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Today, we've got two songs that stick rigidly to their genre tropes, but somehow manage to make a virtue of that fact. They are the Guy Ritchies of pop music. They are The Apprentice in a world of Temptation Islands. They are....

1) Le Kid - We Are The Drums
Le Kid is a front for three Swedish songwriters you've never heard of, who penned hits for the likes of Alcazar and Agnes, who you've also never heard of.

But that doesn't matter, because We Are The Drums is a terrrific little pop song. Garishly fluorescent, perhaps, but the sort of thing you could imagine Girls Aloud singing in their prime. The lyrics are a strident call to arms against anonymous DJs and their seriousface mixtapes. The chorus runs "We are the drums / And you're just another TV theme / We are the beat / And you're acting like a drum machine".

The fact that this is sung over a stoically clichéd drum loop is either artistic genius or fantastic hubris.


Le Kid - We Are The Drums




2) Wavves - Nodding Off (feat Best Coast)
Californian surf rockers Wavves couldn't sound more different than Le Kid, but they too are sitting right in the middle of their comfort zone. Mosquito-buzz guitars, boxy drums and syrupy West Coast backing vocals are the order of the day here.

The title belies the song's energetic riffage (hang around for the genuinely exciting crescendo at 2'00"). And the song is all the better for the presence of Bethany Cosentino from Best Coast - aka the coolest woman in rock.


Wavves - Nodding Off (feat Best Coast)


(I am leaving it up to you to decide which picture is which at the top of this post. Good luck working it out).

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