Anyone still bumping some Nylon on their iPod?
If you’re not already familiar with the Iceland-bred girl group troupe (trust me, no one’s judging you), a brief recap: The girls were a huge success abroad in their homeland throughout the mid-’00’s, crafting three #1 albums (two in Icelandic, one in English), loads of hit singles including “Holiday,” their own reality show and a book deal.
The girls even enjoyed some moderate international success with their cover of The Real People‘s “Losing A Friend,” which peaked in the Top 30 of the UK Charts in 2006, along with their version of The Eurythmics‘ oft-covered “Sweet Dreams”, which peaked at #1 on the UK Dance Charts. Plus, they opened for the Almighty Girls Aloud on tour! (Talk about a true seal of approval!)
But like most tried-and-true girl groups, the original roster was rocked: In mid-2007, founding member Emilia ditched the group (on good terms, ALLEGEDLY) to spend more time with her husband, resulting in a scrapped UK release of their English record 100% Nylon and a rush release their greatest hits collection, Best Af Nylon. The remaining ladies announced a hiatus for the band shortly thereafter, promising fans that they’d be back one day.
Well, they’re back–this time in the form of a trio known as The Charlies.
On November 11 (11/11/11), The Charlies released their first (100% free) mixtape: The Start A Fire EP, produced by Icelandic production troupe StopWaitGo.
It’s an entirely amazing listen from start to finish, heavily inspired by the throbbing Scandinavian pulsations of Britney‘s Femme Fatale–from the four-to-the-floor space-age synthesizers to the unmistakable “Hold It Against Me”-inspired dubstep breakdowns.
There’s the dooming, equal parts sexy and silly “Monster (Eat Me!)” (What can I say? I’m a sucker for a girl begging for you to eat her–right, RiRi?), to the gorgeous, sauntering “Start A Fire,” to the all-out smutty club affair of “Let That Body Breathe,” to my current obsession: “Ticking Like A Bomb.”
While the song is a fairly straightforward lyrical affair about going out and blowing up, it’s armed with one of the immediate, unstoppable–and dare I say, explosive!–choruses I’ve heard all year: “I’m about to go o-o-o-out!” the girls scream-sing before the song’s surging beats come pumping into the speakers. Waves of pleasure, friends. Waves of pleasure.
There’s even a sweetly sung cover of Coldplay‘s “Yellow,” which showcases the girls’ pleasant, skillful crooning to the forefront. It’s so sweet!
Having already hit the studio with The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars), J.R. Rotem and Jukebox, it seems like we’re going to see the girls doing big, big things in 2012.
Start counting down to the explosion now!
Many thanks to Muuser Eric H. for blowing up my spot about these girls for over a month. You were quite right.