cloying sounds that make my teeth hurt

It’s probably Feist’s fault. Her silly enthusiasm is sexy. I liked “Mushaboom” as much as the next pop fan. But “1234” was the tipping point. Mentioned frequently in writing last year near the word “magical,” it triggers in me a mad impulse to destroy. And now it has incited a rash of cloying singer-songwriter tunes that make my teeth hurt.

It’s not the metrosexual hybrid mixes of acoustica and skipping electro-lite beats and moody synthesizer melodies. The only Death Cab For Cutie I can stand came in the Postal Service. It was that sublime 2003 record that alerted me to the uptapped alternative pop possibilities of mashing the sensitive side of indieland with some electronica. French popsters AIR (or Serge Gainsbourg?) pioneered this particular genre vibe mixing sweetly sardonic hooks and soundtrack drama and digital tempos in the late-90s.

Some of the recent problem appears to be a drift into organic singer-songwriter Puritanism combined with a kiddie pop fixation. Recent hits “New Soul,” by Yaim Nael and “Bruises,” by Chairlift, sport a naifness that is unbelievably grating. What makes Goldfrapp’s “Fly Me Away,” a tune certainly not lacking in silly love song sentiment, great is the glammy disco ball that spins overhead. Kick off those Birkenstocks, girls.

Better is Lily Allen’s balance of acid lyrics with the sweet melodies and smooth tempos. Or the dark qualms in Lykke Li’s shuffling ditties that echos outward like a splash on a still pond. The Bird and The Bee go for similar contrasts but only have artless slogans to offer for words. Kate Nash has wit but no swing. And, still, the doomy lush tendencies of Allen and Li can be tiring.

Madonna’s “Miles Away,” from an otherwise dreary album, is a worthy model. Too bad more young singers aren’t trying to copy Robyn. Making it something you can move to is always a good thing. Not that I don’t think there’s room for more roots or rock music flourishes in the indie electronica mashup but the recent run of nursery-rhyme cutesiness has gotta go.