Dels

How do they do it?
Moshi Moshi records that is. They just keep putting out incredible records, and most recently they've found Dels. Put out through their singles club, Dels' debut seven-inch, Lazy, is one of the most exciting things i've heard all year. With glitchy beats produced by Joe from Hot Chip, Dels, Kieren Dickins to his friends, rattles off rhymes with an ease, confidence and natural swagger of untapped talent. Lazy features cowbells and hand-claps with Dels nonchalantly reminiscing of mellow days but its b-side Myself Malfunction which really gets me going on.
Starting with Daft Punk-esque robot vocals, subtle drums and Dels add to the mix but its when the drums ramp up, the bass line drops in and the squealing synths invade that it all goes wild. Like the best garage tune So Solid never realised, Joe's production is immense and the track never falters from being incredible. Dels' rapping is intense, about queues, raves and bouncers, he's been there and done it, you can almost feel the scratch of gravel pavement, the glare of bus-stop lights and the sound of passing sirens. Its there, vivid and sharp, on vinyl and if there's more like this to come from Kieren, everyone will want to be there too.

Dels - Myself Malfunction

Get Lazy from Moshi Moshi as soon as you can

Dance Dance Dance

I think I'm quite late on Lykke Li too but she's so good that i don't really care.
I've have Dance Dance Dance on my itunes for ages but only really gave it attention when my girlfriend played it to me while driving somewhere. Its the sort of gorgeous, soulful indie pop that can only come out of Scandinavia. Lykke's rich but innocent vocals are the driving force, gently taking you by the arm and leading you across a floor made of scatty beats and plunking guitars. The track glides effortlessly, unstrained and beautiful and then out of nowhere a jazzy sax appears, i found it completely surprising, i was taken aback by the sudden sidestep into brassy realms but the change almost makes the song, just taking it far enough away to keep you second guessing but close enough so that its comfortable. I can't wait to get my hands on her album Youth Novels if this and the couple of other tracks i've heard are anything to go by.

Lykke Li - Dance Dance Dance

Flakes

I'm a bit late on this i guess. With that I mean The Mystery Jets and this flowing and bewitching tune. I missed out on The M. Jets first album, Making Dens, in 2006. It just seemed to past me by like a gentle drizzle if I wearing a water proof onesie and had a golf umbrella. I'm sad it did because after hearing Flakes a couple of times I wanted to be drenched in their dappled, crisp, seeping sound.

The vocal melodies glow and strobe in amongst a rich, fresh blanket of noise; the guitars hum and buzz canorously and the drum beat is sharp and not intrusively snappy. The track softly grows and the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" and "break-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-ek" bits add extra singalongness to the already catchy vocal part.

This track and their latest, and also utterly brilliant, single Young Love, which features the also utterly brilliant Laura Marling, have made me extremely excited about their Erol Alkan produced album "21", which comes out later this month. I shall be purchasing that shiny bit of plastic on the 24th for sure.

The Mystery Jets - Flakes