Next Big Thing Alert: The Shortwave Set

Yesterday we discussed the merits of Danger Mouse producing brilliant pop albums in 2008, and listed, in passing, a new artist out of the UK called The Shortwave Set. Certainly they deserve much more than just a passing mention, and so instead we've liberally deemed them a Next Big Thing.

Their debut EP, The Debt Collection, garnered the attention of D Mouse, possibly due to its description as a "Victorian Funk Masterwork" (never mind that it was the band themselves that described it as such, nor that there isn't much in the way of a Victorian Funk Failure). Earlier this month their Danger Mouse-produced sophomore release, Replica Sun Machine, was released on Wall of Sound. Recorded in LA, the album also just happens to feature orchestration by Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks, not to mention contributions on two songs from The Velvet Underground's John Cale. Ho hum.

With a psychedelic-cum-a.m.-radio vibe reminiscent of Air in songs like "Harmonia", "Replica", and "Distant Daze", intermingled with 60s dream-pop numbers "Glitches N Bugs" and "Sun Machine" sounding like a British New Pornographers, Replica Sun Machine provides a cohesive collection of atmospheric pop music. And Danger Mouse's stamp is clearly demarcated throughout. Have a listen:

"Harmonia" mp3

"No Social" video


"Replica" video










Go get the album, Replica Sun Machine.


Make friends @ http://www.myspace.com/theshortwaveset.

-J2

Beck + Danger Mouse = Favorite Song of the Day

It only makes sense that Beck and Danger Mouse would eventually work together on a project, and on its way sometime soon is Modern Guilt. Given their affinity for spaced-out, LSD-infused bubblegum-pop and obscure deep grooves from the 60s & 70s, their collaboration was inevitable. And so Danger Mouse has produced Beck's latest LP with a potential release date in June or July.

The first leaked track, "Chemtrails", is garnering justifiable comparisons to Pink Floyd thanks to the thunderous drumming of Joey Waronker. But Beck's lilting and wispy vocals recall Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson, and until those powerhouse drums kick in, "Chemtrails" crawls through the hills of Southern California more than those of Cambridge.


It's probably safe to say that Danger Mouse gets our vote for Producer of the Year 2008 (if that award exists). So far he's brought us new albums from The Black Keys, Gnarls Barkley, Martina Topley-Bird, The Shortwave Set, and now the latest from Beck. And to think, just four years ago he was a 26 year old up-and-coming DJ who'd illegally made the greatest hip-hop album of the decade that never made a cent.

Check out Beck.com for fun with flash media.

-J2