Writers’ Choices – January 2013

**Major Lazer** – _Guns Don’t Kill People, Lazers Do_

DJs Diplo and Switch teamed up back in 2009 and created a veritable moombahton-dancehall bomb. Featured in several ‘Best Of’ lists for that year, every track features Jamaican artists and creates a musical tour-de-force that is guaranteed to get you jumping. The infamous ‘Pon de Floor’, “borrowed” by **Beyoncé** for ‘Run the World’, is instantly recognisable, as is ‘Mary Jane’, but listen out for gems like ‘Bruk Out’ and ‘When You Hear the Bassline’. Essential listening for music aficionados.

**Similar To:** Diplo, Flosstradamus

**Francesca Peak**

**Icona Pop** – _Icona Pop_

There’s no messing around on **Icona Pop**’s self-titled debut. The album throws you headfirst into the party with quirky electronic beats playing base to chanting vocals and irresistibly tasty hooks. It’s a real electro-pop punch to the face, a cohesive collection of dancefloor-based bangers and a bold statement of intent by one of Sweden’s most stylish duos. Relentlessly energetic and effortlessly original, _Icona Pop_ is a master class in contemporary pop music and a fine display of everything the pair has to offer.

**Similar To:** MNDR, Charli XCX

**Samuel Hine**

**M83** – _Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming_

One of 2011’s list-toppers, **M83**’s sixth LP was a double-disc statement of soaring electro-genius. At times both heartbreakingly tragic and joyous, Anthony Gonzalez’s formidable selection of twenty-two songs, held together by the urban synth sprawl of ‘Midnight City’ and the perfect crescendo of ‘Outro’, is worth any time you could invest in it. It is an unpredictable and youthful exploration of the band’s ambition, and one that lives up to every expectation.

**Similar To:** Washed Out, Neon Indian

**Josh Suntharasivam**

**Foals** – _Total Life Forever_

Having departed from the stricter math-rock of their debut, **Foals**’ second album was a luscious, soft-sounding _tour de force_. Yannis Philippakis’ barking vocals were suddenly delicate falsetto flutters, and the guitars were less forceful, more precise, and laced with reverb. **Foals** had learned the beauty of melody and pop in equal measure, and second single ‘Spanish Sahara’ – an exercise in the sheer momentum of repetition and elaboration – may well have been the best track of 2010.

**Similar To:** The Maccabees, Friendly Fires

**Matthew Bunnage**