Van Go Lion again

Continuing the "Van" theme pervading the blog over the past two days, we're thrilled to feature the new track by Van Go Lion, the electro-pop duo from Oregon who we were banging on about a few months ago. Body Moves which is due to be released in the US on Ninthwave Records, marks a bit of an evolution from the previous tracks we've highlighted. Have a listen below:

As we have mentioned once or twice in our previous article on the group, we are utterly enamoured with Amy's voice and it's a bit frustrating that it isn't until the last minute of the song that she's allowed to really let loose. But, thankfully, prior to that point, there's plenty to keep the ear interested. We're particularly detecting the influence of Kleerup in the backing track with the twinkling synthy keyboard line. There's also a Calvin Harris-esque shimmer in the bridge between the first chorus and the second verse. The chorus itself has some interesting hooks, particularly in the brilliant line "Love is a dancefloor: take a stand". All in all, offers a cool and shimmering start to the Van Go Lion commercial campaign.

We still have our eyes on this group, and we hope you will too. What we would particularly like is to hear a track where the two go all out both on the vocals and the backing track. Amy and Josh clearly have a great ear for understated, mood-driven electropop which is fast becoming their signature sound. It would be fantastic if they could transfer that to something more dancefloor friendly. That's nitpicking on our part though. For the time being it's great just to sit back and enjoy an act brimming with potential, growing in confidence with every track released.

Vanbot in the Sunshine

Over this extremely sunny weekend, we encountered a new artist who kindly provided the soundtrack to two blissful days of sunbathing and alcohol.

That artist is called Vanbot, the alter ego of Stockholm-based vocalist Ester Ideskog. Her eponymous debut album will be available here in the UK and across Europe on April 15th on iTunes and the like (other music download services are, of course, available). And if her latest single Lost Without You is anything to go by, it's set to contain some of the most exciting and heart-felt electro pop since Robyn's Body Talk series. You can have a listen (and indeed download the track for free) from the player below:

  Lost Without You by Vanbot

As you will probably hear, the Stockholm-forged beats and Vanbot's voice immediately invite comparisons with Robyn. The track certainly sits very nicely alongside something like Dancing On My Own which, frankly, is excellent company to be keeping.

If diversity is a concern for you, though, then you may like to take a quick gander at Vanbot's debut single, Make Me Break Me, which is also available for download ahead of the album's release.

  Make Me, Break Me by Vanbot 

We'd like you to pay particular attention to the intro, which sounds a little bit like a head-on collision between Cascada's Evacuate The Dancefloor and Pet Shop Boys' Always On My Mind before breaking into something which is at the same time punchy and melancholic. This is a very good thing.

The reason all of this works so well (particularly when accompanied by an unseasonably hot weekend) is that it provides the perfect soundtrack to those summer moments when you find yourself introspectively staring into the middle distance, allowing the world to pass by around you for those few short moments before you get yanked back into reality. Those moments where you tune out of the conversation or gaze out of the car window and wonder and question whether everything really is alright with the world; whether life is really turning out the way it should be...

Oh, you don't have a soundtrack for those moments?

What the hell is wrong with you?

So... erm.... yes. Vanbot. Very good. Buy the album.