New Bands/Old Bands

It's one the greatest truisms in music and life: imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Another truism is this: if someone made money doing it before, then someone else will be doing it again very soon.

We're at one of those great cyclical moments in music where it's hard to tell the past from the present. Across the airwaves, the web, and concert stages are musical acts that owe their look and sound to some very similar artists from the not too distant past. It's always been the case, but the similarities are particularly uncanny right now.

This week's New Band/Old Band is La Roux/Yazoo

Even though singer Elly Jackson counts Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake as early influences, she and musical collaborator Ben Langmaid are firmly planted in the land of '80s synthpop. Their singles "Quicksand" and "In for the Kill" sound like outtakes from a lost Yazoo record. Yazoo (known as Yaz in the U.S.) were another synthpop duo who, like La Roux, relied on hair gel and keyboards. La Roux's Jackson and Yazoo's singer Alison Moyet share the same white soul DNA, even if separated by an octave or two.

I loved Yazoo. I love La Roux. I was lucky enough to see them at the Troubadour in West Hollywood recently. The club felt like a "Square Pegs" reunion, full of pink Izod shirts, over sized horn-rimmed glasses and penny loafers. Too bad I tossed out my Girbaud jeans and Willie Wear shirts.

Next week, another New Band/Old Band. Email me your suggestions at content@getback.com.