Fun for free at Spaceland tonight

It's really too bad that Nate Ruess got signed with his band the Format back in 2003, because if he had ended up on "American Idol," he would be the next Kelly Clarkson.

Nate has a voice that is perfect for the nation's biggest TV show and he's only gotten better over the years. His high notes soar and dart and somehow catapult to registers that make it impossible to sing along with. But the music of the Format, and now his new band, Fun, encourages singalongs. Ruess' music is the opposite of emo: it's poppy, hopeful, happy mini-epics that wander every which way and rarely end up where you expected.

The Format released an album for Elektra in 2003 ("Interventions + Lullabies") and self-released a follow-up, "Dog Problems," in 2006. At its heart the band was really a combo of Ruess' superstar vocals with Sam Means' melodic keyboards. Although relatively unplayed on local radio The Format played to sold-out shows at venues like The Avalon and The Mayan (where they filmed a live dvd).

The pair split up and late last year Ruess formed Fun with Andrew Dost of Chicago's art-pop group Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train. Their self-released debut offering, "Aim and Ignite," is a spiraling mini-masterpiece evoking all of the best reasons to love Queen and E.L.O.

Live review: Metronomy makes the El Rey feel like 'Less Than Zero'

All electronica bands must sooner or later encounter one fundamental problem with playing live sets: They're just no fun to watch. Sure, it takes loads of skill to trigger samples, screw with filter banks and sing convincingly in real time, but from the back of club, it all looks like hitting the spacebar. The new hot-stuff London trio Metronomy, who played last night at the El Rey Theatre, seems especially susceptible to this fact. The band is essentially a bedroom project of super-loyal '80s synth mash notes that beg for montages of whipping your DeLorean over the 101/110 interchange at night while rifling in your glove box for the devil's dandruff. Anything short of direction by Brian De Palma would be a letdown.

2009 artist to watch: Mapei

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: Mapei

Why her? The missing chip between Santogold, Kid Sister and Rye Rye falls into place at last. The Rhode Island-born Mapei got her start rapping at basement parties in Sweden, where she lived for years, and further schooled herself in the gay clubs of her current home in New York. The result? Super-kooky culture jamming on “Roxanne Shante’s Smile.” In smooth deadpan, she references Woody Allen, “Poetic Justice,” Cabbage Patch Kids, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Hooked on Phonics. Spank Rock and Ghostface Killah are fans, as well as Timbuktu, one of Sweden’s biggest hip-hop acts.

What's next? Downtown Records will release Mapei’s debut sometime in the fall. And we’re keeping our fingers crossed for more West Coast dates on the heels of her hot showcase in December at the Avalon.

--Margaret Wappler

Photo of Mapei courtesy Downtown Records

Related: Faces to watch 2009: film, TV, music and Web

2009 Artist to watch: K'naan

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: K'naan

Why him: Though it’s popular in Europe, African hip-hop has not yet found its footing in America beyond the elegant gangsterisms of the Senegalese-born, New Jersey-based singer Akon. This year, a Canadian might be the one to break the intercontinental barrier. Kaynaan Warsame was born to one of Somalia’s most prominent artistic families in 1978 and grew up in Mogadishu as that city was torn apart by civil war. Immigrating to Toronto with his family as a teen, he soon turned to rap as a way to articulate his experience. His light-stepping but tough rhyming style is infused with the rhythms of his homeland, and his subject matter is both political and playfully personal.

What's next: K’naan’s 2005 debut album, "The Dusty Foot Philosopher," won a Juno (the Canadian Grammy) for best rap album; next month A&M/Octone Records will release "Troubadour," which was mostly recorded at Bob Marley’s Tuff Gong Studio with help from guests such as Damian Marley, Mos Def and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine. If Kenya’s favorite son, Barack Obama, could win the hearts of America, why not this sharp-witted Somali stylist?

-Ann Powers

Photo credit: James Minchin, courtesy of K'naan's MySpace page.

2009 Artist to watch: Jay Rock

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: Jay Rock

Why him: Rap music is increasingly a Southern man's game, but 2009 might see Los Angeles' return to prominence on national urban airwaves, thanks to Dr. Dre’s highly anticipated and long-in-the-works release, "Detox." But one up-and-comer might steal just a bit of the spotlight away from the usual suspects (Dre, Snoop and the Game) this year: Watts' Jay Rock. Warner Music has high hopes for the 23-year-old rapper, who is a known quantity in South Los Angeles via a series of self-released mix-tapes and localized underground anthems. His single "All My Life" features chart-topping guest Lil Wayne. 

What's next:  A collaboration with Ne-Yo on Rock's spring debut (tentatively scheduled to drop in March), "Follow Me Home," may break the Nickerson Gardens resident nationwide this year. At the very least, fans of rap music in the vein of Tupac Shakur have a fresh face from L.A. to obsess over in '09.

--Charlie Amter

Photo credit: Warner Music

2009 artist to watch: Randy Weeks

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: Randy Weeks

Why him: Formerly with L.A.-based Americana group Lonesome Strangers, Randy Weeks has to be doing something right -- Lucinda Williams not only covered his song “Can’t Let Go” on her breakthrough album “Car Wheels on a Gravel Road,” but it’s also become a cornerstone of her live shows. On his solo collection “Going My Way,” coming Feb. 24, Weeks puts together a batch of consistently evocative, witty lyrics that he sings in a distinctively wry Lou Reed-meets-Willie Nelson voice. His country roots are strong enough that he’s cranked out the instant honky-tonk classic “The One Who Wore My Ring,” yet, like Peter Case, he also obviously knows his Lennon-McCartney songbook well enough to come up with the pure-pop bounce of “That’s What I’d Do.”

His recent move from L.A. to Austin led to “Going My Way” being produced by Texas Americana ace Will Sexton, and probably at least partially explains the juicy New Orleans funk they’ve brought to “I Think You Think.” That song and “I Couldn’t Make It” showcase Weeks’ love for language and his engaging wordplay.

What's next: In support of "Going My Way," Weeks will play a handful of dates around Texas and Tennessee before his SXSW showcase date in March.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo of Weeks courtesy Conqueroo

2009 artist to watch: Marco Benevento

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: Marco Benevento

Why him? Long a cult favorite on the East Coast jam-band/avant-jazz circuit, this 31-year-old keyboardist/"sound sculptor" has been building a nationwide following for some jaw-dropping improvisational skills, a no-genres-barred approach and a globe-trotting touring schedule. His first studio release, the spacey yet approachable "Invisible Baby," landed Benevento’s trio at the 2008 JVC Jazz Festival, and there’s no limit to where his next album will take him. Built around Benevento’s shape-shifting acoustic piano and backed by an adventurous rhythm section of Matt Chamberlain and Reed Mathis, the record offers deconstructed reinterpretations of indie favorites such as My Morning Jacket, Beck and Deerhoof while flirting with straight-ahead jazz on his own compositions, like the lovely "Mephisto." Seemingly incapable of resisting an unexplored musical direction, Benevento can, essentially, do just about anything, which makes him exactly the kind of force that deserves notice in today’s contemporary jazz world.

What's next: His new album, "Me Not Me," is due Feb. 3, followed by an appearance at Largo on Feb. 11 backed by a two-pronged percussion attack of Medeski Martin and Wood's Billy Martin and former Lounge Lizard G. Calvin Weston.

--Chris Barton

Photo by Michael Benevento

2009 artist to watch: Theresa Andersson

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: Theresa Andersson

Why her: This exuberant singer-songwriter embodies several trends at once. She’s Swedish — though she lives in New Orleans— and her singing has that warm but clean Scandinavian quality. She plays multiple instruments, à la fellow one-woman bands Kaki King and Emily Wells. Her songs are heartfelt and dusky little fables representing a strong feminine viewpoint — and yes, they’ve been featured on “Grey’s Anatomy.” But Andersson is more than the sum of her parts. Her quirkiness and fearless eye for detail stand out.

What's next: Check her out at a Hotel Café residency this month or pick up her album “Hummingbird, Go!,” which features guest appearances by fellow Scandinavian Ane Brun and New Orleans producer and composer Allen Toussaint.

-- Ann Powers

Photo courtesy Basin Street Records

2009 artist to watch: Wild Light

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: Wild Light

Why them: There’s one major downside to Wild Light's debut single, the classic-rock sing-along "California on My Mind." With its joyously gratuitous use of obscenities, any opportunities to hear the song outside of the anything-goes-world of the Internet will be severely limited. But who needs radio play? Wild Light has already performed at the Hollywood Bowl with cult faves LCD Soundsystem and has a 29-city winter tour lined-up with indie rockers Tapes ‘N Tapes (at the El Rey on Jan. 24). And while "California on My Mind" isn’t totally kind to our friends in the Bay Area, it's a pop anthem that's hard to resist. It celebrates a kind of random frustration anyone can relate to, and it's embellished with a wayward harmonica, a galloping piano and some scrappy vocals. But one note: Those attached to San Francisco may be better off skipping the tune, and instead sampling the warm harmonies, jangly guitars and spacey accents of "Surf Generation."

What’s next: The East Coast band will release its Rob Schnapf-produced debut album, "Adult Nights," on March 3 via Columbia Records-affiliated StarTime International/Almost Gold Records.

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Michael Schmelin

2009 artist to watch: VV Brown

Pop & Hiss offers a look at some of the artists we expect to make noise in 2009.

Artist: VV Brown

Why her: This will sound familiar: A young British soul singer with a penchant for retro sounds is tipped by the British press as the next big thing. But Brown is a long way removed from the smokey nightclub vibe of Amy Winehouse or the torch songs of Duffy. Just check her debut single “Crying Blood,” an amped-up doo-wop dance floor anthem, where surf-rock guitars slide around video game bloops and where Brown stomps all over the cut’s big beats with a wallop of spunk. A former session singer and songwriter -- the Pussycat Dolls are among her credits -- Brown is ready to seize the spotlight with a swarm of high-energy pop songs. Need more evidence? Sample “Everybody,” with its hand-clap groove, teasing piano and no-nonsense vocals. When all is said and done, Brown delivers something her retro U.K. peers have thus far lacked: Just pure, whimsical fun.

What’s next: Her debut album, “Traveling Like the Light,” is planned for a March release on Island Records in the U.K.

--Todd Martens

Screenshot: YouTube.com