Jerry's Pick: "You're Alive" & "Go Go Go"

"YOU'RE ALIVE"-PANIC IS PERFECT
"GO GO GO"-PANIC IS PERFECT 

I should have written about this band the very first time I heard one of their songs, but I got lazy.  The tune was "Go Go Go" (something I lacked at the time) and was one of my favorite alternative picks from earlier this year.

Well, the group behind "Go Go Go" released another single last month and thus gives me a redeeming opportunity to shine my little spotlight on the San Francisco indie-band known as Panic is Perfect.

This five-member group of guys was founded by multi-instrumentalists Jeremy Belzer and Mike Hoffman both of whom had a chance to absorb different musical influences while traveling the world from America to Asia to Africa, an experience which provided that key touch of uniqueness when finally settling down to record in California.  (It's probably the reason why the lyrics to "Go Go Go" are part English, part French.)  But as far as Stateside inspiration, they cite several acts including Passion Pit, Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club and -- one that was immediately very obvious to me -- Vampire Weekend.  (Allow me to add A Silent Film and Keene.)

Like "Go Go Go," the track "You're Alive" is a relationship-inspired composition and -- although lyrically more linear -- is a mini-tale of a Paula and Jimmy and their need to escape told over a well-crafted uptempo and very catchy backbeat.

In an recent interview with StairwayToNirvana, the band pointed out that in this on-line obsessed world, music has the redemptive and healing power to bring people together again.  Panic is Perfect seems to be doing their part by producing a pair of positively-titled pop songs that will definitely contribute additional energy to your iTunes library and (quite possibly) your day, too.

As of this posting, the band does not have a music video for "You're Alive," but you can click here to audition the audio track.  But first, check out the awesome vibes in this Panic is Perfect clip for "Go Go Go!"

So... what are you waiting for?!  "Va Va Va!"

Jerry's Pick: "Do You Remember"

"DO YOU REMEMBER"-JARRYD JAMES

Jarryd James has already found an audience in his native Australia where "Do You Remember" has topped the charts and he's now hoping for similar success in the States where this track was recorded.

James says he wrote this bleak post-breakup song in Los Angeles with his producer Joel Little, the New Zealander who had already racked up success working with Lorde, Elliphant and Broods.

It's not your typical break-up song.  This one comes across extremely personal and a little bit dark.

Jarryd explained to journalist Grant Smithies, "It's a kind of romantic, nostalgic song, about things in your life that you can't get back... and a lot of people know that feeling."

The steady, driving beat of Jarryd's music plays a perfect match with his emotionally-tinged, at times distressed, falsetto vocals.  "Do You Remember" is a perfect example of the less-is-more songwriting formula.

According to James, the basic track was recorded in a house his producer rented in Los Angeles.  He told freelance journalist Kasimiira Kontio, “When we recorded ‘Do You Remember,’ we had to do it in a spare room because we could not access a studio. When I was putting the track together, I had to use whatever stuff we could use as instruments. We used stuff like a nutcracker and a ukulele but we didn’t really want to come up with some weird shit so we disguised some of the instruments that we used."

The lyrics are powerful, especially coming out of the middle-eight ("When you find out that there ain't no other love, no other love for you") when the song's heart briefly skips a beat... then immediately revived with its pleading chorus ("Oh, don't be scared about it/Don't forget it was real").

James told Chris Danks of hillydilly.com, "I’ve always wanted to make moving music, and all these experiences that I’ve been through just add to all the emotions that I feel when I play and write music."

"Do You Remember" is part of a just-released five-song, eponymously-titled EP.

Jerry's Pick: "Cake By the Ocean"

"CAKE BY THE OCEAN"-DNCE

Move over Richard Harris and Average White Band as I am positive pop music will have a new Cake-themed song invading the top of the charts very soon.

In the wake of the success of Daft Punk's revival of 70s flavored R&B comes a brand new band aptly dubbed DNCE (would you like to buy A vowel or do you think you can solve the puzzle?) and a single so sweet it shouldn't take more than one taste before you're addicted to its sugary groove.

"Cake By the Ocean" has a recipe that features 1-part groovy bassline, 2-parts all-purpose funk, sprinkled with handclaps, baked for three-and-a-half minutes in fun and covered with lyrics full of sexual innuendo.  "Red velvet, vanilla, chocolate in my life/Funfetti, I'm ready/I need it every night!"

"Cut the Cake" indeed!

Joe Jonas of DNCE told MTV News the song's inspiration came about due to a communication misunderstanding with the band's Swedish producers (Robin Fredrikson and Mattias Larsson).  "They kept confusing (the shot) 'Sex on the Beach' with 'Cake by the Ocean,' so that's how the song started. Then, it became this kind of lyrically wacky song, and it kind of embodies the band." The middle Jonas brother added, "It's funky, it's fresh... I think it's something that people can dance to."

Although I tend to lean alternative, I have always been a sucker for a good pop-song with a great hook. This track has several, and is one of the reasons this confection cooks. That's why I highly recommend "Cake By the Ocean" for dessert.

In a word: Yum.