Kardashian talk of glitterati, money and life in the spotlight, Madison bows down at the celebutante altar. But she wins you back and then some with her Nancy Sinatra electro-twang and sultry appeal on “Hot Hot Love” (below) closing it out with a ditsy-fun cheerleader chant.---
Read the rest and download two tracks on OMN.

album : crystal castles drops second self-titled album ahead of schedule

The Toronto experimental electronic duo Crystal Castles were slated to release their second album, also titled Crystal Castles just as their first (or iTunes adds a (II)), on May 25th. But after so-called “phenomenal demand and anticipation” for the new CC, the band digitally released their album a month early, Monday, April 26th on Fiction Records.

What follows is 53 minutes of contrasts.

Recalling that their first album was a collection of new tracks accompanied by songs found on demos and 7 and 12-inches released between 2005 to 2007, one might expect their second studio release to flow a bit more cohesively. No, why would anybody expect that?

Every track is singular. Purposely avoiding a smooth flow, many stop abruptly, collapsing at the end of their energy burst, before encouraging the next divergent cut and twist (many of which also take place within each individual track).

When the album soars with trance-y vibes and vox (“Celestica”), it is sharply and immediately contrasted by the following punky electro violence (“Doe Deer”), uncanned with scratched screams and adrenaline pumps.

The video-game feel of their debut takes a backseat, emerging towards the end of the album (“Pap Smear,” “Not In Love,” “Intimate”), with the rest relying more on ethereal dance beats (“Suffocation”) or the standout Oakenfold-Electronic Arts-Karen O technoclash of “Baptism.” The Sigur Ros-sampled “Year of Silence” takes the jubilant, angelic playfulness of the original song, “Inní mér syngur vitleysingur,” and dirties it up with sticky synth mud.

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Read the rest on OMN.

album : mgmt congratulates themselves on sophomore album

Congratulations, MGMT. You’ve just released your second record–a look into the creatively twisted psyches of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden who’ve never quite taken anything too seriously.

Congratulations, listener. You’ve just entered a new aural world where MGMT makes the decisions and they’ve decided not to create a straightforward, electro-pop album. If you’ve made it through the first listen and haven’t tossed it aside, it warrants additional spins.

Produced by the duo and Sonic Boom (Spacemen 3, E.A.R., Spectrum, and credited as the “master of ceremonies”), Congratulations is a testament that no one knows exactly what is going on inside MGMT’s collective heads. Sonic Boom is the first to admit that although he spent nine months (“the pregnant portion of a year”) with MGMT, it “hasn’t led me to deceive I know MGMT better than anyone else.”

A meandering mystery of transformations, Congratulations does not lack in dance intuition but changes too much, too quickly to be a cohesive dance party...

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Read the rest on OMN.