The Quiet Days Are Gone

Loto “Golden Boys” – You don’t need the chorus “this boy is coming home” to get the impression that this is a song about a journey, though not perhaps in the literal sense. It’s about experience, maturity, the cultivation of confidence and poise – the singer is on his way to becoming a golden man, obviously. The song is full of heart and optimism, moving with the blurred grace of an early Strokes tune, but with the widescreen drama of mid-80s U2 and the pop spirit of British disco. (Click here for Loto’s official site.)

Dorit Chrysler “Chlorophyll” – The vocal melody glides effortlessly between a lullaby and a muted anthem, but the emphasis is somehow placed on the electronic percussion. It’s a familiar electronic snare hit that we’ve heard a hundred times before, but it’s a vague and displaced memory. It’s musical deja-vu – it becomes hard to remember exactly which songs we’ve heard which feature exactly the same sound, but we know its implications and our Pavlovian response. Dorit Chrysler uses this to her advantage, employing the beat to create an illusion of grandness and bombast without overshadowing or contradicting the more delicate aspects of her song. (Click here to buy it via Monika.)