Don’t you wish we could all be as happy as the kids over to the left? They are Electric Youth and they are making us pretty giddy this week. Railcars are making us smile on the inside. Vowels have us wallking around with a knowing grin. Pageants are putting a little more pep in our step. Loose Shus have us coming down with a serious case of happy feet. St. Helens are leaving us with a warm feeling (and no, it’s not H1N1.). Try taking some of these jams out for a little test drive and see if they can’t improve your disposition too.

Electric Youth
This duet from Toronto takes their name from Debbie Gibson and their sound from an imagined collision between Stacy Q and Daft Punk. “Replay” is the hott jam to check out.

Loose Shus
Like Electric Youth, Loose Shus are closely affilated with the retro synth-pop Valerie Collective. Also like EY, they mash up the modern electro sounds with some old-school keyboard dance pop.

That Girl With Dark Eyes
No One Will Know by Bella was one of HDJ staffer Tim’s favorite albums of 2007 and he’s pretty bummed that they never made a follow-up. The band’s drummer Tiffany Garrett Sotomayor is back though with a new project that trades in Bella’s synth-pop vigor for a more nuanced and atmospheric approach.

Mardeen
Halifax represent! These guys sound less like Sloan than they do Joe Jackson’s offspring. Not that JJ, the Look Sharp one. Check the super breezy jam “Ice Truck Killer.”

St. Helens
This Australian bunch serves up shambling cool and romance that sounds vintage without being an obvious rehash.

Beak
Portishead’s Geoff Barrow shows off a more streamlined – but just as eerie – side on this project with two other Bristol musicians.

Vowels
James Rutledge is best known as folktronic (Is that even a valid term anymore? Was it ever?) artist Pedro but as Vowels, he and Chris Wimsey make bone-rattling, extremely well-crafted Germanic experimental rock.

Hit and run with the abrasive Drunkdriver.

Railcars
There might just be a catchy little song under all that static.

Pageants deliver the Tropical/Garage/Surf goods with a little menace and a lot of pop.