The Internet - Purple Naked Ladies (2011)

Odd Future's Syd the Kyd and Matt Martians have teamed up under the moniker The Internet to create something that sounds like a mix of the soundtracks of Super Fly and Barbarella, along with a steamy serving of their own innovative styles. The mostly instrumental “Violet Nude Woman” sets the album’s tone with analog synthesizers bubbling alongside geometric beats and a background of cooing vocals, recalling the theme song to the original Star Trek TV series. The slightly more contemporary “They Say” still percolates with weird Moog sounds, but Syd the Kyd’s sultry vocal approach keeps things relevant, especially with soulful self-harmonies and in the moments when Martians’ smoky inflections seep into the tune. The synthesizer-heavy “Cocaine” starts with Vangelis-esque textures before the song shape-shifts into a simmering future-disco slow jam. Syd’s rhyming skills surface in “Ode to a Dream,” but it’s singing-based numbers like “Web of Me” that flatter her best.