Well, the weekend went by quickly, and it’s time to look at some more new arrivals in A Different Drum’s store.  I’m particularly excited about a couple of them.   As some of you know, I’m a long-time Yello fan, dating way back to the early 80’s.  So, I can’t help but be happy that they’re still active after all these years and have put out a new album

NEW ARRIVALS:

Pet Shop Boys “Beautiful People” (MCD) $11 — This is the next single from the Pet Shop Boys’ stunning album, “Yes”.   There are a couple real gems on this single, including a wonderful club mix of “Up and Down” which stood out for me since it includes samples of the instrumentation from the classic hit “Opportunities”.  Definitely fun stuff.   See the track list and order here :
http://www.adifferentdrum.com/buy/509993082202-3/Pet-Shop-Boys-Beautiful-People

Yello “Touch Yello” $22 — These guys are pioneers of the electronic music scene, and after a fun 30 year career, they’re still around churning out their unique blend of deep vocals, electronics, stabbing brass, primal drumming, and a smattering of sexy guest female vocalists.  Though it has a somewhat chilled, down-tempo feeling overall on “Touch Yello”, it’s still what you’d expect from Yello.  See the track list and order here :
http://www.adifferentdrum.com/buy/060252719485-1/Yello-Touch-Yello

FP “Better Ways” $18 — FP is a melodic synthpop band from Germany that has been working the underground for a decade.  They keep coming back with new collections of nice songs that fit in with some of the 90’s treasures from Germany, similar to bands like Point of View, Condition One, or early De/Vision.  You can listen to audio samples and order the new CD here :
http://www.adifferentdrum.com/buy/402079642601-9/FP-Better-Ways

Dupont “Entering the Ice Age” $20 — These guys have a sound that makes you think of And One, or the old 90’s band Dark Voices.   Though Dupont often plays more on the side of pounding EBM, this newest album has more singing and less of the deep-voice talking, which is a nice touch.  It’s a bit more synthpop flavored this time.   Listen to samples and order the CD here :
http://www.adifferentdrum.com/buy/PROCD020/Dupont-Entering-the-Ice-Age

Kilowatts and Vanek “Focus and Flow” $20 — This is one of the very unique bands in the scene, and this is their 2nd album, available only as an import this time around.  They play an interesting combination of folky acoustic guitar and electronics.  The blend of drum machines and acoustic guitar with the relaxed, nice voice creates a new and intriguing sound.   I was a fan of the first album and am having fun listening to this new offering.  Check out the audio samples and order the CD here :
http://www.adifferentdrum.com/buy/Mind137/KiloWatts-and-Vanek-Focus-and-Flow

Pixel Hero “Pixel Hero” $20 — Here is an interesting album for the adventurous fan of electronic music.  This is advertised as a 16-bit electronic sci-fi story (though there are not vocals).   The instrumentation is very much like an action video game soundtrack and it supposedly follows the adventures of a pixel hero who eventually is defeated by the “end boss”.   Fans of video game music and instrumental synthpop should check it out.  Listen to the samples and order the CD here :
http://www.adifferentdrum.com/buy/Sturmmandat27/Pixel-Hero-Pixel-Hero

There ya go!  You needed more new music, so dive in and enjoy!   Oh, and I’ve updated A Different Drum’s radio player so you can hear more of this new stuff.   Just go here for the experience :

http://www.adifferentdrum.com/Player

Thanks!
-Todd