Something
In 2008, these kids made the Brooklyn scene with a song that got heavy iPod-commercial rotation (“Bruises”) and an album of spookily sexy, PJ Harvey-meets-Eurythmics synth pop they claim was designed for haunted houses. Four years later, they’ve set aside such Scooby-Doo-ish pretensions and brightened things up, embracing the refined, airy side of 1980s New Wave with help from alt-rock production heavies Alan Moulder and Dan Carey. Singer Caroline Polachek still plays the towering ice queen on dark-angled ballads like “Cool as a Fire,” but there’s tons of swooning bliss here, too – on the majestically crushed-out “I Belong in Your Arms” she beams, “Feelings are good/ Nothing to say,” and the synths shine like Molly Ringwald’s earrings.
Listen to “Met Before”: