Today’s music genre boundaries have been greatly blurred, which I believe is a very healthy state…it just makes my dewey decimal-esque mind a little uneasy. Matt and Isom is a group that blurs those lines and defies any classification one might throw at it. They’re rock, like Radiohead’s ‘Kid A’ is a rock, and electronic like, well, Radiohead’s ‘Amnesiac’ is electronic. You seein’ where I’m going with this? It’s not subtle.

Their new album “AugustJesusDepression” beautifully combines the elements of a great singer songwriter album (think vocals, acoustic guitar, melody), with the very best that electronic production has to offer. Great ambient soundscapes, loops, beats, etc., dance with the vocals, live drums, and acoustic guitars in a symbiotic movement that is hard to pull off successfully. Many groups have tried only to sound like what Madonna sounds like trying to rap…forced and completely contrived. Matt and Isom are not riding a trend. They are what others try to emulate.

The album’s opening track sets up this dichotomy of organic vs. produced from the get go. An acoustic guitar and vocal lead the way, only to be joined by a thick, aggressive keyboard pad and quick, light electronic loop down the road from whence they walk hand in hand down the yellow brick road that is this album. Listen to it and you may not end up in Oz, but you’ll end up in a very satisfied place, a place where music genres don’t exist and the only classification is ‘good’ or ‘not so much.’ Matt and Isom definitely land in the former.

Amelia Brightman is an amazing singer from the United Kingdom. Her warm voice and great sense for melodies is surrounded by electronic beats. “Fly” reminds me of Imogen Heap mixed with the melancholy of Evanescence. “Can You Hear Me” is a four on the floor tune, “Fairest of all seasons” is a lullaby with mellow guitar and a great string arrangement. Great electronic pop music from England!

Steady Long Music has a very unconventional way of mixing Electronica, Hiphop and Ambient. They remind me a little bit of Tricky, although they work with speech samples instead of actual raps. “STWOM live” is breakbeat based, “Scattered” uses Sitar and other Indian instruments, “Reposado Sketchwork” is and instrumental piano piece. Overall the music sounds more based in London. I wouldn’t have guessed it’s from Pasadena, California.

This chill out band was founded by Frank Peterson (Enigma) and Kristian Draude. It’s an interesting electro-organic downbeat act. The album doesn’t have any song separations, starts slow and ends fast and is the perfect soundtrack for relaxation, seduction and love. The sound ranges from bloomy soft tunes like “Kissing” to electronic soundscapes as in “Sleep”. I tried it with my girlfriend: it works…

Zoot Woman offers a great mélange of electronic and organic instruments. They build interesting and very warm soundscapes. The songs are danceable with interesting progressions and melodies. “Living in a magazine” sounds like friendly more electronic version of Placebo. Tracks like “It’s automatic” and “Taken It All” remind me a lot of Mojo, Daft Punk and other French electro-pop bands.