Once again teasing us with creative bits of art is French band Ödland, this time with a series of photographs of the always stunning Alizée Bingöllü. With these photographs comes a rambling message clouded in mystery, reproduced in part here. Ödland has always blended their very unique style of underground French classical pop with the artistic, a feat they accomplish gracefully with these teasers.

French group Viking Dress is new to me, but their sound flirts with the same from a lot of the artists I’ve been listening to of late so it’s a welcome introduction. Band’s new EP, titled Summarize, was produced by Frederic Landini (Get Back Guinozzi) and mixed by David Wrench (Caribou, Bat For Lashes) and it includes “Lalie’s Game”.

On their latest LP, Stereo Total does a good job satiating fans with a full 17 tracks, though label Kill Rock Stars notes that the band wrote 40 for the album. Now, I’m not much of a Stereo Total expert, but Baby Ouh! feels a bit more experimental than what I’ve heard from the band. From the get-go, they drop in sounds that remind me of not only Stereo Total, but artists like Deerhoof and The Fiery Furnaces. And it works.

The Dø are a French meets Finnish duo who released their debut LP, A Mouthful on Six Degrees Records earlier this month, which prompted the infamous Pitchfork to state the album “is as ambitious and fun as any coming-out party in recent memory.” After giving it a listen, I can attest that it is pretty damn fun. “At Last” is an easy favorite with over-pronounced words sung in a sexy foreign accent and a laid-back, calm guitar strum that dares you not to fall in love.

Something in the world has shifted because yet again I am finding myself setting aside the mastery of electric guitars and songs for slower, seemingly simpler sounds, such as those of the folk band Uniform Motion. While we miss out on their rock art concept of sketches and soundscapes created during live performance, we still manage to experience a layer of unfamiliar, emotional imagery not yet touched upon by the majority of folk artists. The acoustic guitar is doused with melodies reminiscent of Jose Gonzalez, yet the intimately wispy vocals …

Anticipation has been building. Ödland‘s new record has had a dozen teasers, and behind all the humor has been snippets of a real catchy track – what we now know to be “The Queen Of Hearts”. Yesterday, Lorenzo Papace, the main musical man behind Ödland, posted a video for the song.

Without being overly upbeat, Pascal Bizet finds a comforting middle ground between highly catchy pop melodies and overtly melancholy emotive vocals. “Sans Doute” is the perfect example of this seemingly patched pair of musical opposites. The video, filmed on Super 8, follows suit; borderline disturbing yet filled with a mystic sort of beauty. Bizet sings in his native French tongue – though I don’t understand a word, I can feel pain and despair hiding behind the strained vocals.

Five teaser videos so far; Ödland just won’t quit. Their debut EP The Caterpillar blended experimental French classical music with pop, and their pending debut LP, Ottocento, promises more of the same. Ottocento is slated for a Spring 2009 2010 release and if it’s half as creative as these promotional videos, we’re all in for a sizable treat.