Girls just wanna have fun

Ok .. Its about time I did another music round up and this time the girls have it.

Lets start with the most polished ... Janelle Monae's debut full length The Archandroid has finally dropped after a very strong EP and countless celeb-whoring mini-gigs round the traps ...

 
anything with a retro sci-fi vibe is always going to do it for me ... and the Metropolis/Bladerunner allusions come thick and fast ... but ultimately this is a fun album ... not one to dissect academically over a glass of wine ... but one to shake booty to over a few bottles ...

if we had to make a comparison then she is the female equivalent of Outkast/Gnarls Barkely ... this Saturnine Dorothy is well and trully no longer in Kansas!!

Moving up the spectrum to the elctro-punk sophistication of Crystal Castles ...

this their second effort also self titled consists a measured approach that conveys less a sense of maturity, but more a tenacious sense of idendity ... as if to say when we were new, our approach was mired in chaos but we are no longer inbetweeners ... we are young adults!

Make no mistake, this is what today's Yoof sound like ... part raver, part lo fi skank rock, opp shop and the odd flash of couture, and an all-knowing slouch ... but I like the sound ... almost drone like swathes of noise accented by vintage bleeps providing interesting rhythmic counterpoint ... you start dancing but stand stock still without realising it ... immersed in the electronic pulse of a surprisingly accomplished album.

And now to the lo-fi end of the spectrum ... is my Micachu moment for 2010 ... a great new band that manages to defy easy classification. Its the Sleigh Bells with their debut Treats.

Its not entirely new ... but these guys throw everything bar the kitchen sink into the mix ... and still come out with a sonic punch ... look its nursery rhyme call outs, layered vocals, electronic guitar rock stabs and shuddering beats that could cause a migraine if dialled up to 11. Ah but so much fun! You have to jangle these bells at some point ...  dare I say it ... kinda like a wasp-y MIA? I think this is what the Ting Tings think they are ... in their heads.

Guys ... you better step up!