Music Video: Wise Guys - Jetzt und hier

I have always had something of a love/hate relationship with a cappella groups.  On the one hand, I can't deny the vocal virtuosity and creativity that goes into making an a cappella group work.  On the other hand, more often than not, a cappella groups are self-consciously comic and kitschy, almost to the point of daring the public to acknowledge liking them.  I find this attitude more off-putting than endearing.

Sometimes, though, this cheeky attitude works.  In the case of German a cappella band Wise Guys, it has raised them to the pinnacle of the German pop charts.  Songs like Jetzt und hier ably demonstrate Wise Guys' ability to craft incredibly catchy pop songs, and to deliver them with a cheeky smile, without allowing this cheekiness to degrade into self-parody.

Music Video: Locas in Love - An den falschen Orten

I will admit to having an affinity for bands with female bassists.  I don't know why that is, and I certainly don't know why I am telling the world this, other than to use it as an eye-catching way to introduce Köln, Germany's band Locas in Love.  Fortunately, Locas in Love is more than just a band with a female bassist.  For over 10 years, they have been successfully producing insidiously catchy pop tunes, like their most recent single, An den falschen Orten.

As usual, non-English language pop gets little play outside of whatever country it comes from.  If there was any justice, though, Locas in Love would have a solid underground following in the U.S. or the U.K.