Our Little Castle Is A House Of Cards

Marit Larsen “Don’t Save Me” – It’s remarkable how much that ABBA-esque ringing piano refrain adds to this song, kicking it up from being a lovely acoustic-based pop ballad to something far more classic and epic without being particularly melodramatic. This is quite simply one of the best, most masterfully composed pop singles of the year thus far. Rightfully, this track is blowing up in Norway at the moment, but with any luck, this should spread well beyond Scandinavia over the course of the year. (Click here to buy it from CDON.)

Dresden Dolls “My Alcoholic Friends” – It’s a strange thing. I listen to quite a bit of music that doesn’t have much of a connection to my own experiences and lifestyle, and 95% of the time, it doesn’t really make a difference to me one way or another. Dresden Dolls falls into the remaining 5% – I can’t help but feel as though I’m listening to music that is meant for someone else, and that I’m some sort of subcultural intruder for putting this song on repeat even if it’s basically the sort of jaunty cabaret/glam tune that ordinarily wouldn’t be so out of place on this site. It’s catchy and clever, but man, I just feel like I’m surreptitiously reading some teenage goth girl’s livejournal or something. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)