In an earlier interview, Diamond Rings' John O'Regan — who completely commandeered an outdoor set yesterday at Austin's Beauty Bar — shared a startlingly on-point observation about how hard it is to make challenging pop music.

"It's easy to make something abrasive and openly confrontational — something no one likes," he said. "If you can make something that your mom will like, that's still fresh and raw and new, that's fucking hard."

Truth. But that's a concept easily grasped by Toronto's Doldrums. While most editorial directed towards his penchant for the experimental — yes, you might hear the 21st Century Fox chopped and screwed beyond recogniton, yes, Doldrums released a VHS mixtape, and yes, that's actually a dinner bell being used in its live perfromance — what's astounding here is that this is pure pop. This: Bliss via Korg, sequencer, a pedal board and the aforementioned dinner bell.

Listen below:

And Doldrums' own take on their warped pop:

Not to mention the remainder of Doldrums' tour dates, via its blog:

March 18 SXSW, TX Grimes @ KLUB KRUCIAL w/ Toro Y Moi, The Fresh & Onlys (Gorilla Vs. Bear/Mexican Summer Showcase)
March 19 SXSW, TX Grimes @ Club Deville w/ Gobble Gobble, Braids (Pop Montreal Showcase)
March 19 SXSW, TX Doldrums @ 2109 Scenic Dr w/ Gobble Gobble
March 20 Shreveport, LA - Dalzell House w/ Rich Aucoin, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt
March 21 Pensacola, FL - 720 North V Street w/ Rich Aucoin, Terror Pigeon Dance Revolt
March 22 Athens, GA - Farm255
March 23 Bloomington, IN - TBC
March 24 Detroit, MI - North End Studios
March 25 Sarnia, ON - Trinity Lounge
March 26 Toronto, ON - Everlasting Joy