Not to be confused with the Japanese pop culture ‘zine of the same name, Giant Robot are members of Nuspirit Helsinki and they run the gamut like Jesse freakin’ Owens. From cozy EBTG-ish ballads (“Best Match”) to lanky, dub-hop (“Konevitsa”). And then you’ve got the remixes, if you’re ready for even more curveballs. Best of all, Giant Robot’s site has a mile-long MP3 page with all of their commercially unavailable tracks, which includes their entire debut album and tons of said remixes. Set aside some download time.
Treeball
I have a soft spot for subversive pop music. The kind that’s equally cynical and sentimental. The kind where you’ll be driving your mom somewhere and she’ll say, “Well, this sure is a nice song.” The kind where you say, “Yeah, it’s about scoring blow in Bolivia.” The kind with monkey love metaphors (or maybe they’re not metaphors, either way…). The kind that stays with you long after you stop thinking about the lyrics. The kind with beautiful boy/girl vocals and a Finnish mailing address.