The Music Court

Australia’s done it again with a ridiculously talented young artist. Banoffee hails from Melbourne, origins of the world’s best coffee, and has released a series of impressive singles these past few months. She’s also gone abroad on tour to the US to play in LA one week, then NYC the next, and she already has plans to come back to the city of angels. I don’t think she sleeps.

Martha Brown, or Banoffee, is an old-school strong woman. She is an avid kickboxer who oozes confidence. She writes songs in a tone of voice completely her own, but she refuses to be romantic or tawdry. You could call her songwriting apathetic, but that makes it seem uncaring- instead it is a relatable mix of colloquialisms and indifference, with a whole lot of empowerment thrown in for good measure.

Take Banoffee’s first single, “Ninja.” The track opens up with a loving image of a girlfriend making breakfast out of adoration for her still-asleep partner, insisting that she’d be there when things got tough. Slowly though, she gains her independence. No longer does she want or need someone always there. “It’s funny how things have changed,” she remarks. Electronic bubbles of synth burst around her delicate falsetto, and she becomes more defensive: “I’m a fucking ninja now, I won’t let you bring me down.”

I had the good fortune to catch her set when she played at Culture Collide in LA, and witnessed her way-too-hip dance moves in the flesh. She introduced “Reign Down” and jumped into the lyrics, with the airy rhythm backing her vocals. Then, during the bridge, she danced with more enthusiasm than she did for the rest of the set. Banoffee’s lyrics always feel personal, but never cryptic; “Reign Down” is the epitome of this, as it’s an anecdote on how she has grown after a severed relationship. Later she admitted this was her favorite song to perform, and it is easy to see why.

I highly recommend listening to the other tracks on Banoffee’s debut EP, as I love those tracks even more than the two I’ve discussed here. Buy the EP here. Find more information on her Facebook.

Tags: Pop

They say not to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes I do end up judging bands by their names. I very nearly ignored Clap Your Hands Say Yeah because the name alone was too much for me to handle. You can’t have a comically simple name that is five words long, no one will remember it! But the music was enough to get me past it. “Satan Said Dance” remains one of my all-time favorite songs.

I discovered Sun Comes Out Twice As Bright a little more than a year ago, and fell in love with their sweet synth pop. Their name didn’t exactly roll off of my tongue but I was happy to see a talented female duo enter the scene. (Even the acronym SCOTAB felt uncomfortable to say.) The ladies, Pearl Button and Claudine Michael, had released a couple tracks under that moniker before rebranding- after some tinkering, they now only respond to colourspacecolour. (That name is hard for me to spell because I’m American and want to leave out that useless ‘u’ in ‘color.’) Only one video remains of their old persona, and it proves that these gals have a sense of humor on top of musical talent.

colourspacecolour have now emerged suddenly with a new eponymous EP, leading with “Ocean Floor,” their newest single. It is exactly what I remember loving about Sun Comes Out Twice As Bright, but has a darker feel than their previous sunny and bright demeanor. Not to say colourspacecolour isn’t any fun, quite the opposite, just listen to “Upside Down Inside Out.” I just love that whether they are brooding or gushing over a crush they are still one of the sweetest, most fun pop groups I’ve heard lately.

Check out colourspacecolour’s debut EP, out now. Find colourspacecolour on Facebook and Twitter.

Tags: Pop