Miike Snow is the collaborative project formed by Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and American producer Andrew Wyatt–the former two perhaps better known as Swedish production team, Bloodshy & Avant.

Having sculpted some of the most career defining tracks for Queen B (“Toxic”, “Unusual You”, “Piece Of Me”) as well as countless tracks for more MuuMuse favorites (Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Sugababes, BoA), it’s almost too obvious that this ambitious solo project should follow in step with the excellence we’ve come to expect from the producers.

And yet, it does and doesn’t. If you’re looking to find a compilation of some of the most sizzling electro-pop stompers you’ve never heard, you’re sadly mistaken–they’re not here. Is that a bad thing? No. Because this is still a release from some of the finest musicians in the game, and as a result, this is still a quality piece of work.

Complex drum rhythms, lilted piano melodies, and an afterthought of sprightly synthesizers fill out the contrasting sounds of “Animal” and “Burial,” the lead tracks off of Miike Snow’s eponymous debut. The lyrics here alternate between humility and reprimand, eventually leading to the stinging, contemptuous chorus of “Burial”: “No I, I don’t want to get thrown in your ocean. Don’t try, you know that already we know it…it’s over. At your own burial, don’t forget to cry.” Ouch.

As skilled producers, the members of Miike Snow demonstrate the ability to explore less traveled paths in their music while still manging to reel themselves back to familiar territory within seconds. “Black & Blue” jitters and slides between Prince-like crooning and Darren Hayes‘-like electro-crunchiness, while “A Horse Is Not A Home” dances the line between glam rock (Adam Lambert, take note), alt-electronica, and balladry without ever settling. As with much of the album, it’s simply a sound undefinable.

“Plastic Jungle” is perhaps the poppiest part of the album, playing like a kind of lo-fi parody of Kylie’s mindless mega-smash “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.” Further on, Miike Snow prove that the most exciting producers in Pop can do a much more than a simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus progression: “Sans Soleil” offers cool drips of electronica atop the rooftops of a French chateau, mixing solitary piano riffs with choral coos and glittering bells, while “Silvia” gorgeously unravels to the tune of scattering synthesizers of all shapes and sizes and a vocal performance soaring beyond human proportions.

I didn’t (and still don’t) know quite what to make of Miike Snow. They’re a curious creature, a force as shrouded in mystery as their borrowed mascot–the elusive jackalope. With a release as peculiarly scattered and layered, you’re bound to catch something new with every listen. Different moods and times invite different emotions, and no track seems to sound as it did the time before. At least one thing’s certain about this release–I can’t stop listening.

Miike Snow is currently streaming their entire album at their MySpace.

Click below to preview & purchase Miike Snow’s self-titled debut NOW!

According to his latest blog post, Darren Hayes is on the verge of something wonderful. Though he’s not yet started, Hayes believes he will begin penning new material for the follow-up to his sensation 2007 release, This Delicate Thing We’ve Made, sometime later this year, thereby entertaining the notion of a 2010 release.

In addition, Hayes has been writing songs for various labels and artists within the UK, although none of this works have been confirmed for release at the moment.

Oh, and he was also more than eager to share the less-than-delicate specifics of his annual vocal cord check-up…with the aid of diagrams. You can go ahead and check that one out for yourselves.

Darren, darling: Less worrying about the cords and more focusing on the chords!

It’s a miserable Sunday, so let’s cheer ourselves up with a lap or two around the blogosphere, shall we?

As usual, D-Luv’s got the low down on the charts game across the pond. More specifically, he’s discovered that Robyn is still putting out old music, Girls Aloud is preparing an epic second single release, and Beyoncé finally found a way to the top on her own.

Raj of ElectroQueer has put up an incredible review of Darren Hayes‘ much anticipated project, This Delicate Film We’ve Made. The result sounds absolutely luscious, and I’m so looking forward to seeing the end product myself!

JJS III of It’s The Money Shot! continues in his tradition of posts eclectic: This time, a remix of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies” by the incomparable, tranny-tastic Ashley Breathe. He’s also opted to push my buttons with some minor Circus hate, but I’m holding my tongue…sheerly out of blogger-to-blogger love.

Near and dear Muu friend 8/1 has posted about unsigned UK band, The Golden Filter. Judging by “Solid Gold,” this may be THE new band to watch for in ’09! A bit Goldfrapp, a touch of Hercules & Love Affair, a glitter drop of Róisín Murphy, and all DIY electro-pop…I’m absolutely in love with this band’s sound. Will be exploring further!

My good friend Faisal of Ohh! Crapp has been posting in his usual, nonsensical manner. A nice, long rant about Lady GaGa, followed by an MP3 from…Lady GaGa. It’s okay, Faisal…Love you, anyway

XOLondon has bunched together some of the greatest musical moments of ’08. While we don’t always see eye to eye on our artists, I absolutely adore his selections. Prime opinions and keen pickin’s, as usual!

HardCandyMusic is keeping the beat alive with some nice “Justify My Love” remixes.

And to throw into the mish-mash of already scattered thoughts, I’ve decided to include a favorite of mine from Depeche Mode that I fancied for myself tonight. Miserably bleak, wry, and slightly damning, “Blasphemous Rumors” is an ominous recounting of life’s most unexpected events. It’s a slightly horrifying mix of industrial clangs, music box strings, and a series of horned synth blares. The song also happens to feature one of the greatest choruses of all time: “I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumours, but I think that God’s got a sick sense of humor. And when I die, I expect to find him laughing.” Absolutely essential material.

DL: Depeche Mode – Blasphemous Rumors

Haven’t done a proper perusal of the peripheral in a while (tee hee), so let us embark on a musical journey of sorts, shall we? To the right, the first image that caught my eye when Google Image searching for “scraps.” And go!

ArjanWrites has some particularly luscious electro-pop brewing lately with the introducion of some new tunage from Electric Valentine, The Ultrasonics, and Neon Hitch! Head over to stream the new tracks now!

Raj of Electroqueer‘s got a sizzling review of Sam Sparro and Annie‘s performances at the iTunes Festival in London.

My friend Steve over at XOLondon has written up a fantastic interview with one of my favorite male pop stars, Darren Hayes. It’s incisive, entertaining, and rather comprehensive. An excellent example of “smart pop” at its finest, if you will. Please check that out at once!

The ever quirky It’s The Money Shot! has a nice amassment of links and news bites covering the past week. Which, now that I think of it, is a better version of what I’m doing right now. Check out his stuff! PS: Did you know he draws those pictures he includes in every entry? I know, right?!

HardCandyMusic‘s always seems to have the latest music first. Head over and check out what appears to be the first promotional remix of Lindsay Lohan‘s promo single, “Bossy.” It’s an absolutely vital warm synth repackaging of the original: Bigger bass, flashier lights! Literally, give it two seconds…you’ll be sold. Make sure to keep your eyes open for the Mike Rizzo mix as well according to Mike himself, which should be cropping up sometime soon!

D’Luv of Chart Rigger keeps going on about people who suck.

PopMuse is keeping the mixes spinning on and on, even though I’m still not over his fantastic Disco Globes 2008 compilation!

Today has been a very bad day. But it will get better, because it has to. In lieu of this, I’m uploading one of the most important albums to me, The Tension and The Spark, by Darren Hayes. Though his newest album is pretty good, it’s his release from 2004 that I stumbled upon three years ago that thoroughly inspired me. The songs are so carefully constructed and so wonderfully textured, I often feel as though it’s an album created to prove why pop matters.

The album was Darren’s second after splitting up with Savage Garden. He’s another male voice that I actually enjoy. It was his last with a major label, undoubtedly due to its experimental nature. The Tension and the Spark is so chock full of breathless beauty that I’m always finding new moments within the songs to fall in love with.

The album is dark in its entirety, evidenced by the gutting opening track “Darkness”, and never really letting go from thereon in, with the exception of “Pop!ular”, the faux-autobiographical journey into a wannabe pop star’s mindset. But even here, the song itself is sinfully bleak as Darren sings “I’m willing to sleep my way to the top / I wanna be popular” with no emotion, on top of the skittish electro vibes below.

Or there’s “Hero”, his withdrawal from the world: “Ladies and gentlemen, listen up please / I don’t want to be your hero / Do yourself a favor, save yourself / Don’t pick me, find someone else”. A great anthem-like track that goes on into its climax: “There’s too much pressure / Don’t want to let you / Down again.”

And then there’s “Unlovable”, which is an epic track in itself. His voice is nearly on the brink of breaking in the verses…the emotion is overflowing. And the accusations? “Do I remind you of a part of you that you despise?”Heavy stuff. And don’t even get me started on the soul chilling “Ego”, the coldest of tracks on the album. When he gets to the purely vibrato riffing section meshed with the overdriven synthesizers, it’s eerily haunting.

Honestly, there’s so much to be said about this one album, I’d rather upload it and let you all see for yourselves. Whether the conflict going on inside the album tracks centered around his struggle with coming out in today’s sex-fueled music industry or a yearning to break the pop mold, Darren succeeded. And I’m so thankful that he made this record, because it’s inspiring to its core.

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DL: Darren Hayes – Darkness
DL: Darren Hayes – Pop!ular
DL: Darren Hayes – Hero
DL: Darren Hayes – Ego
DL: Darren Hayes – Unlovable

DL: Darren Hayes – The Tension and the Spark (Album)
You can choose to download some particular album highlights to make sure you’re sold first, or the album in its entirety. But if you like what you hear, please support Darren and buy the album here at Amazon.

Last week, I received the entire debut album of Temposhark, a U.K. electro-rock band I’ve spoken about before, to put under review. Read on to hear about Temposhark’s album, The Invisible Line:

The album sure starts with a bang of sorts. I’m still not sure what to make of “Don’t Mess With Me,” the manic, string-filled declaration of dominance devoted to taunting potential foes and maintaining control. It’s tongue in cheek and strange, and quite a curious way to begin the album. “Don’t mess with me / ‘Cause all your heads are gonna roll / I’ve made your misery my goal / So if you want survival, kneel on my arrival / Cause this is how I rule the world,” Rob explodes after the two minute mark. It’s daunting and unexpected, but the track plays like a musical soundtrack, rather than a pop record.

In comes “Joy,” and I’m in familiar territory. One of my favorites, “Joy” is a juicy stomper on top of delicious synth-electro. Rob’s voice is top quality in “Joy,” and so is the production. “Blame,” another killer track, The lyrics are riddled with proclamations of power and dominance, which makes the arrival of “It’s Better To Have Loved,” as well as “Winter’s Coming” so well received. “It’s Better To Have Loved” has been noticeably reworked with a few extra blips in the backtrack, but is otherwise polished to near perfection, while “Not That Big” with Imogen Heap has improved since my initial listen a year ago, profiting from the inclusion of additional vocal acrobatics by Heap.

There are a few missteps; The mid-tempo seductive beat of “Crime” is too similar to “Little White Lie” for my taste. But overall, the musical variety of the album is comforting, especially as the album draws to a close with “Invisible Ink,” a minimalist, pensive track, in which Rob slowly coos “Don’t leave the world without making them think / Don’t leave the world without changing something.”

My personal favorite, “Winter’s Coming” is a perfect album closer. The song is a strict reversal of sound; anxious breathiness replace Rob’s usually confident vocals, making room for a much richer, deeper musical experience, similar to the styling of Darren Hayes, that wins me over in this soaring ballad produced by Guy Sigsworth.

Overall, The Invisible Line is an album that toys with conceptions of contempt and greed, power and longing within the simplest of lyrics and catchiest of melodies. Many of the tracks are fun, chorus-heavy synth-stompers with deliciously sinister hooks, yet there are inklings of a more mature, eclectic sound hidden deep beneath the glossed layers.

Overall Grade: A-

Please remember to buy Temposhark’s The Invisible Line at Amazon.co.uk or their official site.

And you, what do you think?