The POP! Stereo

Lancelot...Knight of the Round Table

2012-02-02T01:19:00.001Z

LANCELOT is the new project from 21 year‐old Sydney producer Lance Gurisik.

Formerly recording as AEONS, in 2011 Lance dropped the drums, kicked aside the USB keyboards and embedded himself in the studio to create his own dense style of house music.

With a fetish for analogue gear, Lance draws upon his broad knowledge of classical music styles and forms while recording and writing for dance floors – the result sitting somewhere between new‐wave pop and
down‐tempo, tropical house. I'm happy to report there's not a dub or step in sight and it's fucking marvelous.

For the past 3 years Lance has been composing orchestral music, studying at the elite Sydney Conservatory of Music.

After hours, Lance snuck into the faculty recording studios, laying down a swathe of well‐regarded, official remixes for artists including New Navy (Future Classic), Toucan, Fabian (Binary), Penguin Prison, Sparkadia (Ivy League), Faker (EMI), Tim and Jean (Universal) and Fallulah (Sony DE). This winter he recorded three original tunes for the upcoming We Can Dance EP.

Now, with a freshly framed graduation certificate and sharp new hair‐cut to boot, LANCELOT is plunging straight into the club.

LANCELOT’s We Can Dance EP is set for digital‐release worldwide on LA‐based label Binary (Fabian,
Keenhouse, Nightwaves) on Beatport on February 20th, followed by a worldwide release on March 5th.

Download: Spoken Word

Watch Out For the Superhumanoids

2012-02-02T01:11:00.001Z

LA-based Superhumanoids are pleased to announce that they will be supporting Active Child and Balam Acab on their upcoming North American tour. The dates will follow previously announced tours supporting Cold War Kids and Class Actress. A full list of dates is below.

Superhumanoids make dreamy pop that shouts summery '60s harmonies, garage rock's raw tonality, slick new-wave electronics, and the adventurous dissonance of '90s indie rock. Originally the solo bedroom project of Cameron Parkins, the LA band quickly evolved into a multifaceted outfit featuring Sarah Chernoff (Vocals and keys), and Max St. John (Bass, vocals, and programming)

Tour Dates...
2/09 Los Angeles CA, The Echo!
2/10 San Diego CA, The Casbah!
2/11 Costa Mesa CA, Detroit Bar!
2/26 Portland, OR, Doug Fir Lounge^
2/27 Portland, OR, Doug Fir Lounge^
2/28 Portland, OR, Doug Fir Lounge^
3/01 Seattle, WA, Columbia City Theater^
3/02 Seattle, WA, Columbia City Theater^
3/03 Seattle, WA, Columbia City Theater^
3/05 San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill^
3/06 San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill^
3/07 San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill^
3/13 - 3/17 Austin, TX, SXSW
4/27 Pomona, CA, The Glass House*
4/28 Phoenix, AZ, The Crescent Ballroom*
4/29 Tucson, AZ, Club Congress*
4/30 Santa Fe, NM, Sol at Santa Fe Brewing*
5/02 Norman, OK, Opolis*
5/03 Dallas, TX, Sons of Hermann Hall*
5/04 Austin, TX, Mohawk*
5/05 Houston, TX Fitzgeralds*
5/07 Atlanta, GA, The Earl*
5/08 Carboro, NC, Cats Cradle*
5/09 Washington, DC, Black Cat*
5/10 New York City NY, Bowery Ballroom*
5/11 New York City, NY, Mercury Lounge*
5/14 Montreal, QC, Il Motore*
5/15 Toronto, ON, Lee's Palace*
5/16 Chicago, IL, Lincoln Hall*
5/17 St Louis, MO, Firebird*
5/18 Lawrence, KS, The Jackpot Saloon*
5/19 Denver, CO, Bluebird Theater*
5/20 Fort Collins, CO, Aggie Theatre*
5/22 Salt Lake City, UT, Urban Lounge*

! w/ Class Actress
^ w/ Cold War Kids
* w/ Active Child, Balam Acab

Download: Geri

I Got A Cultfever

2012-02-01T03:02:00.001Z

Cultfever is J. Peter Durniak and Tamara Jafar, two artists whose chance encounter in a Manhattan recording studio spawned a musical partnership of two distinct voices connecting over a shared vision in sound. Within a few months of their first meeting, Durniak, an audio engineer at the studio, and Jafar, an audio intern at the studio and political activist, decided to move in together, converting their apartment living room into a shared studio space. Soon after, late-night recording sessions and musical sketches began to evolve into the songs that make up their eponymous debut.

During the recording process, the duo conceived of the album as a series of cinematic vignettes rather than trying to focus the project around a narrowly tailored theme. Giving themselves that space to explore they now have a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses in the interplay of their individual tastes and styles.

The end result of this experiment is a collection of nine distinct tracks, ranging from the atmospheric textures of album opener “Knewyouwell” and mid-album highlight “Devil in the Drum” to the bombast and unhinged romanticism of “Spill” and closing track “Collector.” Fantastic stuff all around. Hear for yourself....

Download: Knew You Well

The Mary Onettes Know Love Is Forever

2012-02-01T02:30:00.002Z

It's been a long, long time since I've heard anything from The Mary Onettes. They may have recorded a few albums since I last heard them, I have no idea. But I was pretty well pleased with Labrador alerted me to the fact that they have returned with a new album. After I did a happy dance, I figured the right thing to do was to share this good fortune with you guys.

The Mary Onettes new record, Love Forever sees the band hooking up with an outside producer for the first time. Produced by Dan Lissvik, the record is out on February 28th on digital and limited edition vinyl.

Gone is the echoing reverb, the 80's guitars and the big, splashing drums. "Love Forever" the lead track is a wonder of genre-blurring fearlessness drawing on ambient textures, avant-garde rhythms and intricate arrangements. It's a song that soars Heavenward on the vocals and ethereal guitar work. While it reminds me a bit of the Cure on a sunny day, it's a bit of a departure and the first sign that Spring is right around the corner. It's beautiful stuff that only a Swede pop band could record.

Download: Love's Taking Strange Ways

The Minor Leagues Are Back

2012-01-31T02:52:00.001Z

Some time ago, about two years three months to be precise we posted about The Minor Leagues. A lot has happened since that post eons ago. This is what we said then… Ben Walpole wishes he were British, fronting Pulp in 1995. Patrick Helmes wishes he were playing lead for Megadeth in 1988. But cruel fate has instead placed them both in the Minor Leagues, playing insidiously catchy indiepop for most of the last decade from their Cincinnati, Ohio homebase.

Since that time the band has been busy but has apparently forgotten to let us know. So while we’ve been wondering like a lonely parent, the band has been touring, recording, having fun and not letting us share in the joy. Until now. Guess who just happened to pop up in our in box. The Minor Leagues. And believe it or not, they’ve not gone Major. They’ve kept it real and kept that strange amalgamation of darkness and light going and recorded another album.

North College Hill is the new album from The Minor Leagues, the latest in a string of releases from the Cincinnati seven-piece to pair stinging melancholy with insidiously catchy melodies. The Leagues' last two records covered the end of a relationship and the end of the world in overblown concept-album fashion, and this new album continues the streak with ten songs of bittersweet rust-pop about North College Hill, lead singer Ben Walpole's crumbling Midwestern hometown. The band paints a baroque portrait of the neighborhood-as-history, detailing childhood memories in a faded palette of strings, bells, and guitar jangle.

Download: Ghost Maps
Download: Please Don't Throw My Love Away
Download: Secret Codes

2 Bears Head To Work

2012-01-31T01:42:00.001Z

2 Bears are a London production duo made up of Joe Goddard of Hot Chip and Raf Daddy. These two odd dudes have thrown on a couple of bear suits, dug out all their favorite 80's and 90's Chicago house records and made one heck of a tribute to it on their new album Be Strong.

An album laden with incessant mind numbingly sexy grooves, Be Strong harks back to the days when dancing was fun and when dance music was about energy and movement not excessive noise and wobble. While influenced by the Chicago and New York scenes, the album is most definitely rooted in the London underground scene and you can tell. Ridiculously deep at times and so upfront at others this is a record that weaves and bobs around sub genres faster than an Intercity 125. Garage, electro, piano house, disco house, deep house, it's all here and represented so well that you can't help but throw your hands up in the air and just move.

In addition to the ridiculously addictive grooves that are so persistent the album works because the 2 Bears are able to write instantly memorable lyrics that pump along to the rhythm and drill themselves into your subconscious. Even at their deepest and most chilled moments Be Strong remains, um, strong. Pretty much the party album of 2012 thus far, the 2 Bears have brought proper house, electro, and garage back and pumped it up a few notches. This record is so flawless and so filled with banger after banger that it couldn't not fill a dancefloor if it tried. Essential.

Download: Work (St. Etienne Remix)

Young Magic Cast's It's Spell

2012-01-27T00:24:00.002Z

Although now firmly settled in New York City, Young Magic's three members came together through equal helpings of openness and fortuity. In 2010, singer and producer Isaac Emmanuel had left his home continent of Australia to travel across Europe, over to New York, and down through Mexico, all the while creating and recording music with whatever instruments he found along the way. While in Mexico, Emmanuel kept a tight correspondence with fellow Australian expat Michael Italia, who for months had been similarly traveling across Europe and South America with portable recording gear in tow. They decided to meet up in New York, where their good friend from a few years prior, Indonesian-born vocalist Melati Malay, had been living and making her own recordings. In early 2011 the three friends, who had initially bonded over their broad musical palettes, began recording together and contributing songs to the record, culling influences and finding their own footing among them.

The immediately fruitful collaboration brought forth singles "Sparkly", "You With Air" and "Night In The Ocean," all of which were fitting indicators of the band's chameleonic sound, heavily informed by West African rhythms, Brainfeeder hip-hop, UK bass, and 60s psychedelic soul. Young Magic's full-length debut, Melt, comprises both of these tracks-as well as their B-sides-and expands on their varied aesthetic, at once electronically sequenced and completely organic.

Young Magic's debut album, Melt, is out on Feb. 14 on Carpark.

Download: Sparkly (MatthewDavid's Odyssey Remix)
Watch: Night In The Ocean

Just Barelys

2012-01-25T05:54:00.001Z

Stephen Kelly and Eleanor King are The Just Barelys. A two-piece art/pop project focused on the basics of danceable beats, thoughtful guitar playing, slanted lyrics, and poppy vocal harmonies. Independently recording and releasing three albums and a variety of singles since 2001, JB’s home recordings feature King on drums and Kelly on guitar, and incorporate a wide variety of instruments, computer manipulations and home-made noise devices.

Their most recent output Mad Bits was crafted slowly over a couple of years, developed playfully with constant additions and subtractions. The album is neither a document of their live shows nor a studio creation. It sits somewhere in between, like a distant blurred memory or a dream about the future. You’ll find songs about software problems in the patriot missile, working out and building muscle, skateboarding legends, and missing home. When The Just Barelys aren’t making music, they each spend their time on separate art practices, producing installations throughout Canada and abroad.

The Just Barelys release their long awaited new album Mad Bits on Tuesday, February 14.

Download: Lions

The Rising Milano Sun

2012-01-25T04:03:00.000Z

Milano Sun are 3 guys from Gothenburg, Sweden, who formed a band after they met on an escapism trip around Europe in 2010. As you might guess Milan, Italy was amongst the many stops along the way. They all had long connections within the Swedish music scene as session musicians and felt they had their own sound and something different to contribute. So what better way to contribute than to form a new band.

During 2011 they started to record an album which has just recently been completed. With a Balearic soundscape that evokes the sea, cliffs, wind and a clear sky, the trio express their feelings in songs about love, loss, regret, betrayal and fear, and well, how to handle (or fail to handle) life as a teenager on the run. A post trip autobiographical story in a sense, "Already Gone," is a hint at things to come.

Download: Already Gone

Josh And Mer Are From Planet Music

2012-01-24T04:48:00.001Z

Soon after meeting in their home state of Oregon, Josh Schroeder and Meredith Adelaide discovered that they share common ideas about music, art, life, and their love of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. This connection fostered a creative match that quickly evolved into a musical project as Josh and Mer.

Their debut album, Planet Music, was recorded with producer Jason Carter (Frank Black, Pete Yorn, Art Brut) and evokes a dreamy, experimental indie rock sound. The Portland duo furthered their artistic vision by filming and photographing elements of their collaborative process. "We each bring something to the table that we otherwise couldn't do alone, and I think that's why it works," says Josh, while Meredith adds, “We're always trying to one-up each other with concepts, visuals, and sounds." You can hear that on their single, "From The Sea."

Planet Music, the debut LP comes out February 14th as a free download.

Download: From The Sea

Head To The Weatherhouse

2012-01-23T12:44:00.001Z

George Cochrane met Christopher Vick in the wee hours at a San Francisco house party. George, an electronic music producer, DJ, and label owner, and Christopher, a disco evangelist and party thrower, spent much of the night talking Disco, and became fast friends. Soon enough, Chris moved to Los Angeles, forming a tropical goth band and a clothing company, while George continued his electronic music career.

A "Hey, we should make music sometime" chat eventually became reality, and before long, Chris and George began to collaborate long-distance as Weatherhouse, creating the blueprint album for their new sound, 2011's E Pluribus Calo Disco.

Single handedly creating a new sub genre, Calo Disco is everything you'd expect from someone from California; sun drenched, chilled, and gorgeous.

As for what 2012 holds for Weatherhouse, that's easy. More EPs, a gang of remixes, and a growing list of live and DJ bookings are in store for 2012. Wax the starship and sequin up the space suits, crank up the sunshine and lets get Balearic.

Download: Koala
Download: Discasio

Kishi Bashi Isn't Wishy Washy

2012-01-22T06:14:00.001Z

As a member in of Montreal, Kishi Bashi not only played strings on the band's new album, Paralytic Stalks, but collaborated with Kevin Barnes as a producer as well - an experience which heavily influenced 151a, with Barnes pushing him to new heights of creativity and broader use of violin.

The result of this push is Kishi Bashi's debut full-length, 151a, The album is set to be released on April 10, 2012 via Joyful Noise Recordings. The follow-up to his summer 2011 Room For Dream EP, 151a is a bright and soaring avant pop record written primarily on violin - Kishi Bashi's main instrument which has brought him to record and tour with the likes of Regina Spector, Sondre Lerche, Alexi Murdoch, of Montreal and more.

Check out the first track below and catch Kishi Bashi opening up for his day job this Spring...
Mar. 07 -- Jacksonville, FL -- Freebird Live *
Mar. 08 -- Orlando, FL -- The Plaza Live *
Mar. 09 -- Mobile, AL -- Alabama Music Box *
Mar. 10 -- New Orleans, LA -- Howlin Wolf *
Mar. 11 -- Houston, TX -- Fitzgeralds *%
Mar. 12 -- Oklahoma City, OK -- ACM @ UCO Performance Lab *
Mar. 13 -- Dallas, TX -- Tree's *
Mar. 18 -- El Paso, TX -- Tricky Falls *#
Mar. 19 -- Tucson, AZ -- Rialto *#
Mar. 20 -- Los Angeles, CA -- The Wiltern *#
Mar. 21 -- San Francisco, CA -- Slim's *#
Mar. 22 -- San Francisco, CA -- The Fillmore *#
Mar. 23 -- Portland, OR -- Crystal Ballroom *#
Mar. 24 -- Seattle, WA -- Showbox at the Market *#
Mar. 27 -- Minneapolis, MN -- First Avenue * ≈
Mar. 28 -- Chicago, IL -- Metro * ≈
Mar. 29 -- Cleveland, OH -- Beachland Ballroom * ≈
Mar. 30 -- New York, NY -- Webster Hall ¥ !
Mar. 31 -- New York, NY -- Webster Hall * ≈
Apr. 01 -- Boston, MA -- The Paradise * ≈
Apr. 02 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Union Transfer * ≈
Apr. 03 -- Washington, DC -- 9:30 Club * ≈
Apr. 04 -- Carrboro, NC -- Cat's Cradle * ≈
Apr. 05 -- Asheville, NC -- Orange Peel * ≈
Apr. 06 -- Chattanooga, TN -- Track 29 * ≈
Apr. 07 -- Atlanta, GA -- Variety Playhouse * ≈

* w/ of Montreal

# w/ Deerhoof
% w/ Cults
≈ w/ Loney Dear
! w/ Computer Magic
¥ w/ Hard Nips

Download: It All Began With A Burst

It's All Ad Ventury Like

2012-01-22T04:56:00.001Z

After being introduced by a mutual friend, Heddy and Charles joined forces in 2011. Like two atoms colliding, Ventury was born out of an explosion, creating new life, breathing fresh air into the faltering electro scene. But, as Isaac Newton will tell you, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Something monstrous was born. Something terrible. And now that dreadful force called Ventury has come to destroy everything as you now know it

With Volcano they might just level it all. Exploding in a fiery blast of beats, hard synths, and screaming Ventury hits hard and hits fast. Reminding us of Does It Offend You, Yeah? (think Lets Make Out) the tune is all aggressive funk and brilliant beats that rips your ear drums out and hand them back to you. When you name your single Volcano anything less would be disappointing.

This tune does not disappoint, it destroys and that's what's so great about it. It's "heavy," but it still has enough a tune about it to never let you forget it. And why would you...

Download: Volcano

Kid Blue And BIINX Team Up

2012-01-20T13:03:00.000Z

Sturdy 004, My Lovin smashes forward on the hype of London’s Kid Blue. Hailing from the LOT49 stable, his talents have placed him as a pinnacle above a sea of mediocrity. With some of the thickest kicks in his arsenal, his arpeggiator lines blur the limits between a disco and a rave. Delivered with a classic vocal stab, wrapping up into a tripling, peculating arp, with a squelchy monster acid bubblebath breakdown, Sturdy 004 promises to be a dance floor smasher among the party rocking tech funk masses.

BIINX, a promising new duo, present a remix with effective use of the original, adding their own flavor to synth elements during the breakdown, while pushing the upper register in a screaming effort. Be on the lookout for this driven young duo.

Download: My Lovin (BIINX Remix)

Francis Harris Pays Tribute To His Dad With Leland

2012-01-19T12:29:00.001Z

Brooklyn-based Francis Harris recently announced Leland, his forthcoming full length album on his new imprint Scissor & Thread. The album and project is a very personal one, as Harris composed the album as a requiem for his father. With the approaching 2 year anniversary of his father's passing coming up on February 25th, Harris has pushed back the Leland album release to the adjusted date of February 28th (it was originally set for a February 7th release), now in closest proximity to the life-marking event. The album itself is poignant, reflective, and moving, providing enough of a contrast to his dance alias Adultnapper that allowed Harris to release the album under his actual name (his first release as such in many years).

Like Adultnapper, the dancefloor friendly micro-rhythms are intact here with the Francis Harris material, but only representing part of what's really going on. At other points in the album, Harris injects live cellos, trumpet, piano, guitar and vocals throughout, creating a cohesive and captivating listen that is wholly unique.

Download: Pharoah In The Morning

Now Now Soon To Be Now On Tour

2012-01-18T06:20:00.001Z

Trans- Records and Now, Now are happy to announce dates for a month long tour this spring with The Naked And Famous. The tour will come on the heels of the release of Threads March 6th, and an appearance at SXSW 2012.

This past June, Now, Now, composed of Cacie Dalager (Vocals, Guitar), Jess Abbott (Vocals, Guitar), and Brad Hale (Drums, Synth) packed up their van and drove 1800 miles across North America to record with Redekopp in Vancouver, BC. During the recording the band could tell they were hitting their stride for the first time. "We killed ourselves over Threads," notes Dalager. "That sounds dramatic, but everything about it was excruciating in a good way. Every little idea was worked to its best." It was earlier that spring that they'd begun to solidify a relationship with Trans- Records founder and Death Cab For Cutie guitarist/producer Chris Walla, who had become a fan of the band through their earlier releases after San Francisco's John Vanderslice recommended he listen to the band's debut album Cars.

With the help of Trans- Now, Now are excited for excited at the prospects of reaching new fans and new heights in 2012.

Their tour dates are as follows...
MARCH
* = w/ The Naked & Famous, Vacationer
13-18 - SXSW 2012
23 - Austin, TX - Stubb's Waller Creek Amphitheatre*
24 - Houston, TX - House of Blues*
25 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues*
27 - Orlando, FL - The Plaza Live*
28 - St. Petersburg, FL - State Theatre*
30 - Miami, FL - Grand Central*
31 - Athens, GA - 40 Watt Club*

APRIL
01 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle*
02 - Richmond, VA - The National*
06 - Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot*
09 - Indianapolis, IN - The Vogue*
10 - Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge*
12 - St. Louis, MO - The Gargoyle (Wash U)*
13 - Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom*
14 - Madison, WI - Majestic Theatre*
17 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre*
19 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot*

Download: School Friends

Crossing The Pond

2012-01-18T05:58:00.001Z

Ok..I have to admit when I saw an email with the words POND on it, I just about had a heart attack. Yeah, I went there...I thought the old Sub Pop band was back. How awesome was would that have been. I guess a little too awesome because it wasn't to be. This POND comes to us from across one and hails from Down Under.

While not the original, this POND are a pleasant surprise. Quite good in that noisy 90's indie rock mixed with psyche pop kind of way they might just make you forget of their older twin. With fuzzy guitars, kind of screamy vocals and a quick pace these guys fully embrace the indie RAWK philosophy.

Mixed by Kevin Parker (Tame Impala) and Rob Grant at Poon's Head Studio in Perth, Beard, Wives, Denim is an audio diary of ten friends' strange, terrible and blissful time in the country trying in vain to be a wholesome family band. It sounds just like it, distorted and woozy and fractured and ultimately nostalgic and loving and coming to your closest hip and with it record vendor in 2012, through Modular Recordings.

Download: Fantastic Explosion of Time

Ida Long Crashes

2012-01-17T04:57:00.001Z

The Swedish singer Ida Long’s new release Crash is taken from her upcoming debut album Walk Into The Fire. Crash started out as a dark winter poem in Ida Long’s personal diary (”it’s kind of cold out there…”), but on a sunny summer day in Spain Ida Long embellished the lyrics with the bright melodies of the kaleidoscopic pop song.

Last year Ida Long was noted for her highly acclaimed interpretation of the song Mad World in the award winning trailer for the American TV series Mad Men (4th season). Since her first solo performances in New York City in the summer of 2010, Ida Long has toured extensively all over Europe, where she’s been compared to Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Lykke Li, Feist, and Björk. In Sweden her first release – the ambitious CD/DVD project Into Dark Woods EP – topped the official Swedish sales chart in November 2011.

Ida Long is also singer in the Swedish indietronica project Baron Bane, whose album LPTO was awarded a 4/5-review in the January 2012 issue of the British music magazine Uncut: ”Ida Long edges towards Madonna-style disco ecstasy”.

Her first solo album Walk Into The Fire will be released internationally in April-May 2012.

Download: Crash (single version)

More Gross Relations

2012-01-17T04:14:00.001Z

It's been a while since we've heard from Brooklyn's Gross Relations. We first posted them on the blog way back in April of 2011 and haven't heard anything from them until today!

Apparently they've been busy working on their latest single and it marks the first time they've actually recorded in a studio. A pretty momentous occasion for a bedroom pop band. Called, "Cut The Final Scene," it continues the band's legacy of fizzy lo fi (albeit a bit more hi fi) pop that's irresistible while remaining lackadaisically good.

Think Beat Happening meets the Raveonettes meets Brooklyn meets T-Shirt Time and you kind of have an idea where Gross Relations are coming from.

About to head into the studio once again, to begin work on their debut album, this might be the last of GR we hear for a while.

Download: Cut The Final Scene

We Paid Standard Fare

2012-01-16T04:46:00.002Z

Limbo. It's a funny place to be, but it provided inspiration for the second album from Standard Fare, the Sheffield-based indie-pop power trio who debuted with 2010's The Noyelle Beat, their lovelorn, melodic songs and male/female vocals making them the new darlings of the indie-pop scene. "We're now in our mid twenties - not young and not old, not yet with kids but starting to earn money, starting to see how we fit into the wider world and how we feel about this," says singer/bassist Emma Cooper. "The album's lyrics are a bit more mature than our debut - we didn't want to just write about our romantic failures and frustrations, although they're hard to avoid!"

These 12 tracks, then, concern subject matter as varied as the Holocaust (recent single "Suitcase," written about a survivor and friend of Emma's family who recently passed away), bitterness ("Kicking Puddles"), frustration ("Dead Future"), divided families ("Half Sister") and unfaithfulness ("Early That Night"). With the widening lyrical scope, the album's texture has become more diverse too, with a greater contrast between heavy and light, fast and slow, dancefloor and bedroom. The guitars are beefed up, the melodies are unbeatable and the words are flecked with wicked humour.

Download: Suitcase

The Holiday Crowd Head Over The Bluffs...

2012-01-16T04:30:00.002Z

Someone should really tell Morrissey that he doesn’t need to be in another band. I mean seriously, he's already been in the Smiths and he has his solo career to worry about so why in the world is he in The Holiday Crowd? What? You mean that isn't Morrissey? Holy heck...well whoever it is has made The Holiday Crowd sound like the best Smithsian tribute band with original tunes on the planet. Seriously.

The Holiday Crowd's album, Over The Bluffs is so possessed by the spirit of the Smiths that somewhere right now Morrissey and Marr are consulting lawyers for being a little too close for comfort. Jangly, dramatic, and frickin' amazing, Over The Bluffs is the best record from 1986 recorded in 2012 that you will hear this year. With sweeping vocals soaring to the heavens, jangly guitars lilting across songs with a bit of depression, and melodies so memorable you'll swear you've heard every one of these songs before this album is a seven song blast of indie pop the way it was meant to be played.

The sheer moodiness of the songs, the potential for collapsing and crying, the dreamy guitars and vocals all add up to one awesome little record. There simply is not one bad song here and the songs are so well written and so well sung and played that it's hard to find fault with anything. It's just not possible. While undoubtedly The Holiday Crowd would like to be recognized for their own merits, it's going to be impossible to ignore the Smiths-like similarities between the two bands. My suggestion is embrace it and run with it. Hell, the band should buy some gladiolas and put them in their back pockets when the play live.

Download: Never Speak Of It Again

San (Fran) Cisco

2012-01-12T05:15:00.001Z

When one thinks of Australia one generally thinks of Melbourne and Sydney, but very rarely does someone mention the WEST coast of Down Under. Yet it's out there big, massive, and teaming with life. Well that's where San Cisco come into play. This rather quirky pop group comes to us from the less than bustling Fremantle Western Australia.

Taking their own path (and a bit of a roundabout one at that) to pop stardom the band has developed a natural chemistry that helped shaped their second album, Awkward. Quirky, fun, and good the band are quickly developing into something bigger than the frontier of their hometown.

Penned in the studio one afternoon, lead single "Awkward" is an unmistakable pop gem featuring the vocal talents of both Jordi Davieson and drummer, Scarlett Stevens. It's a sugary pop thrill that's unforgettable and as I sit here and type this I can still hear the chorus ringing in my ears. The EP features five tracks of indie pop goodness, showcasing Jordi’s turn of phrase and Josh Biondillo’s varied influences in his music writing. In its entirety it is an eclectic mix of indie pop with dashes of rock and slashes of synth.

The Awkward EP is slated for a digital release in the U.S. on February 7th through their own record label Island City Records independently through MGM.

Download: Awkward

Lux Know We Are Not The Same

2012-01-10T13:54:00.003Z

Seattle based Lux are a dynamic duo who have never played live and aren't sure if they ever want to. They met and became a band after answering a Craigslist ad. They were receiving offers for tours before even having a record. They are self confessed control freaks, they much prefer the confined spaces of a recording studio to the chaos filled stage.

The band is currently prepping their debut album We Are Not The Same for an April release and because of the kindness in their heart they've chosen to give us a sneak peek of said record. Sharing a bit of distortion and lo-fi production similar to early Raveonettes recordings with a bit of stark synth pop that might remind you of someone like Fischerspooner meeting the Magnetic Fields the band have a style that's clearly all their own. What's that all mean? Well how about we call Lux garage synth? (How's that for a new sub genre?)

Raw, melodic, and filled with a sense of ethereal wonder Lux have created something that's easy to fall in love with and something tells us we won't be the same after hearing the whole album.

Download: The Window

It's Been Longer Than 120 Days

2012-01-10T12:46:00.001Z

120 Days have been playing together since 2001 and their debut took them around the world, from America, where they signed with Vice Records, to Japan, where they played to crowds of 17,000+. It won them two Norwegian Grammys and was not only critically acclaimed but also commercially successful.

Five years on and they've learned a lot, done a lot, and written a lot. And it all shows up on their new record 120 Days II. Darker and a bit tougher than their debut, the new stuff is sure to widen their fan base and wreak some havoc along the way.

Set for a March 6th release with Splendour (of Montreal/Casiokids, His Clancyness/Shimmering Stars) their latest single Dahle Disco is quite the tune. When you look up the definition of epic tune, you will see a picture of 120 Days standing next to it with this song in hand. Unfolding rich layers of synth, the single winds through cosmic soundscapes pulsating just short of an epic ten minutes.

Download: Dahle Disco
Download: Osaka (diskJokke Remix)

The Denzels Are Not From Washington

2012-01-09T04:47:00.001Z

Still a young group, The Denzels been called “a melting pot of all of New York Cities most successful acts.” Their influences range from Brian Wilson and The Cribs, to The Antlers and The Cure. Most of all, they’re influenced by the bands they see each week all over the city. There is a new Brooklyn sound and it’s changing every night.

Originally named The Goods, the band began playing around Brooklyn and quickly became known for their energetic live shows. In early 2011 the group changed their name to The Denzels and released the Slow Death EP. The songs are a mixture of their surroundings and their upbringing, combining New York style Indie Rock with West Coast beach pop.

Download: Rae Rae
Download: Black Girls

Escort Head Back To The Space Disco

2012-01-07T17:00:00.001Z

Despite it being impossible, do you wish that Donna Summer and Georgio Moroder would work together once again? Well say hello to Escort...they're your new disco buddies. No other band I've heard recently embraces that dynamic duo better than these guys. Writing songs as if it were still 1980, Escort have a retro-futurist sound that feels like it came from the great big dance floor in the sky.

Escort is a seventeen-member “disco orchestra”, founded by producers Eugene Cho and Dan Balis, and fronted by lead singer Adeline Michèle, features an incredible cast of musicians who have played with everyone from indie-rock titans Arcade Fire to avant-classical luminaries Alarm Will Sound.

Escort’s long-awaited debut LP will be released on vinyl and CD January 31st and is out on iTunes and digitally retailers now through Escort Records.

Download: Why Oh Why(Pound Sterling Remix)

Ducky Isn't Quackers

2012-01-07T16:36:00.001Z

Ducky aka Morgan Neiman, has a producer’s instinct and a powerful voice. She has been making music since she was 13 years old and has played alongside the likes of Japanther, Ninjasonik, Roxy Cottontail, Trouble Andrew and Action Bronson. Her latest release, The Whether EP out February 21, fearlessly explores the sinister side.

While not blatantly dark, her single "Killing Time," sounds like it is all about the weekend and lazy days while subtly being a confession about the the disintegration of a relationship. Ducky matches a sophisticated pop sensibility to incisive vocals, addressing an absent “friend” with checked ferocity.

It's a gorgeous little tune that hints at folks like Feist, Cat Power, or 100 Target commercials rolled up into one. And if this song is any indication of how the rest of The Whether EP is going to be were in for an ethereal, lush, seductive early springtime treat. Spring has a voice and it's three months early.

Download: Killing Time

The POP! Stereo Top 25 Albums of the Year!

2011-12-31T20:04:00.008Z

2011…what can you say about a year when the economy remained in the proverbial shitter, the markets were up and down more than The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, the housing market still hasn’t bottomed out, unemployment is staggering, people rioted, people occupied, people got pissed off to the highest of pissividity, Kim Kardashian got married, then got divorced, the Cardinals won the world series, and Tiger Woods was out of action? I know…its OVER.
Thank god!

Musically, things were MUCH better (well not from a sales perspective) and so much great stuff came out this past year, I couldn’t even keep track of it all. There was SO much, that we had to take a hiatus just to catch our breath.

As could be expected we’ve compiled our Top 25 Albums of the year. It’s a diverse bunch of artists that kind of keeps our belief that good music is good music whatever the genre. We always have a debate about this stuff and that’s half the fun. The one thing that was easy to decide was our album of the year. We knew that way back at the beginning of summer. That was where the bar was set and everything else had to beat that or be close to it.

Anyway, grab a glass of champagne, have a sit down and have a look through. Let us know your thoughts and what your album of the year was we’d love to know.

25: Slow Club – Paradise
They created paradise this year with an album of indie pop that was filled with yearning and beauty.

24: Dum Dum Girls – Only In Dreams
They're fuzzy, they're lost in the 60's, they rock a garage like no one else can. What's not to love?

23: The Vaccines – What Did You Expect From The Vaccines
Sounding like it was recorded for 50 quid, the rawness and purity of this band shined through like a beacon of hope for British pop. They're one shot you'll look forward to getting.

22: The Kills – Blood Pressures
Still scuzzy, fuzzy and brilliant after all these years. The best coming together of an American and a Brit since World War II.

21: My First Earthquake – Friction
Probably the geekiest and most fun band I've ever encountered. How can you not love a band that writes a song about Enya and then references Kenny G w/in the song?

20: The Bell: Great Heat
This is one heck of a throwback to early 90's British Pop. Somewhere right now, Ian Brown is going, “Holy crap...”

19: MEN – Talk About Body
Le Tigre has just been out Le Tigre'd by one of its own.

18: Architecture In Helsinki – Moment Bends
What happens when indie pop gets funky? The Moment Bends is what.

17: Seapony – Go With Me
Harking back to Sarah Records, Seapony had us wondering if the label had been resurrected.

16: The Features – Wilderness
The biggest band no one has ever heard of returned with a genius of an album.

15: Sleeper Agent – Celebrasion
Anybody seen Jemina Pearl lately? We think Sleeper Agent might have kidnapped her.

14: Handsome Furs – Sound Kapital
The sexiest band on the planet didn't get a room...but they did release this.

13: Gus Gus – Arabian Horse
Lush, opulent, and amazing...kind of like their native Iceland w/o the cold.

12: The Chain Gang of 1974 – Wayward Fire
Punk funk, Disco punk whatever, these guys did it all w/in the course of an album. Angularity has never been so damn dancey.

11: Digitalism – I Love You Dude
Unlike Justice, Digitalism made a sophomore album we wanted to listen to on repeat a lot.

10: Beady Eye – Different Gear, Still Speeding
The lesser of the two Gallagher bands, Liam basically kept Oasis going and we still love Oasis even if they have a new name.

9: Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Can these guys do no wrong? Three albums, three home runs. Embracing indie, shoegazing, and dance in one giant bear hug they write songs that reach for the heavens and get there.

8: The Limousines –Get Sharp
If I Am The World Trade Center were to have become famous this is what they'd sound like now. Indie dance that's geeky, sugary sweet and FUN.

7: Mates of Sate – Mountaintops
This is the only band that can make us cry tears of joy.

6: Washed Out – Within & Without
The ghosts of shoegazing past all gathered together and possessed the members of Washed Out to record this album. From their name to the album title and everything in between this was the best album from 1992 released in 2011.

5: White Lies – Ritual
Fascinated by all things dark and depressing, White Lies has convinced us that love, death, sadness, and happiness are all good things especially when they're in a song. Manic depression has never sounded so good.

4: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – s/t
Oasis may be a thing of the past, and the brothers may hate each other but the Gallagher with the most to prove did not disappoint in 2011. Self doubting and dare we say it, humble, Noel proved himself to be a worthy solo artist. Say what you will but he knows how to write anthems and this album is packed with them.

3: The Good Natured – Skeleton
Technically this wasn't an album (well it sorta was in the States) but it's our countdown so tough. The Good Natured proved that gothic tendencies, post punk angularity, and massive synth pop hooks could combine to make one heck of a record. It also doesn't hurt that singer Sarah McIntosh is ridiculously adorable.

2: Summer Camp – Welcome To Condale
Summer Camp welcomed us to Condale, and we moved in. This was the perfect summer album filled with lots of throwback vibes, hooky songs, and Elizabeth Sankey's soaring vocals. For a dynamic duo, they proved that great things do come in small packages...or bands.

1: Martin Solveig – SMASH
SMASH was exactly as it's name says, a smash. This was a perfect record in every sense; catchy, fun, influenced by everything, filled with awesome guest stars, it had it all. The songs were everywhere...even Target used, “Hello,” and the videos Martin and his team put together were self-deprecating, hilarious, and so well done they need to do a movie. Some people get it and clearly Martin Solveig does. In a really sucky year, SMASH made us laugh, made us dance, and made us have fun. It was perfect escapism and that's why it's our album of the year.

So there you have it...our favorite albums of 2011. Coming on Monday we'll look at the five most anticipated albums of 2012. It's not even January 10th yet and it looks like it's going to be a great year.

Whipping It Into A FevrPitch

2011-12-30T23:40:00.003Z

Dubstep, drumpstep DJ/producer/remixer extraordinaire Kill Paris, and British dance music DJ/producer Mark Okoh, first collaborated on a remix of Mark's club hit, "Illegal" after connecting through SoundCloud. They came together once again a year later, on the track "Let Me See Your Hands", a song inspired by a trip to the legendary Coachella music festival in 2010. This time some anthemic vocals came courtesy of singer/song-writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Marty Rod. After the success of “Let Me See Your Hands” the idea of combining their differing styles of music (dance, dubstep and rock) to create something new, was an opportunity these three producers could not resist, and FEVRPITCH was born.

FEVRPITCH is like a Nick Hornby novel...fricking fantastic. Super slick and ridiculously catchy, these guys create electro that takes everything they know and fuses it into something better than the sum of their parts. Just listen to, "Running Away." It's the type of song you can imagine being on the radio, in a TV show, packing out a dancefloor, and everything in between.

FEVRPITCH will hopefully be more than a minor side project for those involved. The songs are too good, the talent is to great, and the potential is limitless. They're so good, they'll work you into a err...fever pitch.

Download: Running Away (via Sendspace)
Watch: Running Away

Time To Get Cultastic

2011-12-30T02:14:00.002Z

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I once wrote about a band named Her Lips Might Shatter. They were a dark synthpop project from wunderkind, Alisa Nizhniy. (You can check that post out HERE.)

As these things go, I lost touch with Alisa and kind of wondered whatever happened to HLMS. Then fate kind of tapped me on the shoulder and introduced me to Cultastic!

Culttastic is the latest synth-pop solo project from electronic music producer Alisa the DJ enchantress, contortionist, vocalist and self-produced musician whose back and better than ever.

A little less rooted in dark synthpop and a bit more rooted in witch house and j-pop (holy weird influences Batman), Cultastic is like a hybrid of all three. Dark rhythms, and chilled beats sidle next to sugary pop thrills and massive hooks. It might sound a bit confusing, but the songs are good enough where it all flows together flawlessly.

Alisa is flexible in every way imaginable not only physically but also musically and Cultastic is clearly an outlet for that. Just listen and you'll see for yourselves. Whether it's Her Lips Might Shatter, Culttastic, or her just programming a MIDI controller, it's nice to have Alisa back making music.

Download: I'm The Night
Download: I'm The Night (Witch House Remix)
Download: Teach Me How To Dougie (Cultastic Post Remix)

Chalk And Numbers Twee It Up

2011-12-29T01:46:00.001Z

Brooklyn's Chalk And Numbers make modern Indie Pop with Classic Pop touches. Inspired by their favorite artists, such as The Beach Boys and Dusty Springfield, they use older recording techniques to capture the charm of antiquated sounds and do their damndest to avoid all things modern (and digital) during the the recording process. (They allow those influences to come out during performances and writing songs.)

Undoubtedly lo-fi as a result of this lack of technology, Chalk And Numbers don't veer into the palace of over distortion that most modern lo-fi bands inhabit. That alone is something to celebrate. Their goal is great sounding, modern indie pop music that's ridiculously catchy and sugary sweet. They've met their goal on their debut EP and exceeded it.

Sounding like the 60's if it happened in your living room right now along with so many twee bands I can't even begin to type them all out Chalk And Numbers are the kind of band you want to bring home to your parents. They're the kind of band you want to give a hug to and watch your girlfriend skip along to. They right gorgeous pop songs that are so easy to fall in love with it's a little creepy. These guys, simply put, are fab.

Their debut E.P., He Knew, is available now and features six original songs by Andrew Pierce.

Download: Summer Nights
Download: Happiness This Time Of Year (never to late for a Holiday song)

Nedry Live In Dim Light

2011-12-27T02:53:00.001Z

Nedry are a trio by way of London, Osaka and Bristol whose distillation of advanced rhythmic structures, low frequencies and raw human tones stand uniquely at a fascinating sonic crux of leftfield, club and indie juncture.

Drawing on the gothic undertones of David Lynch – and at points, absorbing T.S. Elliot’s ‘Four Quartets’, vocalist Ayu Okakita revels in ruminations urging acceptance of the shadows; to permit the darkness to settle around her.

Perhaps a bit Bjorkian in her vocal stylings Ayu takes thing in an unusual direction throughout the band's songs. You can hear this on the two new songs they've just released.

A bit chillwave, a bit abstract, and totally sounding like something from the Warp back catalog, Nedry seem to compose songs that are weird but likeable and easy enough to latch on to for those who get confused easily.

Their new album, In A Dim Light, will be released 12 March 2012 on Monotreme Records. Available on CD and digital formats and as a 180 gm vinyl edition of 500 on black (200 copies) or white (300 copies) vinyl with a free CD of the album and a free 12" x 24" poster. Pre-orders also come with free bonus tracks.

Download: Float (Edit)
Download: Post Six

Have A Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T15:27:00.005Z

It's that time of the year again...chestnuts roasting on an open fire, time for a sleigh ride w/silver bells, in a winter wonderland while listening to a few of our favorite things. And whether or not your knee deep in snow (like some of us) or drenched in sub-tropical sunshine (like the rest of us) we here at The POP! Stereo would like to wish you a fantastic Christmas.

Thank you for your continued support. We really appreciate it. While we can't give you all presents...we run a blog...not Conde Nast publishing, we can give you a bunch of songs. So have at it, download these 10 songs a blarin, rip open some presents, drink eggnog and stay warm!

Until next time...have a holly jolly!

Download: Analog Players Society - Christmas Time Is Here(left click)
Download: Goodman Brown - Holidays
Download: Laura Warshauer - I Love You Mr. Grinch (Von Ukuf Remix)
Download: Ghosty - Holiday Hymn (Vic Goddard Cover)
Download: Tenniscoats w/Oshiro Makoto - Priere
Download: Krashkarma - Nightmare on Christmas
Download: Josh T. Pearson - O Holy Night
Download: Tristen - Frosty The Snowman
Download: Ash Reiter - Blue Christmas
Download: Bullet & Snowfox - Christmas Wrapping (Waitresses Cover)
Watch: The Mountain Goats - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

This Is Coco Machete

2011-12-14T04:54:00.003Z

After nine years, and over 100 releases, New York City’s Coco Machete Records delivers its first eponymous collection with This Is Coco Machete. Far from being a retrospective, This Is Coco Machete places you smack in the middle of the label’s most recent, current club bangers. It’s been out exclusively on Beatport for a couple weeks and is available worldwide this week.

A mix of eclectic vocals and sonic inspirations could have only originated in the streets of New York City but have gone global. Many of the featured artists and remixers on This Is Coco Machete – No. 1 hail from every corner of the globe; Fukkk Offf & Jence of Digitalism come from Hamburg Germany; Oliver Twizt, The Netherlands; Zodiac Cartel & Disco of Doom pop in from the UK; Polymorphic & Noise Invaders rep Moscow; Mikix the Cat, Paris; NROTB & Hatchmatik are from the Great White North and of course Spencer Product, Entyce & Debra Dolce are the resident natives from NYC. The compilation is simply for people who want to, as the label puts it, shake it all night long! This is the sound of New York City, this is Coco Machete!

Download: D’ Secret SVC - Alley Cat (FUKKK OFFF Remix)
Listen: This Is Coco Machete No. 1

PNAU Unites Us

2011-12-10T05:02:00.001Z

Since the formation of PNAU Nick Littlemore and Peter Mayes have grown to become one of Australia’s most loved electronic acts. Having already released three critically acclaimed albums over in Australia it is with great excitement that PNAU announce the release of their new single “Unite Us” for Ministry of Sound on 5th February 2012.

Taken from their forthcoming album Soft Universe, set for release early next year, this supercharged anthem stands as the perfect introduction to the big, ambitious and elevating sound that has come to characterize PNAU. “Unite Us” is a supremely effervescent track. It surges with colour and positive energy bearing allusion to the musical output of Littlemore’s highly acclaimed side project Empire of the Sun. His impressive role as composer for the Cirque du Soleil in Paris, (he is the youngest musician ever to have filled the position) can also be felt in the track’s expansive sound.

To say, "Unite Us," isn't the very definition of epic would just be stupid. This song sounds as expansive as the universe. It's gargantuan...the kind of thing you'll hear echoing off of every rafter in every stadium ever. It's massive stadium scale pop that's all conquering! So unite behind us with this track and prepare for the Year of Pnau in 2012.

Download: Unite Us (Kris Menance Remix)

Heartstopper's Electro Pop Therapy

2011-12-10T04:05:00.001Z

ElectroPopTherapy is a deeply personal EP that finds upcoming producer Eries 'Heartstopper' Cornelius combining the biggest genres of music to give addicted electronic fans the treatment they've been looking for. ElectroPopTherapy marks the first official release from Heartstopper and YCTP Music.

"Moments come and go," says Heartstopper, "but I feel like this is my moment to introduce the world to what I'm capable of. ElectroPopTherapy is a reflection of me and the different sounds that I grew to love.

Recorded in Florida and sounding like it, Heartstopper takes that slightly cheesy sound that made the state famous, classes it up a bit and makes stuff that sounds like Bangers & Cash relocated to the middle of the state and moved into Celebration.

"Nasty Girl," the download below, is a sweaty, messy, and sloppy seconds slice of electro that's guaranteed to pack out floors.

Download: Nasty Girl

Fol Chen Get Technical

2011-12-09T12:26:00.001Z

Ever-innovative, enigmatic LA collective Fol Chen is proud to announce their collaboration with Monome. The band worked hand in hand with Monome and The Machine Project to create the Tetrafol, a pyramidal sound manipulation device that will be available through Monome shortly.

According to the folks at Monome, the Tetrafol is, "a hand-held tangible electronic sound toy. Circuits enclosed by a wooden tetrahedron detect orientation and motion-gestures to modify the playback of a collection of Fol Chen's micro-compositions, allowing the user to explore sound through physical manipulation. The battery-powered device has its own internal speaker but can additionally be hooked up to a headphone or amplifier. The circuit and firmware are based on open-source hardware and is itself published as open-source, allowing anyone interested to learn about its deepest inner-workings." The devices are hand assembled and will be limited to an edition of 100, making them remarkably unique.

The device will come pre-loaded with the sounds Fol Chen created for new tracks "So Good" and "Back on Kent," allowing people to create their own take on the song, but users will be able to upload their own music to the device for manipulation as well.

Download: Back on Kent
Download: So Good

Everything's Golden

2011-12-09T12:17:00.001Z

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Golden (David Adusei) was brought up in a Ghanaian household with a lot of pop, R&B and native West African music being played. He moved to Raleigh, NC at the age of 10 and took guitar lessons.

After 2 years of lessons, he started experimenting with sequencer programs and voice manipulation. Shortly after, he started writing lyrics and singing. Now living in Wilmington, NC, he attends University of North Carolina. He started deejaying house parties and getting into more different forms of dance music. He deejays regularly in Wilmington and a few parties along the East Coast.

He's been inspired by a lot of dance producers and bands that he's discovered. Adusei also takes his inspirations from R&B, disco, African funk, and soul music. He continues to focus on music and develop his sound to draw a stronger connection with listeners.

Golden's Desirée EP is out now!

Download: Destinee

Fanfic Love Nights In Berlin

2011-12-07T04:45:00.001Z

Back when I used to do radio there used to be this guy named Marco. Marco was a cool kid. He was all combat boots and Front Line Assembly t-shirts. He was Belgian and was the only person I knew who could say Einsterzende Neubauten. He did a show where he played industrial/nu beat and he used to play tapes because the stuff he had was so underground it didn't know it existed yet. He also ALWAYS ran over his allotted time, which used to drive us metal kids NUTS.

Why am I telling you this? Well this band called Fanfic from that most European of areas, Texas, seem to look like they'd be some sort of post electroclash unit but in fact may actually be the children of Marco! Fanfic create dark electronic pop which has its roots closer to old school industrial and Depeche Mode than it does anything post 2003. These guys write songs you pull rope to while smoking illegal Clove cigarettes.

Are they good? Oh heck yeah they're good. They're so good in fact, that you'll want to don a trenchcoat and speak with a thick Belgian accent after listening to them. So why not get in touch with your inner goth and join Fanfic in a graveyard!

Download: Damaged
Download: Touchmachine
Download: Nights In Berlin

Noah & The Whale Give It All Back

2011-12-06T04:28:00.001Z

Following recent music videos and singles for "Waiting For My Chance to Come" and "Life is Life," London's Noah and The Whale is back with it's latest single, Give It All Back. The music video, directed by lead singer, Charlie Fink marks the second Fink-directed music video of the five from the band's most recent album, Last Night on Earth.

Paired with the release of the video comes a free download of the brand new "Give It All Back" remix from UK electronic artist, Chad Valley. Chad Valley, aka Hugo Manuel, joins Fake Blood, RAC, Yuksek, and Bibio in providing remixes to support Noah and The Whale's Last Night on Earth.

Download: Give It All Back (Chad Valley Remix)
Watch: Give It All Back

HeavyFeet Still Love You

2011-12-02T02:55:00.001Z

HeavyFeet are two music producing, tea drinking, radio show presenting, industry critiquing, cake loving, studio gear buying, blog writing chaps from the rainy city, Manchester.

This dynamic duo have taken the Switch & Andrea Martin tune, "I Still Love You," and turned it into something that sounds like a long lost Deep Dish recording. A sweeping and uplifting remix, HeavyFeet have created a massive vocal house tune out of something that was originally abstract and jittery.

It shouldn't work but the remix does work, and works well and I'd almost say it outdoes the original.

Download: I Still Love You (HeavyFeet Re-work)

Archers of Loaf Release Vee Vee Once Again

2011-12-02T01:14:00.001Z

On February 21, Merge will reissue Archers of Loaf’s sophomore release, Vee Vee, on dbl-CD, limited-edition green LP and digital download.

Remastered by Bob Weston and featuring new liner notes by MAGNET magazine editor Eric Miller, physical copies of Vee Vee will include sixteen bonus tracks and new cover art re-imagined by graphic artist Jay Ryan. Reissues of All the Nation’s Airports and White Trash Heroes will follow later in 2012.

The first full-length produced by Bob Weston, Vee Vee was a slight departure from the previous bombastic noisepop that characterized Archers of Loaf’s previous work, and it proved that the band wasn’t just a flash in the pan. The album became their best-selling album to date and landed them on the covers of most fanzines and at the top of college radio charts across the country. “Harnessed in Slums” and “Greatest of All Time” became anthems of the underground and led to successful tours with the Flaming Lips and Weezer.

Here's the tracklisting...
Disc 1 -
1. Step into the Light
2. Harnessed in Slums
3. Nevermind the Enemy
4. Greatest of All Time
5. Underdogs of Nipomo
6. Floating Friends
7. 1985
8. Fabricoh
9. Nostalgia
10 Let the Loser Melt
11. Death in the Park
12. The Worst Has Yet to Come
13. Underachievers March and Fight Song

Disc 2 -
1. Harnessed in Slums ’95 (Bob Weston Radio Mix, 1995)
2. Telepathic Traffic (“Harnessed in Slums” single, Alias, 1995)
3. Don’t Believe the Good News (“Harnessed in Slums” single, Alias, 1995)
4. Smoking Pot in the Hot City (7” single, Esther, 1995)
5. Mutes in the Steeple (7” single, Esther, 1995)
6. Mark Price P.I. (out of print)
7. Bacteria (The Speed of Cattle, Alias, 1996)
8. Equinox (unreleased) (J. Coltrane)
9. (Big Joe and) Phantom 309 (out of print) (T. Faile)
10. 1985 (Marathon Boombox Demo)
11. Fabricoh (Marathon Boombox Demo)
12. Nostalgia (Marathon Boombox Demo)
13. Let the Loser Melt (Vee Vee 4-Track Demo)
14. Underdogs of Nipomo (Vee Vee 4-Track Demo)
15. Nevermind the Enemy (Vee Vee 4-Track Demo)
16. Don’t Believe the Good News (Vee Vee 4-Track Demo)

Download: Harnessed In Slums

You've Got That Turnpike Glow

2011-12-01T02:55:00.001Z

Turnpike Glow started life in Italy but are now UK based, bringing their sunny, quirky Phoenix influenced sound to Britain’s rainy shores.

Sandro Schiena (vocals / guitar / keys) and Giuseppe La Mela (vocals / bass / keys) started the band in Rome, in a scene marginalised by glossy Italian mainstream pop and insider trading. However, with their Pavement / Phoenix inspired sound, they soon found themselves supporting acts like Cooper Temple Clause, The Futureheads and The Constantines.

It wasn't long before Sandro and Giuseppe, the songwriting core of the band, moved to London armed with only their guitars and a bag full of European plug adaptors! One rainy Sunday, they bumped into Anthony J. Hutchinson (drums) and Jeremy Levy (guitar) busking on the tube in giant sombreros. They talked, they laughed and eventually, they joined forces to become… Turnpike Glow!

An official single will be released in early 2012, along with their debut EP but in the meantime...enjoy The Turn, The Pike And The GlowDownload: The Turn, The Pike, The Glow

Metallic Havoc N Deed

2011-12-01T01:18:00.003Z

Ok...if you're like me, you're an old fan of metal. Yeah electro is great...but nothing beats Slayer's "Raining Blood."

Long before The POP! Stereo came into existence, I used to do a fanzine (Cerebral Holocaust) that covered death metal, grind, and thrash. I used to be somebody back then! Ha. Anyway, while I don't listen to new stuff that frequently, I always have time for the classics.

So, when HavocNDeed sent this mix to POP! Stereo HQ today, it was like Satan himself presented us with a Christmas present (get the irony) of epic proportions.

This is like amazing beyond all amazing and has so many thrash classics on it that it makes me feel like I'm 18 again. Laaz Rockit even makes an appearance! Holy Hell...they only ever had like five fans to begin with!

Anyway, download this like now and praise the goat! Speaking of the goat...nice "cover version" of the Venom classic for the cover art.

Bound By Metal Mix by HavocNdeeDsounD

You'll Break The Internet

2011-12-01T00:17:00.001Z

Odd Future's The Internet (Syd The Kyd & Matt Martians) will release their debut album Purple Naked Ladies featuring "Love Song -1", "They Say" and "Cocaine" on Odd Future Records digitally on December 20th. The physical version featuring 3 bonus tracks and exclusive art and packaging will be in stores Jan 17th. Digital release track listing below.

THE INTERNET
PURPLE NAKED LADIES
(ODD FUTURE RECORDS)
DEC. 20, 2011 (Digital)
1. Violet Nude Women
2. They Say/Shangrila (ft. Tay Walker)
3. She Dgaf
4. C*nt
5. Cocaine/Tevie (ft. Left Brain)
6. Ode to a Dream (ft Kilo Kish & Coco O.)
7. Gurl (ft. Pyramid Vritra).
8. Love Song -1
9. Lincoln (ft. Mike G & Left Brain)
10. Web of Me
11. She Knows
12. Fastlane
13. Visions (ft. Coco O.)
14. The Garden

Until the release enjoy a smattering of tracks from The Internet including a Little Dragon remix.

Download: Cocaine (Little Dragon Kåkejn remix)
Listen: The Say
Listen: Love Song - 1

Shake With Little Boots & Crazy P

2011-11-30T03:54:00.003Z

While not as amazing as the original, Crazy P's remix of Little Boots' instant classic Shake this stripped down and mellowed out version is non-the-less worthy as hell. A bit more minimal and less up front this version shakes it slowly and seductively as the track delves into soulful house territory.

With the single launch this week at a warehouse blow-out on Saturday night in London, Little Boots has invited some of her DJ friends including 'Shake' co-creator James Ford, Crazy P, and notorious disco trouble makers Horse Meat Disco and Kris Di Angelis. Little Boots will also be DJing herself and there are more surprises in store!

Find out more in the JPG up above.

Download: Shake (Crazy P Remix)
Watch: Shake

Time To Get Hyper

2011-11-30T02:54:00.001Z

As a hugely talented producer, remixer, DJ, label boss and composer Hyper has excelled building a loyal and global fan base as well as commanding huge respect from his peers. Having shot into the consciousness of almost every dance head and aficionado ten years ago with the eponymous Y3K compilation series, he has since released two critically acclaimed albums, remixed everyone from Foals to Futureheads, Pink to Paul Van Dyke and released some of the biggest compilation series’ over the last decade.

Now he's back with his new single, My World and as one might expect it's a frickin' whopper of a tune. Processed guitar's power over precision drum-break edits, chunky synth lines whir and buzz and slabs of sub bass hold the foundation tight below the guttural bars of Dread MC and Genesis Elijah. Throw in a whole host of remixes that cover ever possible sub genre known to man and you have one hell of a welcome back. Hyper in the course of one single not only proves how and why he got his name but also why he's still respected to this day as one of the finest producers in all of Britain.

Download: My World (Brioski Remix)
Listen: My World (Original Mix)

Tender Is The Night Has A Golden Glow

2011-11-30T02:25:00.001Z

Golden Glow is the charming solo project of Manchester singer/songwriter Pierre Hall.

Son of a British father from Trinidad and Tobago, and a Mauritian mother, Pierre's early years were spent near Liverpool before moving to Manchester at 18 for university.

While in Manchester and just as Pierre's previous band, Lead Balloons were ending their time together in 2009, Pierre was in a serious automobile accident that left him unable to walk for nearly six months. Although the recovery was tough, and this was a dark time in his life, it also changed the way Pierre approached his art. Naming his new project Golden Glow as a tribute to the band Felt and their track "Sunlight Bathed The Golden Glow" he began to write songs that captured what he was living through.

By late 2010, Pierre Hall had completed the set of songs that were to make up the Golden Glow debut, Tender Is The Night. Rough, raw, and totally DIY the songs are as pure as pure can get and while Pierre thought of re-recording the songs in a more "professional environment," he didn't and the charm of Tender Is The Night was preserved.

Now, Golden Glow’s debut album, Tender Is The Night will be released in all of its distorted beauty by Mush Records with help from the label Bleeding Gold, who will handle a limited run of vinyl. The performances that make up this record are perfect in their obvious imperfections and quite honestly that's what makes the record so good and as a result it's why Tender Is The Night is the record to introduce Golden Glow to the world.

Download: Adore Me

Praise The Old Monk's

2011-11-30T02:09:00.000Z

The Brooklyn prog-punk trio Old Monk has confirmed the release of their debut album Birds of Belize on Los Angeles's Eenie Meenie Records. The album will hit the streets via compact disc, digital and vinyl formats on January 17th, 2012. The digital version of the album will contain three bonus tracks.

Blending a love for of progressive rock, indie rock and pop punk has produced a sound that will sound familiar to most ears. But the one ingredient that stands out from the rest is the energy that Old Monk puts into their recipe. A raucous sound distinguishes the band from the crowd of over produced studio albums or overly bland lo-fi sounds that has been usual seasoning used by most bands today.

Old Monk are a jittery, frenetic bunch who wrangle their guitars in an almost Futureheads meets Polvo kind of way. Spiky riffs bounce off speedy drum fills and out of breath vocals to create a ridiculously quick paced songs that will leave you exhausted. That's just was indie rock should do and Old Monk does with vim and vigor!

Download: Sacred Birds

Kid Sister Never Kisses & Tells

2011-11-30T01:25:00.002Z

Who better to write the book on fun than the ever crush worthy Kid Sister? The MC born Melisa Young not only spent 2011 tearing down shows all over North America - from the Magic 8 Ball tour with A-Trak to NYC's 80,000 deep Electric Zoo festival - but managed to bring that boundless on-stage energy to studio sessions with some of today's most exciting producers.

The Kiss & Tell EP offers four of Kid Sister's latest jams with a diverse crew of collaborators. "Mickey" is a club workout from DJ innovators Nadastrom while "Hide N Seek" pairs Kid Sis with rap absurdist Riff Raff and bass maestros Sinden & 5kin& Bone5. Hip-hop hero Scoop Deville (Snoop, Game, Fat Joe) mans the boards for "Cliq Claq" (as featured in Stella McCartney's recent runway shows) as well as a brand-new remix of KS mixtape favorite "Gucci Rag Top," now featuring a guest verse from fellow Fool's Gold spitter Danny Brown.

Still, it's Kid Sister's inimitable personality on and off the mic that brings these team-ups to life with swaggering verses and clever, lipstick-smeared punchlines to spare. Just like the pulpy romance novels that inspired it's title, Kiss & Tell offers pure pleasure for everyone. Word to the rap game Danielle Steel!

Download: Mickey

Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun

2011-11-23T12:01:00.002Z

Electronic. Indie. Dance. Pop. Rock. Today The Moon, Tomorrow The Sun is all about the collaborative. It’s about the connections between sound and people, it’s about the heart and the head. It’s for mistakes and triumphs, and against arrogance and under-confidence. A band of four: two girls, two boys. Noisy, dancy, loud, sincere, sweaty, lovable, hardworking.

After three EPs and endless touring, it was time to put what they’d become to physical memory: a record they could be overwhelmingly proud of and their current and future fans couldn’t stop listening too. That result is WILDFIRE: a 12 song document of perseverance and a homage to their fans (who helped fund the making of WILDFIRE through a very successful Kickstarter campaign). It’s about changing the things you want to change and doing the things you want to do. It’s about refusing to settle and working hard for what you want. It’s about really seeing your past, present, and future.

The band will be touring for the release....here are the first string of dates...
11.25 • 529 (Rock Science Presents) (Atlanta, GA)
12.02 • The Atlantic (Gainesville, FL) w/ Sleepy Vikings
12.03 • New World Brewery (Tampa, FL) w/ Sleepy Vikings, I Was Totally Destroying It
12.04 • Word of Mouth Cafe (Sarasota, FL) w/ Sleepy Vikings
12.05 • Will's Pub (FREE SHOW!) (Orlando, FL)
12.06 • Burro Bar (Jacksonville, FL) w/ Sleepy Vikings
12.07 • The Jinx (Savannah, GA)
12.09 • The Basement (Atlanta, GA) w/ I Was Totally Destroying It, Stokeswood
12.10 • WPBR Radio Room (Greenville, SC)

Download: Bad Design
Download: We Were Wild

Say Hello To The Lanskies

2011-11-17T04:17:00.001Z

French born band The Lanskies are ready to take over the world with their highly anticipated North American debut EP, Romeo, out now via The MuseBox Distribution. The much talked about group fronted by Liverpool born Lewis Evans, made waves at CMJ and Filter’s Culture Collide and are keeping up momentum.

Romeo is an ear catching EP of four tracks that sound something like a long lost recording between The Futureheads and Bloc Party circa 2005. Angular, shouty, and very danceable, this little record packs a big punch. They call their sound, "Hot Wave," and while it sounds remarkably like stuff that was part of the whole post punk revival, we'll let them call their songs whatever they want simply because they're pretty damn good.

See for yourself...

Download: Porno

Do You Have Your ID

2011-11-15T11:55:00.001Z

The ID don't have a lot of information available about them. They don't really have their ID worked out like that. But here's what the band says about themselves...

From an unusual international coalition The ID has members from Switzerland, Ireland and the UK who formed a musical union through their love of Joy Division. This fandom coupled with an appreciation of the artistic ideals of Dadaists, the I.D deliver their own slant on the post punk manifesto.

Dramatic and angular, the band have embraced that post punk manifesto and constructed songs that are moody, sweeping, and pretty darn good. If you can imagine the Editors in a bit of a tussle with the aforementioned Joy Division and White Lies you'll get where The ID are coming from.

With manifesto in hand the band have recently produced their debut EP, which will be the first in a series of three.

Download: Friday Night Star
Download: Last To Fall

Eva on the Western Castle Island

2011-11-15T04:24:00.001Z

Talk about cross cultural, multi-national, global get together's...Eva on the Western Castle Island pretty much define what it's all about. You see, Eva is a Malaysian/Chinese singer who has been singing as a professional in her homeland Malaysia. A few years ago she moved to Finland and started doing solo gigs. In spring 2011 she met Martin, Ilkka and Eero who were looking for a singer to their new band. Eva liked their melodic tunes and fresh sound and so they ended up doing music together.

Their name is so long, that it couldn't even be used as profile name on Soundcloud. Anyhow, if you look at the names of the members more closely and find someone who understands Finnish, you might figure out what the name stands for. Until then...just listen to them.

Eva on the Western Castle Island have just released their first single Shooting Stars & Satellites and you can download it below.

Download: Shooting Stars & Satellites

Catch The Rays from pacificUV

2011-11-14T12:44:00.001Z

pacificUV was formed in the late 1990’s in Athens, Georgia. Half the band wanted to sound like a psychedelic Jesus and Mary Chain tripping on Nyquil, while the other half wanted to play one chord for 45 minutes to determine its color. Somehow, what emerged from these disparate goals was their critically acclaimed, 4 years in the making, self-titled debut album that Rolling Stone called a “masterpiece”. The perfect mixture of noise and melody, the first LP was a sprawling ambient landscape that revealed a myriad of influences, from shoegaze to 60’s rock, to slow core to post-rock.

Following a move to Portland, Oregon and the release of their second LP - Longplay 2 - in 2008, the band moved back to its native Athens, Georgia and spent the last two years recording its third, and best, record, WEEKENDS.

The lyrical inspiration for WEEKENDS is the disintegration of a romantic relationship. What does one do on the weekends once love has disappeared? The pill case inspired album art suggests one answer.
From “Funny Girl” and “Ballerina” to the hangover ballads of “Going Home” and “Baby Blue”, WEEKENDS is sequenced to suggest the highs and lows one might experience on any given weekend when attempting to forget the past.

Download: Funny Girl

Thee American Revolution

2011-11-11T06:18:00.001Z

Self-professed psychedelic cavemen who pound out their primitive songs hastily in the garage, Thee American Revolution bathe fuzz drenched riffs and fill their debut album Buddha Electrostorm with gem upon gem of Elephant Six like songs. Robert Schneider’s (Apples in Stereo) pop smarts can’t be denied, and paired with Craig Morris, the duo conjure up a mighty tasty racket. Overseen by the mysterious direction of Wm. Shears, Thee American Revolution blaze ahead as if every song was made with cane sugar and was a number one single.

Originally released on Garden Gate Records/Elephant 6 Recording Co., Fire Records couldn’t resist getting golden tracks like the swirl of “She’s Coming Down,” the riff happy sneering “Haircut,” and the hand clapping stomper of “Blow My Mind” into the hands of millions (in theory anyway) the world over. Rounded out with bonus material and fresh packaging, it's the perfect holiday slab of indie pop. So gather the kids round the stereo, put some apples in the stereo, turn up the volume, and freak out!

Download: Blow My Mind

Shhh It's The Silent League

2011-11-10T04:20:00.002Z

The Silent League was formed in 2004 in Brooklyn by Justin Russo (then keyboardist for Mercury Rev during the classic Deserter's Songs/All is Dream era). File 13 released the band's debut album The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused in 2004 to worldwide acclaim. The Silent League has since appeared to be an on-again/off-again relationship between a collective of musicians interested only in periodically making records, playing shows, and disappearing again. This may be true as nobody in New York ever seems quite sure whether or not the band still exists.

Their beautiful second album, Of Stars and Other Somebodies was never released in North America -- until now. Lay tracks through the past 5-6 years worth of new music (take Arcade Fire, Interpol, Beirut, St. Vincent, Stars Like Fleas, Bishop Allen...) and you're going to run over more than a handful of people who began with or spent time creating music under the The Silent League moniker... many of them still do, you just don't know it.

"We don't really care about maintaining a place in the industry. There is enough noise in the world and everyone has other work to busy themselves with," says Russo, "We try to keep it new, detached... We make music when we think we have something to say that isn't already being said."

Download: Let It Roll
Download: The Tolka Not The Liffey

You're A Total Slacker

2011-11-08T05:06:00.001Z

Total Slacker, which is Brooklyn's Tucker Rountree, Emily Jane and Ross Condon, released their debut album Thrashin' overseas in England via Marshall Teller Records and Japan via Sixteen Tambourines earlier in the year. The trio is now gearing up for the album release in America in early 2012. With titles like, "No Mo 4loko", "Stuck In 93'" and "Shitty Baby", Total Slacker's music is more than a good ol' time, it's a relentless lifestyle.

Lying somewhere between bad fuzzed out metal riffs and the Apples In Stereo on drugs, Total Slacker is an indie pop nightmare that rocks. It really shouldn't work at all, but yet it somehow does and the songs are ridiculously catchy and unfortunately short. Trashin' is one heck of a fizzy pop record that's almost not safe for work...I mean why else would someone have a single called, "Secret VHS Collection?"

Download: Secret VHS Collection

Let's Go To Spacecamp

2011-11-05T14:02:00.003Z

Jon Wiley (guitar/vox), Steven Mertens (bass), and Chris Egan (drums) met when they toured with Adam Green as his touring band on the 2008 summer tour and Spacecamp was born. Later that year while in Berlin, the guys met Dev Hynes (better known as Lightspeed Champion or Blood Orange) where he asked the band to record nearly all of the music for Hynes' second album, Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You.

In January of 2009, the then named, Spacecamp and Hynes recorded the album at Brooklyn's Mission Sound with producer Ben Allen. Shortly after that, Spacecamp invited guitarist James Pollis to join the band and complete the lineup. In late 2010 and early 2011, the band started playing shows and writing their first full-length album that is scheduled for release in Fall 2012.

Sounding something like MGMT if they got in a fight with the Futureheads and the Police, the band fuses electronics, power pop, and worldly pop music into a dizzying combination that's a bit off centre but really quite good. Why they're waiting so long to release their debut is beyond me...but until then enjoy the first sounds from that record...

Download: MikoD.T.B.

Something Like A Phenomenon

2011-11-03T03:05:00.001Z

The Phenomenal Handclap Band are best known for their single "15 to 20" - which exploded when the band first came on the scene two years ago. The group's debut album was a mix of cosmic disco-funk and psych soul that made for an incredible dance party and landed them a recent tour with Bryan Ferry.

The group is also preparing the release of the follow-up to their acclaimed, self-titled debut album. Form & Control, PHB’s ambitious new work takes their clever fusion of international psych, soul, and cosmic disco a bold step forward. With co-founders Daniel Collás and Sean Marquand at the production helm, Form & Control finds the band once again deftly mixing and matching seemingly disparate musical genres, with a musical palette that now includes prog-pop, new wave and modern leftfield dance.

Form and Control will be released in early 2012 on Tummy Touch Records.

Download: Following

Det Vackra Livet

2011-10-31T11:28:00.001Z

Johan from the rather amazing Swedish label, Labrador, has a tale to tell about the new band Det Vackra Livet. Rather than me ruining the story, here's the tale straight from Johan's errr...email.

Philip called me up a day in September 2010. He was working on songs for the third The Mary Onettes album as far as I knew, so I was surprised to hear he had written two songs in Swedish that he wanted me to hear. He sent “Kristallen” and “Juni berättar” over … and I was instantly blown away of their verve and beauty! I immediately pleaded him to an album with Det Vackra Livet.

The coming two months Philip sent me one or two news songs every week, each one of stunning quality. The whole album was finished in less than eight weeks time and one has to wonder where the inspiration came from.

It turned out he had been going through his grandmother’s memories over the summer and the little everyday stories had affected him deeply. He had also discovered the works of Swedish/Finnish poet Claes Andersson (now a member of parliament in Finland) and become inspired by his way of writing.

And somewhere there in the summer of 2010 - among poetry, memories and sentimental flashbacks - Det Vackra Livet was born. /Johan, Labrador Records

Download: Askan

Alan Wilkis Makes Prints

2011-10-27T05:58:00.002+01:00

Alan Wilkis is a busy man. He works with a lot of people. Rather than trying to explain it all to you, I'll just let him do that.

PRINTS is a series of singles by Brooklyn-based recording artist and producer, Alan Wilkis. For each song or “print,” he first writes an instrumental piece and then collaborates with a different vocalist, sometimes together in the studio and sometimes via the web, until the “print” takes its shape. By drawing both himself and his collaborators out of their respective comfort zones, Alan hopes to push each “print” to new and unexpected heights.

Alan chose to name the project, PRINTS, largely because a “print” implies a certain beautiful simplicity, as well as an ability to stand alone as a piece of art. “Printing” can also refer to the act of rendering a recording session into a single audio file. Also, “prints” and “Prince” sound alike... and Alan really likes Prince.

Download: Come and Go (ft. TheKickDrums)

Dempsey Wins!

2011-10-26T04:50:00.002+01:00

Niels Pederson and Adam Abildgaard have been playing music for a little over 5 years, but it was only about a year that they began to make music as Dempsey. They both went to high school together in Davis, California and until recently, both lived there (Adam moved to San Francisco about 6 months ago). After parting ways with the third member of their previous band Dempsey came into being with Niels and Adam continuing to make music but taking it in a completely different direction.

After aimlessly making a few tracks together, Adam created the beginnings of what is now “Late Night” and decided their sound had been found. Nine months and a lot of hard work later they have now released their first EP, and are already in the preliminary stages of their next. Despite the bit of distance between the two, they maintain a collaborative dynamic through constant file sharing and frequent trips up and down the PCH.

Sounding like what would have happened had the Mark Gardner out of Ride fell out of love with the Byrds and in love with synthesizers, listening to Dempsey is like listening to "Chrome Waves" through a "Time Machine." Hazy post apocalyptic dream pop for the synthesized generation is what these guys are all about and that's something worth taking a Ride for.

Download: Late Night

BEEEEEEP Art, Let's Dance!

2011-10-20T23:54:00.001+01:00

Fuck Art, Let's Dance! is Romeo Sfendules (Guitar) and Tim Hansen (Drums) who operate as a highly motivated and brilliant team behind the dynamic, inspired and ridiculously young singer Nico. FUCK ART, LET’S DANCE! manage to create a make believe utopia of intense electronic beats and driving atmospheric guitars.

A sugar rush of synthetics and beats, FALD are a rush of everything to the head all at once. One can't help but think of someone like Figure meeting Barcelona if they were German while trying to place where FALD are coming from. It's all very upbeat and filled with pop thrills from the get go and so ridiculously catchy you might need an antibiotic to help clear your brain.

Download: The Conqueror
Download: The Conqueror (aUtOdiDakT Remix)

Lets Go Swimming

2011-10-19T05:30:00.001+01:00

Trenchurian is Rian Trench from Dublin-based Solar Bears, whilst Swimming are Nottingham's finest purveyors of dark pop - a quintet fronted by John Sampson and his brother Peter. Swimming's single Neutron Wireless Crystal is out on 16 October, ahead of their debut album Ecstatics International on 7 November.

Fans of Washed Out, Starslinger, Gold Panda, Baths and the like should be drawn to this in a pre-gazing, dream pop way. It's all shimmery with a slight 80's hue and is rather incredible and with names like Neurtron Wireless Crystal, Swimming are destined to be on a Dr. Who episode.

Download: Neutron Wireless Crystal (Trenchurian Remix)

Yelle Comes To The States

2011-10-18T04:26:00.001+01:00

French dance-pop purveyors Yelle returned with their long awaited second album, the exotically addictive Safari Disco Club, this past March. Adding depth and experience to the sweet & sour pop cocktail found on their acclaimed 2007 debut Pop-Up, Yelle found themselves in a more reflective mood and with a few new tricks up their sleeves. They kept busy, covering Robyn 's “Who's That Girl” as part of the iTunes international exchange, while Robyn covered their track “A Cause Des Garçons” in return. They were also were asked by Katy Perry to remix her hit single “Hot n Cold,” which led to them supporting her UK tour in April.

Yelle recently announced their return to the states with a Fall Tour that kicks off in Los Angeles on November 10th, and wraps up in Philadelphia on December 10th, hitting the likes of New York, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Miami, Baltimore, and others, along the way. Additionally, Yelle has also announced the arrival of Safari Disco Club Remixes, set for a 11/2 release on V2/Cooperative Music USA/Downtown Records

Download: Comme un enfant (Second Date remix)

Grimes Has A Vision

2011-10-18T03:38:00.001+01:00

Claire Boucher, who was born in Vancouver, Canada, came to Montreal in 2006. Her experience as a performer is deeply embedded in the DIY loft culture of Montreal, where Grimes, Claire's artistic export, was one of the prominent figures in the scene surrounding Lab Synthèse - a 4600 square foot re-appropriated textile factory. She developed in a scene where punk ethos and pop music collide, resulting in a distinct sense of community, religiosity and psychedelic revelry.

Visions arises as Boucher's fourth release in less than two years. Her debut album, Geidi Primes (2010), was followed by Halfaxa (2010), which was arguably one of the first witch-house or lo-fi R&B releases and most recently she issued Darkbloom earlier in the year.

Visions sounds as if Tron got lost in a cold stark post CPU world ruled by indie pop kids in anorak's. It's twee but it's also harsh and minimal and while that sounds like a bit of a strange combination it works and works well. Claire's voice is something special to hear and with the synthetic atmospherics meandering behind it her songs take on something even cooler.

Download: Oblivion

Out Of The Races And On To The Big Broom

2011-10-15T04:46:00.001+01:00

RACES (formerly known as Black Jesus) formed in the fall of 2009 after singer/songwriter Wade Ryff escaped the sweaty grips of multiple bands, the San Fernando Valley and a real life witch. Originally formed as an impromptu group assembled for a one time performance, this haphazard ensemble of 6 musicians decided to continue playing together and see what opportunities came their way.

Despite still have a really bad name, the band's music is ridiculously good. Sweeping, slightly large in scope, and so full of emotion that they seem to be sponsored by Kleenex RACES are very good at what they do. This is indie rock gone wide screen and it's awesome. Their EP, Big Broom, will be released on November 15th and we're willing to race you to it.

Download: Big Broom

Enjoy Merge's Hospitality

2011-10-15T04:34:00.001+01:00

Merge will release the self-titled debut album from Brooklyn's Hospitality on January 31.

Formed in 2007, Hospitality has evolved from a bedroom project to a 4-piece collaborative group destined to take over the world...or maybe just some corner in Brooklyn. The angular, intricate, and intelligent compositions of Hospitality signal a sophisticated new pop voice.

Singer Amber Papini’s idiosyncratic songwriting and incisive lyrics coupled with the band’s rich arrangements on its self-titled debut explore youth, New York, and the bittersweet commingling of past and present in a way that feels just right, right now.

Download: Friends of Friends

New Navy Set Sail

2011-10-14T12:43:00.001+01:00

From the 'whistle while you work' opening of 'Zimbabwe', the summer grooves of 'Tapioca' to the dramatic crescendo of 'Oceans', New Navy’s debut ‘Uluwatu’ EP demonstrates the Australian bands powerful songwriting ability and consistent style.

New Navy balance sparkly guitars with front man Ben McInerny's smooth vocals, delivering strong bass-lines and breezy indie grooves to great effect. Sounding like a version of Foals or The Whitest Boy Alive on permanent vacation, the band fuses "world music" vibes with hooks that are far too easy to latch on to and come up with something refreshing.

Download: Tapioca

Twiggy Frostbite Hides In The Darkness

2011-10-13T10:36:00.001+01:00

One of our favorite bands around here is easily Twiggy Frostbite. Sort of a splinter group of The Deer Tracks every once and a while something appears from them that leaves us in awe. It's completely random when they show up. In fact, we don´t know exactly when, what or even if something will happen with these guys but this is how it goes when you give an artist total freedom. No demands on format, no deadlines. no nothing...

The saga of these occasional songs is something that we don´t understand the beginning of nor the end. It's just continued at random intervals and while we dwell into it´s beauty we can not help to wonder what will happen next. I guess that only Elin, Anna-Karin and Emma knows the answer to that question. The question is if it really matters, as long as they present such amazing fragments of beauty.

Download: In Darkness Lights Are Out

It Pays Rewards For Equal Dreams

2011-10-13T04:11:00.001+01:00

Rewards (Aaron Pfenning, Co-Founder of Chairlift) has debuted the brand new Eddie Mars remix of his single Equal Dreams featuring Solange Knowles and Blood Orange aka Lightspeed Champion. Released through DFA Records digitally and in 12" vinyl this past summer.

Pfenning assumed the name Rewards (a moniker he's actually used since 2003), after he spent the better part of last year touring with We Are Scientists, Brandon Flowers, Suckers and Warpaint, and released three broodingly romantic singles ("I Used To," "What a Loser" and the achingly beautiful "Two Cardinals").

Now here he is on DFA making some rather lush, Creation-ish, synthpop that people like Justice have no clue how to make!

Download: Equal Dreams Feat. Solange Knowles (Eddie Mars Remix)

Sea Pinks Have Excellent Peripheral Vision

2011-10-11T12:36:00.001+01:00

Sea Pinks are a three piece from Belfast, UK formed in 2010. Singer and guitarist Neil Brogan began to write and record songs as a side project from his other band Girls Names(in which he is the drummer) and put out a cassette album Youth is Wasted, in September 2010 on his own label, CF/Records

The band went on to record their first studio EP a few months later. Peripheral Vision was released in January 2011 on 12” vinyl also on CF/ Records. Like the tape, the EP quickly sold out in a matter of weeks. Now, nearly a year later, the band return with their second full length album Dead Seas which includes 10 brand new songs as well as Peripheral Vision for those who missed it the first time.

While still being rooted aesthetically in 60s garage and 80s indie pop the new songs, explore ideas around decay and renewal (both emotional and physical) as embodied by the imagery of the sea and water in general. While that may all sound heady and overly thought out...it's not...and the songs have a fantastic jangle about them which sort of hides the fact that they can kind of be depressing.

Download: Fountain Tesserae

Clubfeet Have The Last Words

2011-10-08T04:38:00.001+01:00

Clubfeet return with their newest single, "Last Words," another piece of melancholic pop from the Melbourne (via Cape Town via Biarritz) band.

The single has been remixed by some of their friends and you don't want to miss these. Indie producer Andrew Maury, aka RAC, drops a chunky, catchy mix that works equally well in clubs, on the radio, at home, or through the sound system at the local planetarium while extremely high.

Next up, London-bases The C90s turn in a remix that is synth-heavy, twisting and turning into a slab of pop-funk that will shake any and all booties.

For those of you headed to CMJ they'll also be playing everywhere...
Tues. Oct. 18th, 8:00pm - ICM Talent Showcase at Canal Room (285 West Broadway)

Tues. Oct. 18th, 10:30pm - All Things Go Official CMJ Showcase at Dominion (428 Lafayette St.)
Wed. Oct. 19th, 2:30pm - Big Hassle Free Showcase at Pianos (upstairs) (158 Ludlow St.)
Wed. Oct. 19th, 11:00pm - Nicky Digital's Unofficial CMJ Showcase at Ella Lounge (9 Avenue A)
Thurs. Oct 20th, 1:00pm - Sounds Australia '2 For The Showcase' at Kimmel Center, NYU
(60 Washington Square South, 10th FL)
Sat. Oct. 22nd, 2:50pm - Aussie BBQ at The Delancey (168 Delancey St.)
Sat. Oct. 22nd, 11:59pm - Official CMJ Showcase at Kenny's Castaways (157 Bleecker St.)

Download: Last Words (RAC Remix)
Download: Last Words (c90s Remix)

Monarchy Don't Want to Dance With You

2011-10-07T04:23:00.001+01:00

Summer might officially be over, but please don't tell Monarchy this as they apparently still think it is mid June. This is ok.

You see, Monarchy are back with another synth-pop gem, You Don't Want To Dance With Me, due for release in late October. After the undeniably catchy summer single Maybe I'm Crazy, the duo slow things down with the irresistible YDWTDWM (say that three times fast), featuring guest vocals from Britt Love.

The song's pulsating bass line and hypnotic, layered synths provide the perfect backdrop to showcase Britt's sultry sound as she duets with Monarchy's Ra Black.

Riding on the success of their critically acclaimed debut album Around The Sun and with this killer single (completely new and re-worked) set to do the business, Monarchy's year looks like closing on a high even if they still think it's June.

Download: You Don't Want To Dance With Me (Vivien Remix)

The Caseworker Takes On A National Runner

2011-10-06T05:41:00.001+01:00

It's not every day you hear a song about a long-distance runner from Ethiopia, much less one that sounds like a long lost Ride tune. But in the case of...er...[The] Caseworker that's exactly what they've written.

With ‘National Runner’, [The] Caseworker have an instant pop classic on their hands. The song’s consummate balance of drone and chime features a heady mix of hypnotic guitars and driving rhythm section, all perfectly offset by Conor Devlin’s starry-eyed vocal. Learning that the track is an ode to famed Ethiopian Olympic long-distance runner Miruts Yifter makes all the more sense after being doused in its heady atmosphere.

It's an awesome tune for someone that's famous for one heck of an Olympic race and if it's any indication how the rest of their music sounds we're in for a marathon.

Download: National Runner

Learn The Tennis System

2011-10-05T03:38:00.002+01:00

The noisy, earnest legacy of the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Ride lives on in the expansive, catchy-as-hell pop songs of Los Angeles’ Tennis System.
Matty Taylor (vocals and guitar), Misha Bullock (drums and, on occasion, guitar), Christopher Norman (guitar and, on occasion, drums), and Guylaine Vivarat (bass) are masters of loud and dirty anthems, but rising above the noise that blankets them are Taylor’s beautifully sung, dreamy lyrics inspired by both love and art. Listen hard, and through the distortion, threads of melody emerge; these are picturesque songs, full of woe, optimism and yearning.

Working with Ryan van Kriedt (Asteroid No. 4 and The Dead Skeletons), the band experimented with cello, bells, xylophone, synths and organ to add dimension and complexity to its sound. The result of that experiment is called, Teenagers and it features the tune Arcane.

Download: Arcane

World's End Girlfriend Finds Seven Idiots

2011-10-04T03:31:00.000+01:00

World's End Girlfriend is a Japanese composer whose work blends complex sound structures with beautiful melodies, reaching from electronic glitch to jazz-infused rock to modern classical. Captivating, enthralling and like nothing you’ve heard before, WEG makes for a surprising yet central addition to London contemporary music label Erased Tapes (Ólafur Arnalds, Peter Broderick, Nils Frahm, Rival Consoles).

World's End Girlfriend hails from Nagasaki Kyushu, Japan and currently resides in Tokyo. Fascinated by his father's classical music collection, he began his foray into sound at the tender age of 10, creating his early compositions on keyboard, guitar, tape recorders and computers. To date he has composed more than 600 songs, for the most part unreleased testaments of his early experimentation.

Brand new album Seven Idiots shifts seamlessly from catchy pop hooks to elaborate orchestrations and brutal IDM drones, it's an irregular pop album to say the least. Think Bis without vocals on acid and you kind of have an idea where World's End Girlfriend is coming from!

Download: Teen Age Ziggy

Huoratron Raises The Dead

2011-08-26T05:02:00.002+01:00

Finnish Electro-Grindcore maven Huoratron (pronounced whore-a-tron) is the solo project of Finland's Aku Raski, who began by using two Game Boy consoles to produce experimental and dark electro. Since then, he's risen from the digital underground and updated his gear while maintaining the pure black sound and raw aesthetics.

If you can imagine Kid 606 with a tune and bit of metal churning through his veins you can kind of picture where Huoratron is coming from. He's chaotic, dark, and sure to write the soundtrack of the end.

Huoratron is now back (from the dead??) with an intense new single, "Cryptocracy" which is an early taste of his forthcoming full-length that will see release in 2012 on Last Gang Records.

Download: Cryptocracy

The Jacuzzi Boys Take A Dip

2011-08-24T00:08:00.001+01:00

Miami is exploding with talent. It's amazing how much difference a decade can make. Once a musical wasteland for anything that wasn't related to dance music, the Magic City has come back with a vengeance.

As if to prove that point, The Jacuzzi Boys have just released their sophomore album. And rather than slumping, the Jacuzzi Boys have cranked up the amps, tuned the guitars and let it rip. Breaking out of the garage and fully embracing their power pop roots The Jacuzzi Boys have created one heck of a record with Glazin'.

For Glazin’, the group traveled to Key Club Studios in Benton Harbor, MI where they spent twelve full days recording and mixing. The Jacuzzi Boys used this as an opportunity to dig deeper into the production of each song. “If the first record was the Everglades, the follow-up is Dadeland Mall,” says guitarist & vocalist Gabriel Alcala.

Download: Cool Vapors

St. Lucia Has All Eyes On You

2011-08-23T23:50:00.001+01:00

St. Lucia is a recording artist based in Brooklyn, NY. However, his musical journey began far from here. The vocalist/producer/multi-instrumentalist began his musical journey in his home country of South Africa. Much of his music is inspired by old family photos and the exotic environment in which he first began cultivating his talents.

His debut double AA-side, All Eyes On Me, is now out on HeavyRoc - the China Town, NY label that brought you The Knocks and Alex Winston. Dreamy and kind of like old Peter Cetera records, this is a record that goes for your heart and reaches the stars. St. Lucia is all about heavenly pop that should be canonized.

Download: All Eyes On You

Climbing the Wiretree

2011-08-22T05:33:00.002+01:00

Austin’s Wiretree began as the solo recording project of singer-songwriter Kevin Peroni. After releasing the LP Bouldin in 2007, Peroni recruited Joshua Kaplan on guitar, Rachel Peroni on bass and Daniel Blanchard on drums to solidify the project.

The group released their sophomore effort Luck in 2009, finding it’s way on various year-end best of lists (Blurt, Absolute Powerpop) while being labeled Blurt Magazine’s “Best Kept Secret.” KLRU featured the band on Austin City Limit’s “Satellite Sets” in January 2011. The band is currently supporting their 3rd full length album Make Up.

A departure from their previous efforts, Make Up was recorded in the studio with very few overdubs with the goal of capturing natural raw performances. They've done just that with music that is powerful and vibrant.

Download: Make Up
Download: The Shore

Time For New Investors

2011-08-19T05:27:00.001+01:00

The New Investors are a brand new group from Copenhagen formed by four young investors with a passion a for sophisticated pop music, everlasting virtues, life affirming investments and French wine. So when the Eurozone totally collapses into economic chaos, at least they have something to fall back on.

Sounding like a psychedelic trip through the 60's via indie pop from today the band cover all their bases and then some.

To quote their bio (which incidentally is written like a business portfolio), "When listening to the New Investors you might feel that you listen to modern music while the attentive listener's thoughts might be sent back to the sophisticated and timeless pop music of the sixties. With the New Investors you will invest in both long term and in the immediate infectious returns."

Indie as a commodity on the exchanges? If New Investors have their way...yes.

Download and invest in: This Is The Season

Team Genius Write POP Songs

2011-08-18T05:25:00.001+01:00

Back in February we told you about Team Genius and back then we noted that they would be releasing records like mad men. Well, they didn't lie, they've been busy and have indeed released new music...again. This is, uh, genius if you ask us.

Team Genius' simple take on indie pop at times sounds like the Cars, Weezer, and Papas Fritas. And that's not a bad thing.
With hooks large enough to reel in a whale shark, and understated simplicity that makes their songs irresistible it's almost impossible to NOT like this band.

Their latest EP, POP Songs, is no disappointment and picks up where they left off back in the winter. Check out their latest tunes and then join Mensa team along w/the band!

Download: Making Myths
Download: Ronald Reagan's Cousin

Golden Fable Chill Out

2011-08-18T05:15:00.001+01:00

Tim & Becca from Tim & Sam's Tim & The Sam Band are also the fantastical Golden Fable. A much easier name to remember Golden Fable are anything but a tall tale.

This dark, piano led single will haunt your dreams and leave you in a cold sweat. With Becca's otherworldly voice leading the way, you'll find yourself crossing over into the great unknown and not wanting to come back.

Lets just put it this way, if "The Chill pt 2" is the light at the end of the tunnel...we might as well all just head toward it. Available as a digital download or a hand crafted work of art, this record is worth every penny.

Download: The Chill pt 2 (via Bandcamp)

65Daysofstatic Clear Things Up

2011-08-17T04:02:00.001+01:00

British electronic-infused post-rock faves 65Daysofstatic announce the North American release of their latest album We Were Exploding Anyway in a special deluxe edition that also features the recent Heavy Sky EP. The expanded set will only be released in North America and hits stores on 2xCD, LP and Digital Download on October 25th, 2011 via Monotreme Records.

The deluxe 2-CD edition includes bonus 7-track Heavy Sky CD EP. The vinyl edition is heavyweight 180 gm vinyl (dark blue and white versions) and includes a free copy of the album CD, poster and digital download coupon for the Heavy Sky EP.

We Were Exploding Anyway is a game-changer from a band that has only ever followed its own rules, and now that they've broken them, they have absolutely no intention whatsoever in repairing them. That's the way it should be.

Download: Crash Tactics
Download: PX3

Clap On Clap Off

2011-08-16T03:57:00.001+01:00

The Clap, yes you read the correctly, formed in the Summer of 2009 in Atlanta’s Old 4th Ward by Josh Hughes, Amanda Morelli, Sam Wagstaff and Tyler Walters. How they come up with that name is anyone's guess much less why....we'll leave that question unanswered.

With influences ranging from baroque to blues to psychedelic, a result of the varied musical traditions of each member, the band really sound nothing like any of them. While paying homage to the scattered garage, psychedelic sounds of years gone by, The Clap has managed to mold them into something extremely familiar but kind of unique with just enough confused distortion to make you think twice.

The band has recently finished recording The Operation 7" and will release it on September 6th on Atlanta's Double Phantom Records.

Download: Lucy 2

Watch Out For Rapids!

2011-08-15T03:33:00.001+01:00

"Nameless // Faceless," is the closing track on Rapids! forthcoming Fragments EP. Written in the band’s cramped and claustrophobic rehearsal space during the winter of 2010, Fragments perfectly soundtracks the daily struggle of life in a sleepy coastal town. With its gushing honesty and striking maturity, Rapids! proves themselves worthy of our time.

The band recorded in three separate studios during the making of the EP. The job fell on the shoulders of producer/mixer Dave Eringa (Manic Street Preachers, Idlewild) to collect up the fragments and blend them into one. As the name suggests, each song breaks away into its own bundle of fiery angst. But it’s when pieced back together that Fragments reveals its true force, with each peak and trough taking you on a journey through a troubled mind.

As a special treat, Russell out of Bloc Party and Pin Me Down has remixed, "Nameless // Faceless," and did one heck of a job of doing it. It's all dance floor ready!

Download: Nameless//Faceless (Bloc Party vs. CoPilots Remix)

How Much For The Little Girls

2011-08-14T05:16:00.003+01:00

Little Girls began in January 2009 as the solo recording project of multi-instrumentalist Josh McIntyre who, at the time, was one-half of Toronto shoegaze duo Pirate/Rock. Josh posted two songs on the web under the pseudonym Little Girls to preserve his anonymity.

In less than two years, McIntyre has released five singles, two EPs and an LP on a variety of independent labels. Meanwhile, Little Girls has been touring as a four-piece band and has trekked from one corner of the country to the other. Now, Little Girls are preparing to release their new album, Cults, on September 6th on vinyl and download and it should be a doozy.

Taking the Mary Chain's template, adding a bit of synth to it, fuzzing it all out, giving the songs copious amount of lithium and then filtering it through the Amazopopotron3000 Little Girls come up with some rather amazing tunes. Just check out the cover of John Maus', "Believer," for an example.

Download: Believer
Watch: a classic scene....

Big Wave Riders Ride One In

2011-08-12T04:51:00.001+01:00

Big Wave Riders hail from Helsinki, Finland. They are inspired by waves, echoes and experimental rhythms with an electronic touch.

Influenced by the music that touched them most when they were teenagers, of which they have difficulty naming, Big Wave Riders are yet another fantastic Scandinavian group that seem to have mastered the art of finely crafted pop music. They're pretty humble about it though. To quote Big Wave Riders “Our music is not trying to fit into any certain genre. We make music without mathematics or accurate calculations. The songs are fast, slow, rhythmic and with variety”

Perhaps a bit like The Drums with their "surf," influence and maybe even a bit like them because of their sound (slightly a stretch), the guys are armed with fantastic songs and "Behind These Walls," proves it.

Download: Behind These Walls

Black Light White Light Cast No Shadows

2011-08-12T04:31:00.001+01:00

Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Black Light White Light delivers sunny psychedelic rock wrapped up in modern pop songs with beautifully crafted harmonies.

Filling in the gap that was kind of left behind by The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, Black Light White Light have that huge sounding, multi part harmony, Scandinavian pop thing down pat. You can hear it all over their strangely named single, "Glorious Bastards," and more than likely on their debut album, Infrared Daylight.

The album, recorded in North Hollywood, CA with internationally acclaimed producer Rick Parker (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Dandy Warhols, Von Bondies) Infrared Daylight shows a solid grounded inspiration in late 1960’s American psychedelic rock all with that brilliant Scandinavian twist. Due out in September, it's bound to be a psych pop trip to the stars.

Download: Glorious Bastards

Luke Walker Doles Out Tough Love

2011-08-11T05:26:00.001+01:00

To celebrate 60 (yes, 60 releases!) Gung-Ho! Recordings chose no one other than Luke Walker to claim that landmark catalogue number. Luke has been releasing on the label for sometime now producing tracks and remixes for label mates alike. The likes of Him and Greg Churchill have been there since day one and have only gotten better ane better over the years.

Tough Love is a proper, bonafide club tune in the purest sense fully loaded with the necessary verve to get you moving without a second thought. Backed up with two mixes from the likes of Attaque and the aforementioned Greg Churchill as well as another original, "Pressure," the four songs are utterly amazing. In a world of trendy electronic wobbles, it's nice to know that someone out there still knows how to make amazing choons. 60 releases in and it's a record like this that proves why Gung-Ho! Recordings are still around and will be for a long time. Essential stuff.

Download: Tough Love (Greg Churchill Remix)

Trans Am Go Back To The Futureworld

2011-08-11T04:39:00.002+01:00

As Thrill Jockey prepares to enter its 20th year in 2012, Trans Am is also preparing a look back into the Futureworld. This fall, Trans Am will tour in the US performing the classic album in its entirety, and Thrill Jockey will reissue a newly-remastered Futureworld on LP, with two digital bonus tracks including an outtake from the original sessions mixed by James Murphy.

The re-mastered Futureworld LP will be available in a limited edition on September 13, and is available now for pre-order. The LP will be packaged in a high gloss jacket with high gloss inner sleeve, and for the first time will include a download card for the album and two digital bonus tracks...
"Nazi/Hippie Empire"- Studio outtake from the Futureworld session, mixed by James Murphy
"Now You Die, Thriddle Fool!" - originally released by Strength Magazine on a split 7"

Trans Am's Futureworld tour came about when organizers of the Via Pittsburgh Festival specially requested a performance of the band's dystopian masterpiece...

The tour dates are as follows...
TUE 9/27 PHILADELPHIA, PA Johnny Brenda
WED 9/28 BOSTON, MA Middle East Upstairs
THU 9/29 MONTREAL, QC Il Motore
FRI 9/30 TORONTO, ON Lee's Palace
SAT 10/1 GRAND RAPIDS, MI Pyramid Scheme (Prospecto Music Festival)
SUN 10/2 MILWAUKEE, WI Cactus Club
MON 10/3 CHICAGO, IL Empty Bottle
TUE 10/4 CLEVELAND, OH Grog Shop
WED 10/5 PITTSBURGH, PA Brillobox (Via Pittsburgh Festival)
THU 10/6 BALTIMORE Talking Head Club
FRI 10/7 WASHINGTON, DC 9:30 Club
SAT 10/8 BROOKLYN, NY Union Pool

Download: Futureworld

Kyle Andrews Is The Victim of A Murderbot

2011-08-09T06:54:00.002+01:00

Chicago DJ Chrissy Murderbot has given Kyle Andrews' "Make Me Feel Human" the royal treatment, remixing not one but two separate versions of the track.

As Murderbot explains, "When I first heard the track, I realized pretty immediately that I wanted to make two versions of my remix—one with the full vocals that's more like a pop song for people to listen to in the car at work or whatever, and then a more dubbed-out, stripped-down mix for a slutty 6am sunrise loft party dance floor madness."

And that's exactly what's happened.

Download: Make Me Human (Chrissy Murderbot DUB Remix)
Download: Make Me Human (Chrissy Murderbot Remix)

Princess Chelsea Writes A Lil' Golden Book

2011-08-08T04:20:00.001+01:00

Over three years in the making, New Zealand’s Lil’ Chief Records is proud to present the debut album by Princess Chelsea, the stage persona of composer Chelsea Nikkel. Lil’ Golden Book is the first collection of what her label describes as “the soundtrack to an old Disney movie meeting Kraftwerk fronted by Enya in a 60’s production of ‘Les Miserables’ set in space.”

More to the point, Lil’ Golden Book is full of stories about growing up in modern New Zealand. Everyday situations surrounding drinking, the Internet, and petty jealousies are presented as some kind of bizarre layman’s fairy-tale. The juxtaposition of Princess Chelsea’s lush, orchestral arrangements and the sardonic wit of her lyrics make for an intriguing listen.

Download: The Cigarette Duet

Estate Sale Boat Casts Off

2011-08-08T04:04:00.001+01:00

Estate Sale Boat is the Orlando,FL-based indie yacht rock brainchild of Sean Moore (Viernes), Carlos DeSoto (The Rules), Mike Ryan, and Anthony Cole. Inspired by a forgotten genre of smooth and unapologetic academic music, they were able to transform their sound into a realm never before heard.

The members of Estate Sale Boat are gearing up to release their debut full-length record, Coast. Judging by "Financial Children," Coast will be the sort of record that you and your parents can listen to together at a fondue party. Breezy, laid back, and melodic to the point of sugar oozing out your speakers, "Financial Children," isn't nearly as grim as the title would imply. So while you enjoy some melted cheese turn up the yacht rock, done some polyester, plan an estate sale on a boat, and wait for Coast.

Download: Financial Children

Radiation City Hit The Road

2011-08-08T03:35:00.001+01:00

Portland-based dream-pop outfit Radiation City have announced a coast to coast US tour behind their debut full-length, The Hands That Take You, out September 27th with Tender Loving Empire (Typhoon, Loch Lomond).

Radiation City originated when founding members Cameron Spies and Lizzy Ellison first put their heads together founding DIY cassette tape label, Apes Tapes, among a wellspring of other projects. Running a record label put the duo in a position of musical saturation, and after participating in multiple bands and side-projects, they decided to sit down and do it right and that's where Radiation City comes in. Now with their debut album in the proverbial can and things all done properly, the band are ready to head out on the highway...

The tour...
8.8 - Pendelton, OR - Great Pacific
8.9 - Boise, ID - Visual Arts Collective
8.11 - Provo, UT - Muse Music Cafe
8.12 - Grand Junction, CO - TBA
8.13 - Denver, CO - Yellow Feather
8.14 - Lincoln, NE - Clawfoot House
8.16 - Minneapolis, MN - 7th St. Entry
8.18 - Chicago, IL - Strobe session
8.20 - Chicago, IL - Hideout Inn
8.21 - Youngstown, OH - Cedar Lounge
8.22 - Pittsburgh, PA - TBA
8.23 - New York City, NY - Pianos w/ Kitty, Daisy, & Lewis
8.24 - Brooklyn, NY - Spike Hill
8.26 - Baltimore, MD - TBA
8.27 - Philly, PA - JR's Bar-Gracie w/ Rivka
8.28 - Charlotte, NC - Snug Harbor
8.30 - Chapel Hill, NC - The Nightlight
8.31 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
9.1 - New Orleans, LA - Siberia w/ King Rey, The Jonesbirds
9.3 - Austin, TX - Emo's
9.5 - Albuquerque, NM - Burt's Tiki
9.6 - Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
9.7 - San Diego, CA - Tin Can Ale House
9.8 - Los Angeles, CA -TBA
9.9 - Los Angeles, CA - House Show
9.14 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom Of the Hill w/ Blackbird Blackbird
9.16 - Davis, CA - Sophia's Thai Kitchen w/ Birds and Batteries
9.24 - Portland, OR - Doug Fir (CD release show)

Download: The Color Of Industry

He AIMES to Please

2011-08-07T07:06:00.001+01:00

AIMES, the nostalgia-filled project of electronica musician and DJ/producer Aman Ellis, has managed to create an array of sounds that not only references the late 70's Manhattan disco circuit, but also includes glimpses into the current UK bassline scene.

His debut album, the strangely titled, Your Floor Is Now A Tree is a chillwave, space journey hybrid that can be found somewhere near the edges of our galaxy. It's danceable in an otherworldly sort of way that will free your mind and allow your imagination to run free. The word epic seems appropriate here and I think that's exactly what AIMES was hoping for...to make something larger than life.

Download: Is A Good Friend
Stream: Your Floor Is Now A Tree

MF/MB/ Are Confused

2011-08-07T06:48:00.001+01:00

MF/MB/ is countryside and city streets, it’s woods and concrete, cigarettes and alcohol, hope and despair, clubs and saunas, autobahn and bad English. It’s the anger and disillusion of performing in Berlin as 18 year olds and then going back to Sweden to play in small pubs in the middle of nowhere for people who’d rather listen to Basshunter. MF/MB/ is a terrible band name. MF/MB/ is self confidence and bad conscience. Lack of money. Good looks. Clothes. Never looking back, always doing the same mistakes. It’s about frequent stupid questions in interviews - “Christine, how does it feel being the only girl in the band?” – and the inability to give the answers those questions deserve. MF/MB/ is a thousand compromises from a million ideas. It’s about filling up empty holes. It’s about staying alive by playing live. The oxygen on stage. Eyes of the audience. The hand claps and the shouts.

MF/MB/ just released their debut album Folded on the Malmo label Adrian Recordings and it's just as confusing as the above paragraph but in all the best possible ways. I have no idea what they're about and apparently they don't either, but it's OK when you can crank out an album as strong as Folded is. So why they seek out some psychiatric help and attempt to figure what it's all about download away.

Download: The Grand Chase
Download: The Window (Artisan Loyalist Remix)

Bush Doctors Have The Prescription

2011-08-07T05:40:00.001+01:00

Bush Doctors are the highly-esteemed, multi-award-winning producers Rennie Pilgrem and Jem Panufnik who are behind two of the most successful indie electronica labels of the last decade: TCR and Finger Lickin’ Records respectively. The duo have not only individually DJ’d the world over, leaving a wake of hugely successful club smashes between them, but also played their part in defining the dance scene as we know it. They now join forces in a whirlwind of black magic and sinister grooves that will send shivers up your spine and cold fear into the hearts of the funkless.

Concocting evil potions spiced with ‘70s funk and disco and whisking up rhythmic rituals that make young virgins dance like crazed banshees, the Bush Doctors are out to get your soul! You'll pretty much hand it over to them after hearing how they've somehow brought back big beat added more funk and made it bang up to date. If the 90's revival is underway, lets hope these guys are a HUGE part of it...god knows they were around.

Download: There's A Ghost In My House (Pimpsouls' "Get Scarey With Me" Edit)
Download: Night Booty