Bear in Heaven: "Sinful Nature"

When I first heard Bear in Heaven back when 2007's Red Bloom of the Boom was released - an album that was heavily praised by Pitchfork - I dug their sprawling, psychedelic sound, but at the same time there was a certain pastiche quality to the songs which made the album as a whole seem unfinished or not fully formed. I'm pretty comfortable with where the band is at five years later, having morphed into a pretty creditable synth pop band with concise pop hooks, and the experimental angle is still there in the overwrought keyboard washes. Much of this is no doubt to the revolving lineup: Jon Philpot is the only original member left, but at this point it looks like he's drafted a team that works.

Bear in Heaven: "The Reflection of You"

Bear in Heaven may be best known to neophytes as the band that "leaked" their upcoming album I Love You, It's Cool to the web, only slowed down to sheer unlistenability by a 400,000% margin. They have more going for them than novelty marketing, though; "The Reflection of You" is a heavily new wave-tinged, upbeat pop song with old school synths, but it's really the jazzy analog drumming that sells this track. Warning: the video is NSFE(pileptics).