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"No matter the tempo, atmosphere, or style, the duo has the musical abilities, bright ideas, and ear for a lovely melody to make everything sound good." -- All Music Guide
"Nimble and inventive, the pair’s naivety makes for a refreshing take on pop." -- RCRD LBL
Italian artpop duo M+A release the followup to their critically praised debut today, sharing the second single along with a video teaser. The track, "B Song" is available as a free download/stream via Soundcloud HERE. M+A also offer song snippets from the entire hook-laden album in this video teaser.
M+A previously released the lead track, "When" which is available to stream/download HERE.
M+A's 2011 debut Things.Yes was an inventive and spirited exploration of an organic, heartfelt variety of genre-hopping electro-acoustic pop that promised many good things to come from the young artists. But, perhaps nothing could've prepared us for These Days.
M+A is Michele Ducci, 22, (vocals, instruments) and Alessandro Degli Angioli, 25, (instruments) of Forli, Italy. Much like their French neighbors to the northwest, M+A explore dance music as a medium for emotional expression much more than a conduit for cold, cut 'n' pasted samples and beats. M+A's euphoric electronic pop is clever, but not for cleverness' sake. Ducci's earnest and delicate vocals, which hearken to the warmth of Phoenix's Thomas Mars, pair the bittersweet edge found in the best classic pop songs with the buttoned-up retro dance grooves of Beck and Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.
These Days is the result of meticulous collaboration begun in spring 2012, often from great distances with both members frequently on the go. "In this album we tried to experiment mainly with the song form, freeing ourselves of any bias towards any genre," the pair explain. "We haven't tried to remain faithful to anything." Rather than relying on samples, M+A played all of the instruments, apart from the impressive acoustic drumming of Marco Frattini.
From the very first seconds of These Days, the album is off and running with lush hooks driven by the propulsive beats, pizzicato strings and syncopated electric piano of dancefloor-filler "When." The hooks never stop throughout the 11-song, 42-minute album. "B Song" evokes the blue-eyed retro-funk of late 90's era Beck. "Down The West Side" is a masterful slice of sun-drenched pop perfection sure to soundtrack many a summer BBQ or banish those rainy day blues, while songs like "New York There", "Game", "Practical Friday" and "Midnight Radio" easily pair up alongside recent 80s-reminiscent efforts by artists like Daft Punk, The Strokes and Phoenix. With These Days, M+A effectively prove themselves worthy of a place among their more celebrated contemporaries.
The album is available on CD, download and deluxe 180-gram vinyl (300 copies on white vinyl with color printed inner sleeve and a free album CD included inside) via Monotreme Records. Orders of all physical albums from the Monotreme web shop will include free M+A pins and stickers while supplies last, plus one free previously unreleased bonus track download. Digital-only orders will also receive the bonus track.
Album: These Days
Label: Monotreme Records
Release Date: September 30, 2013
02. B-Song (MP3)
03. Down The West Side
04. Freetown Solo
05. Game
06. New York There
07. L.E.M.O.N.
08. Practical Friday
09. De-Light
10. Slow
11. Midnight Radio
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