Gold Coast formed Operator Please are hot-on-the-heels of releasing “Logic”, the debut single from their as-yet-unreleased sophomore album ‘Gloves’. Gearing up to headline at this years mammoth Future Music Festival, the bands front-woman, the passionate and delightful Amandah Wilkinson, sat down with me for a chat about the new album, working on the road, Lady GaGa, and preferring to be labelled as a pop group rather than an Indie one.

Operator Please had a wild 2007/2008. Releasing their debut album Yes Yes Vindictive saw them touring globally and promoting their wares across the world. Alternative radio were hammering their singles, but so were the commercial radio networks. It was hard to escape Operator Please mania, and whether you loved or loathed their debut single, the quirky “Song About Ping Pong”, there was really no denying these kids were on the rise.

It’s 2010 and they’re not exactly kids anymore. ‘Logic’, the bands new single, is a spiky pop song that demonstrates a clear growth, not only as artists but as a collective. It’s punchier, perhaps more importantly; poppier, and feels more refined.

“We only really decided on the single maybe a month before we put it out,” says Wilkinson. “There were a lot of contenders, but the band kind of felt like ‘Logic’ should be the leading single for quite some time, so we just did it.”

It’s an exceptional pop record, even if the Alternative stations try to tell you otherwise.

“I’ve always written pop songs,” Amandah says, before laughing. “I was a little confused with the Indie/Alternative title we got, but I’ve always thought we’ve written pop music.”

In a year where pop finally took precedence thanks to the emergence of Lady GaGa, Wilkinson gets excited as I mention Lady’s influence on the pop spectrum. “I think pop is becoming more predominant,” she says. “We went through particular styles of music; a few years ago pop was all about bubblegum, but a while before that pop was Blondie and Madonna, then you had the trio of Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson. Now Lady GaGa’s coming through, I don’t think people are expecting it but I think it’s amazing.”

Surely there are fans who would guffaw at claims that Lady GaGa was worthy of attention. Maybe even some that would do the same at the mere mention of the word ‘pop’. Amandah doesn’t seem to care though, and is quite pleased the great divide between credibility and pop music is moving its way closer to one another.

“There’s always going to be people that hate pop music,” she adds. “But the majority of the time, most people aren’t aware they’re listening to a pop song when they are (laughs). It’s true though, it’s a structural thing, all these key elements that make up an incredible pop song – you can put fuzzy guitars or whatever you want and call it whatever genre you want, but chances are you’re putting fuzzy guitars over a pop song. You know? Pop connects, it connects with people. The Beatles were pure pop mate, and think of how huge they were. I just think it’s really good that the stigma is disappearing, because particularly in the 90’s there was this big separation between pop music and alternative sounds. It was a very big spectrum, and we’re not necessarily closing the gap, but it’s definitely being turned around.”

Gloves, the bands follow up to their 2007 debut Yes Yes Vindictive is said to include lots of synths, xylophones and drums. The band took the combination of being on the road and listening to music to form the creation of the songs within the new record; everything from pop to 90’s RNB.

“I think I personally reverted to a lot of stuff I was listening to when I was in high school – you know, lots of RNB (laughs) and Hip Hop, I’ve always loved 80’s Madonna and Janet Jackson and Prince. All the experiences from being on the road, watching other bands perform live; it all just kind of rolled into one really.”

Being on tour for such an extended period of time did play tricks on the bands mind however. An element of cabin fever began to brew as they tried to juggle being on the road, writing new material and not being able to record any of it.

“I guess that being on tour you don’t get too much of that time, so it was a mixture of absolute frustration, but also enjoying being on tour simply because we were on tour (laughs). But if you get the two worlds melded up it can actually get quite frustrating and difficult. You’re there to play live and you really need to give it your all to do that. You think about a new record, mainly what we used to have to do, because we, you only get so much time to yourself, so I find if I can get ideas down by myself and then get them out to the band I feel less nervous about it. Because I’m always real nervous about showing people new ideas or showing people new music, wearing everything on your sleeve and being vulnerable to everything (laughs).”

Amandah admits to me that, during the albums early days, she was nervous and a little scared to share the music. “I’m not now though,” she assures me with a cheeky laugh.

“I think, because you have a back catalogue of music, when you’ve first written your new stuff it’s actually quite alien until you’ve played it with the band. You’re forever comparing the new stuff to your old stuff, which is something you can never do, you just need to have the confidence to do what you want to do. I was nervous at the start, but now I’m ready to just get it out (laughs).”

Between agonising over the tracklisting, to choosing which songs will end up on the final cut, Wilkinson’s job at arranging the albums finer details have caused her somewhat of a proverbial headache. Striving for perfection is hard, but the burning desire to get it right is evident in her responses.

“We want to make sure it’s the right title. It’s kinda the same with naming songs and putting together the tracklisting for the record, you have to make sure it’s right and sit with it for a bit. Which can be a pain the arse!”

It’s an album Wilkinson and her band are hoping to take overseas, after spending most of 2008 on tour through International shores. “We didn’t spend much time in Australia on the last record,” she says.  “We were in London, Europe and Japan, some shows in the US, but we’re really hoping to just step it up another level you know? I reckon growth and growth through new records and whatever (laughs). I’m not the kind of person that’s like, oh yeah, I want to be the biggest band in the world or whatever (laughs). I know it’s ambitious and all that crap, but you need to take it step-by-step I think. I’m just hoping we bump it another level, and that’s all I can hope for. And if it goes further than that – awesome.”

I’m normally not for posting twice in one day about the same song, but there is plenty now that needs to be said about the Cassette Kids‘ new single “Spin”, which I’ve had on repeat at such an obsessive rate it would make Glenn Close blush.

Over the last 12 hours I’ve basically thrashed a MySpace rip of this song. And over these intense repeated listens, I’ve enjoyed learning most of the words and singing it at a very high volume in my car. It’s been a REALLY good day for music for me because this is pretty much all I’ve listened to. It’s one of the most incredible love songs about music I’ve heard in a bloody long while, and that chorus is so radio-ready it can’t possibly not do well.

I remember when it eventually clicked (after about the 17th consecutive listen) in my head that Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” was one of the greatest radio-ready pop songs of all time. This is just as radio-ready. It’s infectious, it’s sort of about the world ending – but not really at all about the world ending, but more about if it were ending that the idea of a particular song being one you’re okay to hear right before you die. So in other words = Very Overly Great.

I really loved the Cassette Kids when they released their debut EP and have fawned over them on the blog a few times in the past. I LOVE them now though. This song has put them in a first-class different league.

If people don’t buy this single I’ll actually consider not bothering anymore. I just love it so much. These guys have combined all of their childhood (and young adult) musical and life influences into what’s shaping up to be one of those really special Australian electronic-pop-hybrid albums of the year. 2010’s Presets or Cut Copy, if the new material I’ve heard is anything to go by.

Stars in the making, each and every one of them. I can’t bloody wait for the video clip or for the song to be available on iTunes.

THE NEW CASSETTE KIDS SINGLE IS EVEN BETTER THAN THEIR LAST.

I caught the Aussie four-piece live the other night supporting for Calvin Harris here in Melbourne (review and pics of the Calvin portion tomorrow), where they showcased a mixture of older songs with some as-yet-unreleased material from their upcoming debut album, Nothing On TV.

“Spin”, single number 2 from the record in question, has a VERY big chorus; it’s like throwing Roxette, No Doubt and Ladyhawke into a grinder and serving the result in a glass full of ice. Incredible.

The video clip was shot this week in Melbourne, but until that’s made available on the web, you can hear “Spin” in full over on the bands MySpace.

http://www.myspace.com/cassettekids/

Cassette Kids are shaping up to be one Australia’s greatest hopes, not only for 2010, but beyond. “Lying Around” should have been bigger than it was, and “You Take It” remains an important staple in Australia’s Indie-pop scene.  Their debut EP We Are STILL gets spun frequently on my stereo, and now there’s “Spin”, an accomplished and sophisticated slice of infectious pop music that somehow trumps all of their already stellar work. It’s also a song about songs, one of my favourite topics in Pop.

To top it all off, not a single one of the members is very ugly at all, are they?

The cover-art for the new Goldfrapp single, “Rocket.” Looks like Xanadu meets this, doesn’t it?

After the wondrous, demure subtlety of Seventh Tree (which seems to have gone over most peoples heads), Goldfrapp return in 2010 with this; a phenomenal slice of Xanadu-pop that puts the already large-headed Alison Goldfrapp on an even bigger pedestal.

“Now that I’m here, now that you’re near… in Xaaaanaaaaaduuu.”

Phenomenal. Everything about this new phase in Goldfrapp’s history feels bigger. “Rocket” is a truly majestic pop song with major everything; verse, chorus, structure, synths, everything about it is breathtaking.

They never cease to amaze me even more with each project. Here’s the album sleeve for the released-in-March “Head First.”

See? Majestic.

Hopefully I’ll see you there.

She topped the BBC’s Sound of 2010 list and xolondon’s been (rightfully) banging on about her since October last year. It’s probably about time I said something about Ellie Goulding.

I’d listened to a few of the leaked Ellie tracks in that time, liked what I heard, but didn’t really return to them until last week. Driving in my car, I’d just uploaded a Goulding playlist to my iPod on a drive down the coast… And I have to say that, honestly, that was the first time I really listened to Ellie Goulding. I listened to every word and it wasn’t long before I was intoxicated by her voice and her stories.

I’m a sucker for strong, powerful and – more often than not – sad lyrics, I’m sure I’ve said it a hundred times. Ellie’s way of story-telling is incredibly emotional. The songs have this gorgeous folk foundation, but then have this slightly tarted-up electropop tinge as well.  You can bop to the beat and cry all at the same time.  And then there are the lyrics, in particular those from my favourite of the available tracks, “Guns + Horses.”

“And let’s join forces. We’ve got our guns and horses. I know you’ve been burned but every fire is a lesson learned.”

“But I wish I could feel all it for you. I wish I could be it all for you. If I could erase the pain, and maybe you’d feel the same. I’d do it all for you. I would.”

And then there’s the excellent “Under The Sheets”, which has its own telling and biting story told through the chorus.

“We’re under the sheets and you’re killing me. In this house made of paper, your words all over me.”

“Where did the people go? My hands are empty. You’re not the answer, I should know. Like all the boys before, like all the boys before.”

Magical.

Ellie’s debut album is released on March the 1st this year. I eagerly await its arrival because, lyrically speaking, we could have another Lungs on our hands.

Last night I had the privilege of sitting with Rogue Traders co-founder James Ash and having a listen to a bunch of demos for the bands upcoming album, their fourth overall and their first since Natalie Bassinghthwaighte’s departure.

Here’s the thing; it’s really, really good. Some of these unfinished demos sound more fresh and exciting than most of the things on the charts at the moment; I’d even go as far as saying there are some moments so spectacular that they trump certain key-points found on the bands last two albums.

All the stories you’ve heard about it being a dance record are bang on. If you were at all deterred by lead single “Love Is A War”, then you’ll be pleased to know it’s probably one of the less instant moments among the new tracks.  It’s also the least straight-up-dance moment as well; there are spikey club-cuts throughout, with mild nods and references to everyone from Blondie, Phil Oakey, the Sugababes (v2.0) and even Madonna. In fact, the new Rogue Traders album is a bit like Richard X meeting up with Rachel Stevens and Lene Lovich in a thumping nightclub.

“Ease Your Mind” is, as James described it to me, like the Sugababes having it off with Justice. Think of “Whatever Makes You Happy” and then essentially times it by 10. One of the more instant moments, the glam-rock meets synth-overdrive of “Would You Raise Your Hands”, was an immediate favourite and is about musical snobbery. It’s a tongue-in-cheek, arms-aloft club-pop banger that smells like a hit single.

“Skyline” – although sounding nothing like it – is the albums answer to “In Love Again”, in the sense that it’s dreamy electro-pop with EXCELLENT lyrics. There’s also “Girl In Gold”, which is Ash’s tribute to Debbie Harry from Blondie (he told me he was staring at a poster of Deb as he penned the chorus – amazing), “America”, “So Lonely” (inspired by Britney Spears) and “Ease Your Mind.” All very, very good.

And what about Mindi Jackson, the bands new vocalist? Can she fill the shoes left vacant by Natalie? More than capable, actually. It doesn’t take long to hear that Jackson’s voice is stronger and has a lot more texture than Nat’s does; the vocal arrangements on the album are more complex and a little more experimental – a definite plus. I’ve said before that Mindi’s voice reminds me of Lene Lovich; add a very young Gwen Stefani, No Doubt-era into the mix as well. I’m actually REALLY looking forward to seeing Mindi perform with the band for the first time live on stage.

So in summary, If you were at all worried about the album; don’t be. Whether your worries were spawned by the idea you felt they couldn’t go on without Natalie, or because you didn’t quite like “Love Is A War”, cast them aside.  It’s okay to be wrong sometimes and in this case, you are.

This album will change peoples minds about the group. Within a few minutes of hearing it I’d almost forgotten about the bands past; it is ALL about the future from now on in.

UPDATE: Album Teaser available on TheirSpace.