Every Song I Dance To Is Magic

Kelley Polar Quartet “The Rhythm Touch” – Best known for his work with Morgan Geist and Metro Area, Kelley Polar is a master of symphonic disco who grew up as a child prodigy in Croatia and went on to be expelled from Julliard following a riot that broke out at his Master’s Recital. “The Rhythm Touch” is an instant-classic of its subgenre, with its gorgeous string and vocal melodies floating above a memorable electro bassline and midtempo house backbeat. The arrangement feels at once airy and ethereal, as well as sensuous and physical. (Click here to buy the single directly from the label.)

Blood On The Wall “On My Mouth” – The songs on Blood On The Wall’s debut album are divided up between a male singer and a female singer. I like a number of groups with multiple singers, but I’ve never come across a band in which the difference between the two frontpeople was so stark and dramatic that it seemed as though two totally unrelated bands were sharing space on one record.

The male singer, Brad Shanks, focuses on frenetic, wild rock tunes, and sings as though he’s Ad Rock from the Beastie Boys doing a Neil Haggerty impression. His songs aren’t particularly good, and at his worst, I just want to shut him up. The female singer, Courtney Shanks (his sister, not his wife) specializes in songs with very spare arrangements built around a rumbling low bassline. She sounds woozy and dazed every time she’s on mic. Since I spent my formative years listening to Sonic Youth, whispery drug girl vocals + low bass rumble = incredibly hott and sexy to me. I can’t help but to love her songs on the record. Start your own band, Courtney! (Buy it directly from the label.)

Elsewhere: The Lusitania is another new MP3 blog with some pretty well-written non-MP3 content thrown in for good measure.

Also: WFMU’s Kenny G will be broadcasting the entirety of last week’s Friends finale on his show today. The episode will be digitally stretched out to fill Kenny’s three hour time slot. If you’re curious, or want to inflict a special kind of torture upon your colleagues in the neighboring cubicles, you can check it out streaming live on the internet starting at 3 PM. An archive of the program will be available tomorrow.