Le Diamant Brut: Natalie Portman's Shaved Head & Masonic

MASONIC

What’s the Deal: It’s murky dreamland indie pop, and it’s local. Light, pillowy vocals in catchy choruses spill over bright keys and guitars that lift you up right into the clouds. They’ve released four LPs since 2006, which is kind of impressive, and their latest one is called Things I Am Guilty Of. They’ve also been working on an EP, which should arrive soon.

The sweet staying power of Masonic can be heard in tracks like “Moving On” off Things I Am Guilty Of, which lodges itself in there like a cavity. Every string and flute sound from the keys is easily picked out along with every bit of shine from the guitar strings. Singer Eryn Gettys’ voice has a gentle echo to it as if calling you into R.E.M. They also do a version of Del Shannon’s “Runaway” that’s a little lo-fi and bears the band’s unique stamp. It’s not just a carbon copy of the original.

Something Interesting: Masonic’s “Friday Night Song” was featured in a statewide television ad for the Colorado State Lottery.

Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Under The Radar”

Masonic Official
Masonic MySpace

Photo by Sophia Goldfarb courtesy of MySpace

NATALIE PORTMAN’S SHAVED HEAD

What’s the Deal: Get ready for bright colors, white jeans and outrageous fonts because this Seattle dance pop troupe brought the drum programming, guitars, hand claps and plenty of keyboards. Their debut CD, Glistening Pleasure, comes out July 15th, and as you can imagine, it’s all about fun and not taking yourself too seriously. It’s the kind of dance party music that gives you an excuse for doing all those moves you practiced in your room but never had the guts to unleash on the dance floor, and if you’re lucky you just might do something you’ll really regret in the morning when the synthesizers have worn off. Let the synthetic beats and laser beam sounds in and lock the doors because it’s going to be a long night.

“Beard Lust” off NPSH’s Glistening Pleasure is like a twisted, ridiculous electro pop version of a public service announcement about facial hair upkeep. 80s key tones buzz and chime while they sing “Where’d you get that beard? I grew it. How do you keep it so clean? I shampoo it.” Sounds like international mustache day has a new anthem.

Something Interesting: You might just be lucky enough to catch them on a few tour dates during July and August with CSS.

Other Tracks Worth Checking Out: “Slow Motion Tag Team” and “Me + Yr Daughter”

NPSH MySpace