Music Makes Me Say These Things

Spektrum “Don’t Be Shy” – I love Spektrum because they are so utterly devoid of shyness. Their enormous grooves seek only to overwhelm and dominate listeners with the sheer force of their sound and Lola Olafisoye’s imperious sexuality. They are one of the few acts on the planet capable of making Basement Jaxx seem mild, and they’ve managed to make an entire album of unrelenting electro-funk bangers that either eclipse or come close to matching the intensity of their 2005 single (and opening track) “May Day.” “Don’t Be Shy” is sassy, flirty, and actually sort of filthy, so you may want to consider this track NSFW. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK. You can also buy it for the normal album price in the US iTunes store.)

Émilie Simon “Never Fall In Love” – There’s a playful cruelty in this song, and it’s at once exhilarating and sort of off-putting, and the balance will probably tip in one direction or the other based on who you relate more to in its lyrics — the callous faux-femme fatale, or the poor dude who has been led on and let down. Simon’s voice has a bratty, youthful sound, and her arrangement skips along on jittery beats, carried along by video game synths and a spy movie theme that makes the track come across like a sequel to Britney Spears’ “Toxic.” (Click here to buy it from Amazon.)