Number 20: Elkland "Golden"

I had a hard time deciding whether Elkland's full length debut, Golden, really deserved a place on my year end Top 20. I have to admit that Golden is not a "great" album in the traditional sense of the word. It doesn't break any new musical boundaries. It isn't serious. In fact, the album is so syruppy that it's almost sickening.

To be honest, I think that's what I like about it.

Melding together bouncy vocals, heavy synthesizers, and dancefloor beats, Elkland is the kid brother of Yaz, Erasure, and Joy Division. With unabashedly sappy lyrics and upbeat tempos, the album is best described as the exurberent feeling you get after kissing someone you really, really like for the first time. Light headed, jump for joy type music.

Put on the record, you'll instantly be transported to 1984. The time of perms, leggings, and "16 Candles." If you close your eyes, you can probably imagine Long Duck Dong dancing to "Everybody's Leaving" at the high school dance or Samantha kissing Jake as "Talking On The Phone" plays in the background. For this, Elkland is the most authentic of the new wave revival bands on the scene right now hands down.

Golden is an infectious, shake your hips type album and it will put a smile on your face.

Check out: "Without You"