San Fran-based Jhameel is a beguiling character. His sounds are fruitful and winsome, but his popularity unfortunately rather too depleted for my liking. There is something very wrong with this, you will probably agree. For this teen wunderkid is a master in the art of writing crooked odd-pop tunes, which are at the same time both melodious and a bit lopsided. 'The Human Condition' is my favourite: a mystical concotion harking back to Sufjan Stevens' earlier work, cross-faded into Dirty Projectors' wonky musical endeavours, with tinges of Mika's twisted pop. Like the sound of that? Well, you can download the whole friggin' album here. It's a corker.
Who cares if Hercules and Love Affair's second LP wasn't really up to scratch?... Because it seems their dark-disco spirit has been passed on as another idiosyncratic form, as Jessica 6, a trio based in Brooklyn who used to be a part of H&LA's live group. They're still purveying their own take on nu-disco, and their sounds are still clouded over with a rather macabre overtone - on paper this group seem to resemble their old posse almost preeningly. But just listen to 'White Horse' and you will discover something befuddlingly new altogether. We have lead singer Nomi Ruiz and her slightly alluring, slightly androgynous vox, some damn funky rhythms and a bewildering range of percussion twinks and synth swirls. It's fabulous stuff - expect great things from these dudes this year. Their full-length debut is out in May.
For fans of: anything old skool (Chic... Grace Jones...).
