Ladyhawke "Anxiety"

Allow me to thank Artamus Sumatra for bringing this young lady to my attention.  He provided a RIYL for her while commenting on the Asteroids Galaxy Tour post in April.  The name rang a bell but I doubt I had heard her music.  Pulled up the well-received debut from 2008 and sampled a few tracks.  The 80's influence was there in a spacey, open-air synthpop setting, not great but not bad, either.  When I spotted the new album's release date in late May, I put it on my "investigate" list for the next available block of free time, which turned out to be weeks later in mid-June.  I haven't removed it from the playlist since.

Back when radio stations had turntables, this was the type of record we used to say you could "drop the needle in any groove" and everybody would be happy.  There are eleven (counting the hidden track) potential hits just waiting for your attention.  To prove the point, the third official single has just been released...

...and two of my favorite WPRK DJ's (that would be you, Whitney and Amanda) have been spinning the album's opening track, which is not among the featured three.  My favorite song isn't one of the singles, either...



What I get from that video is the songs translate well to the concert stage.  There is more guitar on this album than the debut, resulting in a fuller sound.  On early spins, I noted that the 80's influence wasn't as obvious, yet later listens allowed it to seep out.  Somewhere in the middle of the third run through it hit me......Bangles!  That should be Eighties enough for you. 

I understand Artamus' comparison to AGT but "Anxiety" is stronger from start to finish.  It's a bit of a stretch, but I think fans of LCD Soundsystem would appreciate this record.  It's the album Garbage wishes they had made.  I like it more than fellow New Zealander, Kimbra, and her album.  It's certainly better than the Gotye release...