Do yourself a favor and take three minutes to listen to the infectious new single from Hortlax Cobra, titled "Bus Stop". Hortlax Cobra is the electronic side project of John Eriksson, who many readers may recognize as one-third of Swedish indie band, Peter Björn & John. In case you wondered, Hortlax is the name of the town (in Piteå, Sweden) where John was born and raised. "Bus Stop" and its companion piece, "Gimme the Highlights (feat. Sibille Attar)", are the fourth in a series of two-track singles released by Hortlax Cobra over the past two years. That string of singles includes the most recent, "As Far As My Eyes Could See (feat. Noonie Bao)", as well as "Light as a Feather (feat. Beatrice Eli)", and "I'm Still Here (feat. Ane Brun)".
With a killer, funky guitar riff that carries the entire song, "Bus Stop" is uptempo, pulsing and melodic. This is one of those songs you can easily get stuck in your head (in a good way). The handclaps and catchy melody throughout the track bring to mind songs like Moby's "Body Rock" and The Belle Stars "Iko Iko", while incorporating prominent, lush synthesizers in a style reminiscent of Vince Clarke (Yazoo, Erasure) and Kraftwerk.
To date, Hortlax Cobra has released three vinyl-only EP's and two studio albums, Night Shift and 1984, both from 2012. Night Shift is comprised of original material, while 1984 is an electronic, track-by-track tribute to Van Halen's album of the same name. It's definitely worth checking out the Hortlax Cobra versions of songs like "Jump", "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher". Following the recent string of one-off singles, a new album, Lightworks, is set for a May release on INGRID Records.
For more information about Hortlax Cobra, follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and find their music on Spotify, Apple Music and SoundCloud.