Ride The Pony

Men “Off Our Backs”

JD Samson’s new post-Le Tigre project comes closer to the sound of that band’s remixes than proper album recordings — think the DFA remix of “Deceptacon,” rather than “Deceptacon” itself. With its staccato vocal rhythms and neon synth tones, “Off Our Backs” actually comes close to feeling like an English language variation on Yelle, but there’s a different sort of tension in the music. Whereas Yelle songs tend to be rather brash and direct, the structure of “Off Our Backs” suggests a series of emotional and intellectual tangents. Check out, for example, the way the song builds up to a chorus in its first minute only to defer on that pleasurable catharsis and pace around for a few measures before starting another verse. It feels a bit like wanting to say something very badly, but biting your tongue, not only out of tactful consideration, but to pause and think everything through. When the chorus comes around, it feels emphatic and true, as if the thought has been revised to the point it is totally incontrovertible.

Visit the Men MySpace page.

U.S.E. “All The World”

Aside from changing their name from United State of Electronic to the far less dorky acronym U.S.E., Seattle’s greatest joycore party band have not changed all that much in the time since they released their debut album in 2004. “All The World,” the first single from their forthcoming sophomore record, is essentially the ultimate U.S.E. song in that it concentrates all of the band’s strengths into a single, concise four and a half minute blast of pop euphoria. It’s almost like ticking off a checklist:

Are there colorful synths and disco beats, kinda like a rock band version of Daft Punk? Check.

Is there a hook sung through a vocoder? You got it, bro!

Got any ultra-clean skyscraper-sized rhythm guitar riffs? But of course!

Is the chorus sung by a girl with an assertive, yet super-sweet voice? Yes! Yes! Yes!

Do the lyrics imagine a utopia full of dancing and limitless joy? Dude, it’s U.S.E.! Do you even need to ask?

They’re not breaking any new ground here, but I can’t imagine that anyone would actually want these people to change.

Visit the official U.S.E. website.