Moving way up to a tie for #1 on the singles chart this week is the mysterious “Snowflake” from the British duo Malachai. The pair of artists that make up Malachai are only known as Gee (the vocalist) and Scott (the music-maker). Based in Bristol, England, the pair mashes together a wide variety of influences on their debut album Ugly Side Of Love. “Snowflake” mashes up a stalely piano and fuzzed-out guitar riff with Gee’s increasingly-infectious pronunciation of the word “roundabout.” There’s also a very different remix of “Snowflake” by Geoff Barrow of Portishead as the B-side. Barrow has mentored the pair and released Ugly Side Of Love overseas on his own Invada label imprint. “My generation grew up under a flag that had been hijacked by all the wrong people, but during my lifetime I’ve seen much to be proud of and it needs to be reclaimed,” says Gee, defending their everything-and-the-kitchen-sink mentality. “England is The Beatles, The Kinks, Del boy and roast dinners but it’s also The Specials, Asian Dub Foundation, Desmonds, The Kumars and chicken tikka masala.” You can hear more from Malachai at www.myspace.com/malachaibristol or dominorecordco.us.

I love to say the name of this Buzz Band…Fanfarlo! Their frontman Simon Balthazar grew up in Sweden but is now based in London along with the other four members of the group: multi-instrumentalists Cathy Lucas and Leon Beckenham, bassist Justin Finch and drummer Amos Memon. The band has drawn comparisons to the Arcade Fire, mainly due to their wide use of instrumentation. On Reservoir, Fanfarlo employ clarinets, cellos, mandolins, ukuleles, melodicas, handclaps and much more. Reservoir was recorded in Bridgeport, CT with producer Peter Katis (Interpol, The National). Balthazar says, “I always thought big with this band. Wanting to make music that everyone would love, which always seemed like a realistic expectation, given the response we got to our live performances. But although I hoped a producer might be the answer to flat recordings, it was an amazing relief to be able to say, yes, this is what it should sound like.” The single “Harold T. Willkins” had some Triple A radio play last year, but is getting a brighter spotlight shined on it now, with Reservoir being reissued by Canvasback/Atlantic. Reservoir comes in at #16t On the SubModern album chart this week. Fanfarlo is currently touring Europe, but will be in the U.S. for a handful of West Coast dates at the end of the month. Visit fanfarlo.com or canvasbackmusic.com for more.