If 2013 was the year the female megastars of pop dropped the ball, it was also the year that saw a new generation of darker and more artistic pop artists start to make rumblings in the blogosphere, and pretty soon the Pitchforkosphere and subsequently the BBCosphere. CHVRCHES and BANKS are probably the most notable so far, and GEMS should have an eye kept on them too, but with their sultry, cinematic and catchy dream pop, the Swedish-Australian twin sisters that make up Say Lou Lou may just be the next breakout stars of the genre. They are certainly the most unbearable of teases. Their third EP,
Better In The Dark, takes their original-song count up to the grand total of five. Discounting the three remixes of the title track (for the record, Hygrade’s garage version and Andrea’s atmospheric dubstep are both worth listens),
Better In The Dark has but two new offerings. We can forgive them though, because the stunning single “Julian” they released back in May could so easily have been a fluke, but “Hidden In The Dark”, with its captivating and sexy vibe, and “Beloved”, soaked in reverb and with a pumping vocal melody, are both well up to the same standards. If they build on their spot on the BBC’s Sound of 2014 longlist and the appetite-whetting foundations they set last year, this could very well be Say Lou Lou’s year.
