arcade fire - everything now
what is happening? with it's dancing queen grooves and a frigging pan flute hook, arcade fire have unleashed one of the poppiest songs of their career! but strip away the glean of the track and you have one of the more biting commentaries of society excess around. and you can still dad dance to the track! kind of genius!
london grammar - rooting for you (live version)
kicking off the new year with new music, london grammar offer up the sparse single 'rooting for you' with zero fanfare. it's wintry gorgeousness at it's finest and kicks off what i'm hoping will be an exciting year for the chilled out trio! just tell me you don't get goosebumps when the orchestra sweeps in!! lush!!!
clean cut kid - make believe
we've been circling around clean cut kid since last year and i have to admit that it's taken awhile for the liverpudlian quartet to rotate back into our radar again. already hailed as the hottest record in the world by bbc radio 1's annie mac, the band are back with their lovely fuzzy guitars and infectious harmonies. sometimes it's totally fine connecting with no awkward lags in between!
radiohead - burn the witch
after blanking out all of their social media platforms (twitter/ facebook/ radiohead.com) radiohead relaunched them all with a brand new single with a stop motion video inspired by the cult horror film 'the wicker man'. whether this will kick off a strand of equally unsettling new songs remains to be seen, but for now this string heavy track is a massive curiosity for their fans!
radiohead - spectre yet another epic xmas gift for music fans! radiohead decided to offer up their rejected james bond single for free on xmas day! epic yet totally internal, i understand why the 007 folks opted for sam smith's horrible bombastic version instead. but what a lovely tune to get lost in! 007's loss is our gain. happy xmas!!
chvrches - every open eye
definitely a more confident sophomore release, 'every open eye' continues to showcase chvrches strong pop songwriting sensibilities filtered with their 80's synth celebratory skills. of course lauren mayberry makes the best frontwoman for all this perfection. between ryan adams and this album, today has been a great day for music!
white - blush
um... what is this post punk disco with a funky groove and crazy sax thrown in? it's from new scottish 5 piece white and it's kind of genius in that sweaty 3am beyond drenched boogie kind of way. how lovely!
clean cut kid - vitamin c
oh yeah, this debut single by liverpudlian quartet clean cut kid is pretty darn darn wonderful. with fuzzy guitars underlying a singalong love song (a duet no less), the track is just the perfect sweet gem that you can still feel cool about post gush (the band has beards and tattoos so back off!) if this is their debut, i can't wait to hear what else they have in store.
with less than a month away, the new john green screen adaptation, paper towns, is slowly rolling out tracks from their indie pop skewing soundtrack. with new tracks from galantis, sam bruno, vance joy, grouplove and santigold, mixed with recent faves from haim and vampire weekend, it's a pretty fine collection to soundtrack your inner teen moments this summer. now go and find yourself a life adventure with a twist of romance and mystery will ya!
sam bruno - search party
even without the paper towns connection, this is a seriously perfect indie pop gem that deserves to be a massive hit. singer/songwriter sam bruno has already lent her vocals on dance tracks by gta and bisbetic, plus had a hand in co-writing kanye west's "the one". hopefully this will propel her into the mainstream spotlight cause the song is just wonderful!
santigold - radio
throwing her catchy hooks into the mix, santigold comes up with one of the most radio friendly tracks of her career (heck, it's even called radio!)
vance joy - great summer
aussie singer songwriter vance joy offers up a wistful post summer number to feel sentimental to. yaay!
grouplove - no drama queen
been a fan of these guys from the beginning and as usual they release a solid number that you can sing along to instantly.
son lux - you don't know me
starring my favorite orphan black clone, tatiana maslany (and also noah segan), the ever captivating actress channels the melancholic loneliness in a relationship, all the while really being a cult priestess on in the inside! oh and the song fits the image too!
mumford & sons - believe
first single off the upcoming new album 'wilder mind', this is a definite new direction for the ex-stomp along troubadours. falling more under coldplay/ u2 aspirations, i'm on the fence if i like this at all (though the banjo sing a longs were getting tired too). hopefully the rest of the album will convince me otherwise.
everything everything - distant past
produced by stuart price (killers, madonna), my fave throw everything AND the kitchen sink indie band, everything everything, are back with yet another kooky track that sounds like 3 songs in 1. it's always an adventure with these boys and i can't wait to hear what other crazy shizz they'll have in the upcoming 'get to heaven' album!
bastille vs grades - torn apart
you gotta watch this video, what starts off as a dance piece about lovers of all kinds turns into a twisted acid trip version about lovers of ALL KINDS! you have to see it to believe it! taken off the mixtape 'vs (other people's heartache's vol III)', this is yet another gem from the varied collaboration collection.
alt-j - hunger of the pine
directed by the amazing nabil, this violent video is actually a tad too cringe worthy for me (i have issues with sharp things), but i can admit that it's beautiful nevertheless. hunger games has nothing on this poor chaps experience!
want more? check out a recently released new song by the trio below
circa waves - young chasers
hailing from liverpool and gaining serious buzz in the UK, this boppy four piece fuzzy guitar band have managed to come up with a lively retro number that reminds me of old skool strokes. press play and have fun with this!
arcade fire - we exist
since premiering, this david wilson video about a young person's struggle with gender identity has been discussed quite intensely within the LGBT community (some feel that casting an a-lister like andrew garfield takes away from telling it from the real perspective of a trans youth). but the fact that there is a dialogue at all, plus getting into the news is a good thing don't you think? the end result is still a triumphant dance accepted by millions in the version of themselves they believe to be. kind of awesome!
klaxons - there is no other time
working with indie dance producers such as james murphy (lcd soundsystem), tom rowlands of the chemical brothers and erol alkan, UK band klaxons are definitely looking to bring some beats into their sound. with their 1st single off this club venture, the lads hook up with house producers gorgon city to come off with this very live sounding indie disco jam. how fun!
half moon run - the mother we share (chvrches cover) (live @ bbc radio 1 live lounge)
yeah this cover is really darn good! one of my fave songs of last year gets a folkie turn by the wonderful canadian indie band!
) mutual benefit - advanced falconry
what a gentle track from the boston collective (currently showcasing at sxsw all this week) fronted by singer/songwriter jordan lee. co-written with friends on a collaborative cross country recording session, this lush, yet mild, gem should be enough for you to check out their debut album 'love's crushing diamond' now. nice one this.
kodaline - one day
i've said it many times before, but these irish lads are near perfect with their catchy guitar based tunes for the masses. their current single continues to spread their talents and hopefully a US successful crossover that i swear is just around the corner.
