Not that it would ever come down to it, but if we had to choose between them, we’d take this new Suicide-inspired tune from James Pants over M.I.A.’s Suicide re-appropriating “Born Free” any day. Unlike the neo-diva, eccentric producer Pants doesn’t take the seminal duo’s actual synth riffs and drum-machine beats for his brand-new “Darlin'” tune, but it’s hard to think of him looking further than Suicide‘s upbeat minimalism for the thick and fuzzy soundscape that envelops the electro-poppy number. Even his hushed, distant croon sounds a bit like Alan Vega on (more) pills, but the ghostly “ohs” of his lady friend in the background and the distorted wash of synth/guitar melodies that accompany them certainly gives “Darlin'” a fresh slant. It’s a new, interesting direction for the Stones Throw recording artist, and one we wouldn’t mind hearing more of when his next album, Love Kraft, drops in April 2011.

Darlin’