Swallow A Drop Of Freezing Sweat

Zeigeist “Tar Heart” – The really obvious thing about Zeigeist that really cannot be left unsaid is that they sound a LOT like The Knife. “Tar Heart” sounds so much like The Knife that if it was sold to me as a new single from that group, I would not think twice about it. Of course, aside from a few songs, they aren’t quite as good — Princess can replicate the timbre of Karin’s voice, but does not match her ability to convey complicated emotions with subtle vocal inflections, or her her willingness to distort her voice for artistic effect. Zeigeist can compose very sharp and interesting pop songs, but despite being theoretically more “accessible,” they are not yet capable of approaching the level of catchiness and sophistication on display in your average Knife song, much less classics like “Heartbeats” and “We Share Our Mothers’ Health.”

That said, Zeigeist are pretty terrific, and have their own charms. For one thing, they are far more Europop, and have a knack for composing dense, compelling hooks out of some fairly corny keyboard settings. It’s entirely straight-faced — they aren’t going for kitsch, but they do intend to keep their concepts grounded in a particular milieu and subcultural aesthetic. In particular, “Tar Heart,” a song that seems to be a tribute to a submissive man named Eric who is engaged in some rather intense S&M play, benefits greatly from a keyboard sound that comes across like a wall of ice illuminated by blue neon lights. (Click here to buy it from Zeigeist.)

Metronomy “My Heart Rate Rapid” – It’s hard to know what to expect from Metronomy. They’re more miss than hit — trust me when I tell you that you probably don’t want to see them in concert — but every once in a while they turn around and surprise me with a track like this. “My Heart Rate Rapid” is a spazzy, frenetic dance tune with a springy, slightly goofy element that reminds me a bit of The Residents, or Can circa Ege Bamyasi. Nevertheless, there’s a real sense of urgency in the song, at least enough so that I could not bear to listen it when it came on a few days ago because I was already feeling way too freaked out. (Click here to buy it from Turntable Lab.)