Introducing... Eric Solomon

He’s toured with Dragonette and can already boast remixes of Owl City and The XX to his name – but with Eric Solomon’s debut EP, there’s no doubt his eyes are now firmly set on stepping things up to the next gear. Tracks like Addicted brim with a muscular confidence and the promising spark of a potential major male solo star of the future to stand alongside, and perhaps one day even surpass, the likes of Sam Sparro and Adam Lambert.

Likewise, the EP’s lead track Ground Control is the kind of snappy, electrically-charged synth-pop number that could easily give Taio Cruz a run for his money. With a knowing nod to David Bowie’s Space Oddity, it jumps out with a look-at-me attitude and the kind of urban cred designed to grease the palms of radio playlisting committees.

I Found Love riffs off Ace of Bass vibes, but maintains a distinctly modern demeanour, funked up and tooled up with a dancefloor vigour that feels impressively well-rounded for a debut effort. With this kind of consistency already in evidence, it’s no wonder he’s already swayed over 5000 Twitter followers to his cause.

Riz MC - Dark Hearts

Now here’s a thing – esteemed London rapper Riz MC knocking together a Blade Runner tribute, including a cameo appearance from Channel 4’s Fonejacker? It sounds like a concept too surreally unreal to be true – but here it is, existing for all the world to see, and we reckon it makes for a rather entertaining re-work of some of the most recognisable scenes from the classic film. Soundtracked by Dark Hearts, a dapper, pin-point precise cut from Riz’s upcoming MICroscope album, the video sees the MC blasting his way through a series of replicants until... well, we wouldn’t want to spoil the final twist for you.

MICroscope is released on the 18^th June.

These Reigning Days - Living It Up

For their second single, promising Devon newcomers These Reigning Days go for classic British guitar sounds, but revitalised with a proficiency and sense of scope that feels grander and more ambitious than a good deal of their contemporaries. A big hearty chorus and slabs of steely guitar that march stoically along, Living It Up is the kind of track The Enemy would have done well to have had on their new album. With a support slot alongside Metronomy under their belts already, one imagines that with songs as strong as this, These Reigning Days are chomping at the bit to head out on the road again.

VIMES - Take My Breath Away

It’s a brave band that goes about covering 80s classic Take My Breath Away. Still, we’re rather liking this version by Cologne two-piece Vimes, who give the track an icy chilled-out makeover, all subtle synthetic touches and a lovely sense of atmosphere. It’s the sort of thing we imagine OMD might come up it if they ever did a covers album. The group’s own track Neglect offers more of the same, verging into Hot Chip territory for a moody electronic work-out.

Twin Bears - Angel Bread EP

Growing up in Sheffield, pretentions to putting together a laddy guitar group must feel forever overshadowed by the Arctic Monkeys, every aspect and component judged against the Mardy Bum stars and the sea-change they helped usher in some half a decade ago. Thankfully, Twin Bears sound nothing like the Arctic Monkeys – no, they fall far more within the Vaccines/Maccabees/Howler sweep of things; angular, rough-edged indie ditties that encompass schooldays brouhaha and teenage phases. Libertines-tinged By The River is a particular highlight of the band’s Angel Bread EP, while You Got The Fire sees them on a more sonically adventurous tilt, a band not content to be confined by their predecessors.

Jennifer Left - Black Dog

She’s the seaside girl putting a poetic lilt to whimsical, folky pop – but for Jennifer Left, her music feels like it’s jumping at the bit to strike up a campfire and regale all with its inherent charm. New single Black Dog is like a British Caro Emerald with a quaint little whistle-hook, a cutesy indie-pop bit of frippery that feels well suited to idyllic summer months. Left's music is fundamentally playful, but there’s moments of something more, tucked away in the smoky, flanged guitar licks in the bridges between verse and chorus. The track’s b-side Hushabye treads a similar path with more whistling and the vaguely haunting chime of guitar against a backdrop of halcyon strings. It’s a whispered bed-time story of sepia-toned days and Left’s sugary vocals lend it a surprisingly moving resonance.

Eurovision 2012 - The Official Album

This week we got a shiny copy of the official Eurovision 2012 album in the post, so we thought it’d be a good idea to put down just a few of our thoughts on what turned out to be a very entertaining year for the show.

While it seems, as usual, to have rubbed up the ‘serious’ music fans the wrong way, with the usual ‘We should pull out forever!’ cries, personally, we reckon the real irony is that the show actually felt pretty close to a fair chunk of the dance pop in our own charts this year. Take the excellent Swedish entry from Loreen for example – Euphoria could easily be the latest global smash from David Guetta or even the follow-up to Tulisa’s current club anthem.

If there’s one genre that really speaks across borders, it’s dance, and the longer the UK resists this, the more they’re likely to lose out. In all truth, it’s no surprise Humperdinck’s Love Will Set You Free stalled at second to last – it was a torrid, stale old snoozefest of a song that felt 40 years out of date.

Honourable mentions need to go to the vastly underrated Danish entry Should’ve Known Better, and France’s whistle-athon Echo, an up-tempo stormer of a track if ever there was one. What all these entries proved time and again was the importance of a stonking great pop chorus, copious dollops of fun, and outfits that actually kept your eyes glued to the screen rather than wandering back to that beer you’d been nursing all evening.

As a showcase in the art of the three minute pop song across Europe in 2012, you can’t go far wrong here.