Some of you read my post raving about the new band The Chevin for their strong and obvious 80’s influence. In the intervening days, as time allowed, I’ve been investigating newer band that are alleged to be in the same vein of the early 80’s sound. I have heard of this supposedly happening for a while but anytime I hear something, it sounds modern with only an occasional sound that harkens back to the day. During this recent bit of exploration, I’ve encountered some bands that really embody what I/we loved about early 80’s music and would love to hear other bands/artists you think may fall into this category. Here are some of my likes/dislikes thus far. I would highly suggest sampling some of these if you’ve not heard of them:
Austra – Canadian artsy electro band with stunning vocals by classically trained female. The electronics are all right out of the early 80’s with gorgeous and haunting melodies and singing. They’ve released one album that’s currently available on a deluxe 2 CD edition.
Lose it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LJtMrhb558
Spellwork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuoQgkPK ... ure=relmfu
Trust – This is actually a side project by a member of Austra, though the music here is very much in a dark electro, early/mid 80’s Gothic style with a very unique male vocalist.
Sulk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuiKeaqERTU
Then of course there are some other bands that have been around for a while that completely escaped my notice, even though they’ve had some commercial success, such as The Killers, Arcade Fire and White Lies. I’ve purchased CD’s by all of the above and would love to continue this streak. A couple years ago I got into La Roux for their authentic synthpop. Even though their breakthrough hit in the U.S. was a song called Bulletproof (I hate the song but love the video), I was more partial to their debut Quicksand, and only found the album a partial success.
Some bands that I’ve heard recommended and sampled but couldn’t get into are Muse, King of Leon, Arctic Monkeys. Just not my style. So if any of you have other suggestions for me to investigate let me know. I’m very excited by some of these bands.
Scott

