“Nevada”
from the album You Are the Night
2010
iTunes
Deluka are a four-piece indie dance-rock band originally from the UK but now based in Brooklyn. If you could imagine the pop-punk grooves of Blondie, filter them through the big melodies of The Killers with a singer who sounds like she’s BFF with both Karen O (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and Ronnie Spector, you’ll know why they’re bound for huge things. And if these hooks were any bigger on this fresh and fantastic debut, they’d be snagging great white sharks. From start to finish, Deluka deliver the goods with a sassy attitude, big drum beats, twitchy angular guitars, a gritty edge when needed and those long-lost new wave keyboard riffs. First single “Cascade” is brimming with the makings of a perfect pop song — a towering melody, a sing-along chorus and a sexy syncopated rhythm. Elsewhere, indie-dance tracks like “Nevada,” “Mean Streets,” and the bitchin’ “OMFG” rock the neon hard, while subtler tracks like “Come Back to Me” and “Name On My Lips” further prove their mettle in crafting soul-stirring earworms. The band is a tight unit for sure, but the spotlight shines brightest on singer Ellie Innocenti, whose fierce je ne sais quoi is undeniable.