The Prettiest Self-Loathing in Town

Name: Total Warr, or duo Kiki and Guigui

Where They’re From: Paris

Genre: Dreamy electro-pop

When they started: 2010

Most Similar:The xx, Flaming Lips, Animal Collective

Sounds like: Pretty synth clouds on a dewy hipster day

Favorite Lyric: “I hate my band, I hate my music, and most of the time, I hate you.”

You know miss it when it’s gone: pretty melodies, warm major key 8bit, and a nice, accessible beat. It’s the formula for aural deliciousness.

Make the vocals lo-fi and the lyrics ironically angry, and you’ve got Parisian dream pop duo Total Warr. Their debut EP Corbay – featuring two of their singles, and remixes by Azari & III and Is Tropical — is out today in all its echo-y, self-deprecating glory.

With lyrics like “I don’t deserve any respect/Or even interest/And everytime I take a picture I can see the man I try to be” on their single “xxxHATExxx” you wonder if Total Warr should be getting some help. But the fun is evident in their backstory. For years, Kiki and Guigui have toured with Aussie hardcore band The Death Set, a group known for on-stage vomiting, mosh pits and songs called “Slap Slap Slap Pound Up Down Snap.” The two of them allegedly took a trip to Disney World, where, inspired by the hyperreal ridiculousness, they decided it was time to form a pop band.

So “xxxHATExxx” is a melancholy anthem with a wink, while their second single “Saturday Night” has a tropicalia, Animal Collective and Miike Snow feel. Together these French troublemakers have made ear candy I can’t stop listening to.

Hear “xxxHATExxx.”