It’s my fault for not discovering her sooner…but I’m so glad that I finally have.

This is El Perro Del Mar, otherwise known as Sarah Assbring, a Swedish artist making pop happen since 2006.

I could say that the music she makes, a combination of drippy, ambient pop, distorted strings and a simple, Lykke Li-like delivery, is nothing short of lush.

But it’s my friend David, who, after introducing me to her music, described it best: “Fleetwood Mac on pills in the 90′s…It’s what Siobhan Donaghy wishes she could record. It’s what she tried to do on Ghosts and failed at, mostly.”

“Change of Heart,” the song being featured above, is one of the finest numbers off of her latest EP, Love is Not Pop, which was made available in the US on October 20 of this year.

As for that piece of art you’re currently mesmerized by above? As the clip’s description box tells us, the duo is an act from Budapest that were called in by the label after first being seen in Lido, Paris. They were asked to be filmed for the official video to accompany “Change of Heart” and, according to the director, Flip Nilsson: “When we finally could see the amazing footage together with the music it felt like we got struck by the lightning of love.”

While the original song is brilliant, I’ll also need to direct your attention to the equally special Robyn remix of the track located right here at Pitchfork. The mix adds a bit of the Swedish chanteuse’s own vocals (always a plus!), and the lightest glaze of ’90′s house synths.

“Change of Heart” the kind of song you want to carry with you through life. It’s timeless, it’s beautiful…I could listen to this song time and time again, and so I do.

Purchase “Change of Heart” on iTunes | MySpace | Official Website

When Cheryl Cole announced her plans to take a brief break from powerhouse girl group Girls Aloud and embark on a solo outing, my mind was wrought with fear as usual: Fear of an Aloud split (not true in the end), fear of wannabe-rapping (a little true in the end), and above all, a feared repeat of the faux-R&B horror that was Victoria Beckham‘s solo album (not including “Let Your Head Go,” obviously).

As it turns out, the fears were somewhat justified–but for entirely different reasons.

Cheryl Cole’s debut, 3 Words is a producer’s potpourri, featuring tracks backed by Syience, Taio Cruz, Wayne Wilkins, and most prominently (albeit unfortunately), five tracks mixed by Will.i.am, including his own 2008 semi-international hit, “Heartbreaker.”

The problem with Mr. i.am is not that he’s a bad producer (“Make Me Cry”), nor a particularly good one (“Boy Like You”), but rather that he’s a complete and utter microphone hog. Containing five tracks that feature more than a fair share of Will.i.am’s lyrical stylings, 3 Words suffers the most in that half of its own “words” aren’t even spoken by Cheryl Cole.

As for the words the songstress does speak, they often seem to reflect the media barrier she’s built up after the flurry of infidelity allegations published back in 2008 against her husband, Ashley Cole.

This includes the album’s ballad, “Don’t Talk About This Love,” which, although featuring no writing credit from Cole herself, echos what’s been said in recent interviews: She’s not letting anyone in on her personal affairs (“Please don’t talk about this love / The less they know, the less they judge / Don’t talk about this love to anyone”).

On a side note, doesn’t that second line in the first verse sound like she’s singing “Feels like I could drown in syphilis”? I swear to God, that’s all I hear when I’m listening.

“Parachute,” builds off of the very same theme (“I won’t tell anybody / Won’t tell anybody / They want to push me down, they want to see you fall”) while earning points for being the album’s most readily accessible track, as well as its catchiest. Backed by a militant, marching drum beat and a twinkling mid-tempo piano melody, Cheryl repeatedly purrs in a low growl: “I don’t need a parachute, baby if I got you / Baby if I got you, I don’t need a parachute.”

Aloud fans will most likely sing their loudest praises for “Stand Up,” a disco-tinged, Taio Cruz-penned club track that finds Cole coming close to acknowledging the Hi-NRG Euro sound of the mega band from which she hails. “‘Cause I came here to dance, I’m going to put up my hands, so stand up,” she sleepily coos through a fleet of violins and glittery synths.

“Make Me Cry,” another highlight, proves equally danceable, although more of a moody boogie-down track than an outright celebration. “Are you trying to make me cry? / Stop trying, ’cause I’m die-die-dying,” Cole barks along a series of funkified synth pulsations that, put together with Cole’s scattered riffs, results into one hell of a nasty beat. If any track could count as Will.i.am’s redemption for slathering himself all over this album, “Make Me Cry” would be the one.

There are, of course, some real stinkers mixed into the bunch as well, including the draggy, go-nowhere “Heaven,” the soggy strutter (pun!) “Rain on Me” and of course, “Boy Like You,” which features–hands down–the greatest misuse of a Fleetwood Mac sample ever.

The problem is, simply speaking, that these songs lack in both personality and punch. Anyone could be singing these songs (in fact, “Happy Hour” was a demo originally scribed for Rihanna if I’m not mistaken), and their appeal only goes so far as the listener’s loyalties to both Girls Aloud and the Cheryl Cole brand are concerned.

Cole’s delivery is frigid and thin, though not in the “Ice Disco Princess” way (a la Lykke Li or Sally Shapiro), but rather in the disconnected, phoned-in performance sort of laziness. This disconnect is especially apparent on the final “club” track, “Boy Like You,” as the squaky synthesizers clash harshly with Cole’s soft coos.

I suppose it could be said that 3 Words proves why Cheryl is a superstar, but as awful as it sounds, that would be to miss a crucial half of the assessment: 3 Words proves why Cheryl is a superstar member of a girl group.

For any other artist’s debut, 3 Words would probably not rank as high as it will for this review, and especially not as high as it’s expected to perform on this week’s album charts. This is Cheryl Cole we’re talking about however, the subject of an almost unhealthy English obsession. As a result, this entire campaign has been cushioned with a certain degree of forgiveness. Sure, she’s got a decent vocal range, a gorgeous face, and enough of a winning personality to carry her though this effort. As it stands though, 3 Words would be a barely passable debut if sung by anybody else.

Purchase 3 Words on iTunes UK | Official Website

And now for something similar…

Hot off the heels of the MuuMuse interview with Kleerup comes “Awakening,” the first single off of Titiyo‘s upcoming fifth studio album, Hidden, which should see release sometime between October and November in Europe (and possibly North America as well).

Far darker than her turn on Kleerup’s “Longing for Lullabies,” “Awakening” finds Titiyo’s breathy vocals in a sea of lush strings, tambourines, and dark, throbbing synthesizers. The result? Farther from “sad disco,” the song is something of a crossbred, deep house reinterpretation of Fleetwood Mac and Kate Bush.

You’ll also want to check out the video above, which is all sorts of weird and fantastical. (It’s also been uploaded in February, so I suppose the single isn’t quite as new as I figured!) Anyway, think Bat for Lashes meets a slight moment of Hocus Pocus for the concept. In other words, it’s a damn good time.

Hear more from Titiyo on iTunes | MySpace | Official Website