Datarock
Datarock Datarock
Young Aspiring Professionals

The Ambiguously Gay-Disco Duo known as Datarock puts out. Hip-shaking, butt-bopping dance-pop tunes, that is. (Not that there is anything wrong with that!) These guys know that it's not just about music, but about the image, too. Norwegian indie rockers Fredrik Saroea (vocals, guitars, drums and keys) and Ketil Mosnes (bass and backing vocals) don red hoodie jumpsuits and pimp-out in Porsche wraparound sunglasses. Image aside, these guys know how to cook together tightly-knit pop tunes with a full helping of disco beats and cheese-filled lyrics as in the Grease-inspired words of their pencil-protector-loving track “Computer Camp Love“ -- “Tell me more was it love at first sight...“. The Dynamic Duo released Datarock Datarock in 2005 off of their own label, Young Aspiring Professionals. From the Talking Heads-inspired sound of “Sex Me Up,“ to the angst and homo-eroticism of “Princess“ the band's range of influences and inspiration for lyrics is both narrow and deep, respectively (very much like a bunghole). Datarock is no doubt bridging the gap between kitschy and cool. In the anti-semantical “Fa-fa-fa,“ the boys concoct a contagious disco groove with a hoity-toity guitar riff and strutting bass-line a la Taste of Honey's 1978 chart-topper, “Boogie Oogie Oogie.”



Honeycut
The Day I Turned to Glass
Quannum Projects

Casting this San Francisco-Bay Area trio into one particular music genre would be like leaving the 'Computer' in 'Apple Computer, Inc.'. The hip-hop and soul vibes are unavoidable. The experimental jams and jazz interludes of “Aluminum City” and “Dysfunctional” cannot be ignored on their debut album, The Day I Turned To Glass. Released off of the hip-hop label, Quannum Projects, the band's lead crooner and local celeb Bart Davenport's voice is sweet and soulful. The trio also includes RV Salters, keyboard maestro behind the synth-driven tunes and Tony Sevener and his heart-pulsing and sometimes-flatulating but oh-so-cool electro-beats. The highlight of the album is Honeycut at its pop-iest: “Shadows” organ intro gets mauled over by a motorcade of simple rock beats backed by a muted guitar riff, which rides the song's entirety. “Shadows” is pop gold that only Honeycut could have mined -- unique, eclectic musical wizardry. Buy their album now.



Baskervilles
Midnight
Secret Crush Records

The new-wave pop sound the Baskervilles offered to the indie pop scene when they formed in 1997 was a refreshing alternative to the post-grunge sellouts of the late 90s. This New York City underground band found something new and different when the members ditched their punk roots for shinier and poppier, synthed-up song shoes. From the opening song, “Midnight At The Underground Club,“ Rob Keith's hypnotic whisper along with Christoph Gerozissis's frenetic bass backbeat, pulls you through a crowded New York City nightclub, finally waking you up from your stupor in the chorus with a polite echo in your ear--“It's midnight!“ You think the dance is over, but then you get sucked further into the depths of the Baskervilles’ scene, with the snappy rhythms and delicate sprinkling of Stephanie Finucane's synths in “I Danced With Kate Moss,“ which possesses the same wanton playfulness as in The Zombie's “She's Not There.“ This second album from the Baskervilles reaches darker and dreamier places than their first album (an LP simply called Baskervilles). The songs still have that same pop, new-wave feel but prove that this NYC quartet is timelessly fashionable in both their musical style and colorful narratives. Midnight coaxes, dreams, and pleases. It is optimistic and dark, yet lovely in a New York-kind-of-way.