RIYL: Coldplay, Aqualung, Passion Pit

Not everyone can lead. It’s just a fact of life. Some will lead, and the rest will follow, and you will find no greater place to observe this behavior in action than in the world of music, where every band who scores even a sliver of attention inadvertently gives birth to a gaggle of copycats. Most of which, naturally, suck hard.

However, just because someone is a follower does not mean that they’re not bringing something new to the table, and California trio Elogy is a good example. From the first breath that singer Derek Cannavo takes on One, the band’s debut album, it’s clear that he really, really likes the way Chris Martin sings, executing both of Martin’s trademark moves (the aching baritone, followed by the aching falsetto) in a matter of seconds. And yet, for all the tricks the band may have stolen from other bands’ playbooks, One is a consistently engaging listen, stuffed to the gills with anthemic choruses and slice & dice programming that will make Passion Pit green with envy. The soaring “Eager We Are” will surely land in a CW show in the next six months, while “Welcome to Inertia” out-Aqualung’s Aqualung, skillfully blending major keys with full-blown melancholia. The band’s true star, though, is drummer Nick Lyman, who positively bashes his set when he’s not unleashing drum samples that sound like Everything but the Girl’s Walking Wounded set on puree.

If they can stay away from overblown power ballads like “Rest Your Senses” (think Staind’s “It’s Been Awhile” for the bedroom pop set), there should be little preventing Elogy from jumping to the next level. It may not be the most unique first step a band’s ever taken, but it would not be at all surprising to see Elogy evolve into a band that others want to copy. (Elogy 2010)

Elogy MySpace page
Click to buy One from Amazon

Why is this week’s installment of “Me, Myself and iPod” subtitled ‘Money Shot,’ you ask? Because last week’s column produced the largest number of downloads this site has ever seen, and I’m still not sure if that is a testament to Amanda Palmer’s fiercely loyal fan base, or if it’s because I used the words ‘blowjob queen’ in the title. Either way, I’m not messing with success. Plus, this week’s headliner, um, makes me tingly.

Little Boots – Remedy (SPEAK Remix)
SPEAK makes their second appearance in the three weeks of this column’s existence (they covered Daft Punk’s “Digital Love” in MMI’s debut) by tackling one of the best songs from Little Boots’ album Hands. The mix is a bit of a Frankensong, as the music track doesn’t really mesh with Boots’ vocals, but I’d love to hear someone take the chords in the verse and write a song around that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to watch her “New in Town” video. Sweet Jesus, is she hot.

Slow Club – Giving Up on Love
This cute boy/girl song also has a great video, but it’s a different kind of great than the Little Boots clip. MacKenzie Crook, a.k.a. Gareth from the UK version of “The Office,” lip syncs the song on a ferris wheel in a one-take clip. As for the song, think the Raveonettes, only poppier.

Eyes Set to Kill – All You Ever Knew
We’re still trying to wrap our heads around this one. The instrumentation in the intro brings to mind Primus, but the male vocals are pure Cookie Monster screamo. And then, this lovely female voice appears in the chorus, and the body that voice comes from, that of Alexia Rodriguez, is equally lovely. Odd, melodic, and thrashy. New record Broken Frames out in June.

See Green – Goldmine
Courtenay Green first caught my eye roughly a year ago when she released the video for her song “Beyond Therapy.” The song was all right – truth be told, I was a bigger fan of the old-fashioned video – but armed with a new band name and an updated, more muscular sound, Green appears to be ready for her close-up. Her Violet EP comes out May 4. Haven’t heard it yet, but you can bet that this song has officially whet my appetite.

Minus the Bear – My Time
Truth be told, my eyes rolled whenever I saw this band’s name. I’m a stickler for band names, and believe that it tells you next to everything you need to know about a band. Upon seeing Minus the Bear, I thought, “pretentious twits.” Wrong. This nifty little synth-friendly rocker fits nicely next to Jupiter One’s recent material, resurrecting the open frontier that was the late ’70s and early ’80s rock scene.

We Have Band – Honey Trap
Look for these guys to burn up the blogosphere. Armed with a drum machine straight off of the Human League’s Dare, this song will appeal to anyone who dug Calvin Harris’ “Merrymaking at My Place.”

The Love Language – Heart to Tell
Jangle pop! Who wants jangle pop? Merge’s latest act blends super-catchy ’60s-style melodies with more contemporary percussion riffs (think “Hollaback Girl”). New album Libraries comes out July 13. Please let the rest of it sound like this.

Elogy – London
The press release compares this trio to Coldplay, Muse, and Thirty Seconds to Mars. I definitely hear the first band, don’t really hear the second band, and am going to try to forget that I ever saw them compared to the third band. If Coldplay made a drum ‘n bass-type record, or at the very least something a little more glitchy (think Everything but the Girl’s Walking Wounded), it would probably sound like this.

Gadi Mirhazi & Soul Clap – Beautiful Thang
Time for a little Deep House Dish. The sampling in the beginning is a little annoying, but then this “Trans Europe Express”-type keyboard settles in, and it’s all smooth sailing from there.

Jeremy Messersmith – Violet!
It was not at all surprising to discover that Dan Wilson is a fan of fellow Minneapolis pop boy Jeremy Messersmith. Armed with a chorus Burt Bacharach and the Red Button would kill for, this tuns is sure to have the Audities set buzzing.

Talking to Walls – Came to You
The press release for this New Haven quartet compared them to the Cure, but to my ears, they’re closer to the Call. Big, earnest, anthemic.