Aggressive and winsome

The Naked and Famous song “Young Blood, which recently became the first by a New Zealand band to reach No 1 in their home country for 2 years, is ecstatic, uplifting, thumping, pumping psych-dazed, rocked-up synth-pop that is all about affirmation,” Guardian reviewer Paul Lester writes. “Throughout, the girl sounds cutely aggressive and the boy winsomely male, so they meet about halfway and it works, superbly. The [Auckland-based] Naked and Famous have cannily slipped into the space made available by [New York band] MGMT since they committed commercial hara-kiri earlier this year.” The Naked and Famous are: David Beadle, Thom Powers, Aaron Short, Jesse Wood and Alisa Xayalith. The group began as an electro duo in 28 when Powers and Xayalith met at music school.