"Ayyy Girl"-JYJ feat. Malik Yusef and Kanye West

This picture is not a joke. I just heard Korean (because we've got everyone else on this shit) boyband JYJ's "Ayyy Girl," and it's damn near perfect R&B. Who the fuck knows how Kanye got ahold of these dudes but he goes first with his usual verse, seemingly only to get his name on the track. But then JYJ comes in on their best Chris Brown impression, albeit with a tendency to mix up their l's and r's, for some spectacular smooth neo-soul. Plus a Chi poet doing the introducion? These dudes are operating on another level. Phenomenal PacRim pop with phlair.

"Ayyy Girl"-JYJ feat. Malik Yusef and Kanye West

Is This Youth?: The Naked And Famous

As the first notes glisten in on their most well-known track "Young Blood", it's Passion Pit.  Michael Angelakos' unmistakable eunuch falsetto chimes in, but then again, it's not.  This New Zealand group is no impostor, bearing their own sound that is synth-powered but not completely driven that way.  The Naked And Famous employ prominent basslines and drum beats to keep the pulse heavy, along with enough guitar work to fill the spaces in between.  "Young Blood" is written in the style of the Temper Trap's "Sweet Disposition", voicing instants of love, recklessness, and those moments that fail to escape the bliss of mind.  It isn't a small song; it has its bits where it is grand and pensive at once, and it implores you to think of the best of your own youth.

Go forth: "Young Blood"

And the video's pretty fun too.

My Girls of Summer: Ellie Goulding

The next chica in the lineup wields a killer voxbox, and she smashes eardrums quite well.  Ellie Goulding has been on the up and up since being voted as the BBC Sound of 2010 and such, but I believe that this brilliant singer-songwriter earned her spot through her songs.

It's weird hearing the tracks on her debut Lights and thinking that in the beginning, she wrote and played them all on an acoustic guitar...until she met electropop producer Starsmith.  The synths certainly put more edge into most of the tracks, channeling the emotions of her heartbreak-ridden songs rightfully, but other tracks still retain some of the acoustic core.  I wouldn't say that she ever would blow up in Gaga-esque fashion, but certainly a contender in the style of La Roux's entrance onto the scene.  Maybe it's because she hasn't grasped the enormous hooks all the way through, but chart-topping pop jams probably aren't her utter focus at the moment.

Nonetheless, she is an earful of pleasure.  You couldn't ask for more sparkle in an electropop singer, her voice is bomb, no rip.  

"Starry Eyed" - A brilliant intro to her sound, encompassing acoustic lills, pop bigs, and dancey boombooms.

"I'll Hold My Breath" - My personal favorite, a lovely, glittery ballad with great hooks and a brutal bridge.

Sparkle and Pop: The Limousines

SF Electropop duo The Limousines have been hipster favorites around the Bay Area indie scene for a while now, riding on their big single "Very Busy People", but now they've really broken through with their first LP Get Sharp and a sparkling new synthy gem.

"Internet Killed the Video Star" showcases them at their best, trumping their forementioned single in hooks and appeal.  They sound more confident, showing some swagger, and crush it with that signature futuristic synth that permeates the background of the song, not to mention a driving drum machine-produced beat that they sing about.  Another stone to kill Owl City.

Get on the BART train with these guys: "Internet Killed the Video Star"

And it's also highly advised that you peep the vid too:

My Girls of Summer: Sky Ferreira

"My Girls of Summer" will be a semi-regular summer deal, where I'll be airing some of the chicas that are pumping my speakers right now.  Don't ask why---they're just exxxcellent.  

First up is probably my favorite femme of the summer, and after a decent single release last year, she flew onto the scene this summer with a track that is pure sweetness.  She's pretty well-known throughout the indie photography and music scene, especially in LA, and definitely seems the Lolita type, except here she's actually got something to show for all she does.  She's sung with the Virgins, the Bloody Beetroots, and the ever respectable Steve Aoki so she's not new to the whole electronic scene, which shows through in "One", a 3-minute beauty of electropop at it's best.  Bloodshy & Avant-produced robotic beats and an air of sunny and ephemerally sexiness about her make sure that this track is nothing but a keeper.  Maybe all that hanging with international dirty party girl Uffie has done her some good after all.

It's hard not to: "One"

And check the vid too, shot by none other than the killer British photographer Rankin.

All in Good Fun: Crookers get with Yelle

All I gotta say about this new Crookers track is that it's FUN.  The Italian duo we're used to are a bit hard-hitting with the dark slimy beats, but it seems like this French hummingbird has cooled them down just a notch.  With a playful bouncy beat and Yelle's cutesy vocal stylings, mixing it up with French and English, I gotta say that "Cooler Couleur" is a mainstay for my 2010 cooler of colorful chops.

Play with it: Crookers - "Cooler Couleur (feat. Yelle)"

Head Like a Kite

First off, a big thank you to Scott for posting Kanye while I was off having a blast at Sasquatch! Music Festival. I would have but I was too busy rocking out with thousands of people to "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House". More on that later. For now, here's a new song to keep your heads bopping. Hailing from Seattle, Head Like a Kite drops anthemic electronic pop music with sizzling bass that feels right at home in even the sunniest states. Their new album, Dreams Suspend Night has been tearing up the streets since April.

Head Like a Kite - Let's Start It All Again feat. Asya from Smoosh