Best Coast-The Only Place

Check out the title track from Best Coast's upcoming album, set to release May 15. Can I get a cheers to California?

Best Coast-The Only Place

1940 (AmpLive Remix) - The Submarines

Recently on a trip to Charlotte, NC a friend pulled me aside at a party and told me to listen to the song playing on the stereo. He had thrown on The Submarine's "1940 (AmpLive Remix)" and little did I know it would soon become a top played song on my iTunes. The dark, undulating backbeats take a ride along haunting vocals from female lead singer Blake Hazard. Blake, the great-granddaughter of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, and John Dragonetti make up the indie-pop duo and they have much on the horizon. The Submarines are currently touring with Ra Ra Riot on the west coast and recently released a new EP and it is streaming on their website.

Here's the AmpLive remix of "1940", though the original track is definitely worth listening too. The original is much slower, but has some nice strings and the addition of a tambourine..

The Submarines- 1940 (AmpLive Remix)

Virtual Boy

Why there isn't more hype around these guys right now is a mystery to me, but something tells me it's a matter of weeks -days, even-before they're blowing up the blogosphere. Preston Walker and Henry Allen, the artists behind the Los Angeles-based duo Virtual Boy, have crafted an electronic album with intricate attention to classical technique and a severe amount of style.

The self-titled album seems to pull influence from all over. It's equal parts Chromeo, TOBACCO, Justice, and The Glitch Mob, capped off with an ethereal through-line reminiscent of James Blake. It's  a pleasure to listen to, and I'm proud to say I knew them back when they were performing their student projects in the music halls of Chapman University. This latest project is an attestation to the progress and musical evolution they've made, and keep making at an exponential rate.
Check out "Memory of a Ghost" below:

Air: Le voyage dans la lune

It's no secret that French electronic duo, Air, is inspired by the celestial. From their debut album "Moon Safari" to their latest album "Le voyage dans la lune", it seems space has been on their minds. This particular album comes with a twist-the music serves as the soundtrack for a beautiful-if not overly- restored version of Georges Méliès 1902 film of the same name.

The album contains about 30 minutes of music to the film's 15. Consequently, it can feel out of place and filler at times, there are only a select few tracks that can really stand on their own: "Sonic Armada", "Seven Stars", "Parade", and "Cosmic Trip" are among these. However, the overall effect is astral and ambient. It deserves a listen, and the film deserves a look.

New music from The Shins

It's impossible to say what exactly Port of Morrow will sound like as a whole, but judging by The Shin's recent single, "Simple Song", it seems to be a much more grainy, in-your-face, whimsical kind of project with classic Shins attention to detail and catchy melodies. Looking forward to March 20th, when the full album is released. Hear "Simple Song" below, or listen on the neat little player on their site

Porcelain Raft

Via Jonk Music, an article by Zoe Camp of CMJ:

It's unlikely that you'll hear a back story as cool as Mauro Remiddi's. Before he began to record as Porcelain Raft, Remiddi traveled from his native Italy to London, Berlin, North Korea, and finally New York. Along the way, he caravanned with the Berlin Youth Circus performing gypsy Klezmer music, created reinterpretations of traditional North Korean folk songs and played piano for an Off-Broadway tap show. He hasn't even had his 30th birthday yet, but Remiddi has more musical experiences under his belt than many artists attain in the length of an entire career.

You might consider Strange Weekend, Porcelain Raft's debut LP, a sonic catalog of these places and sounds: a musical work in constant transit from point A to point B but making lots of side-trips and detours along the way. Genre-wise, it's difficult to pin down: Billowing clouds of dream-pop synths cloak Remiddi's fragile wisp of a voice but against nontraditional partners like tribal drums and jangly shoegaze guitars. The common factor holding these unusual musical bedfellows together is an undeniably catchy melodic sensibility most immediately recalling the hazy pop of MGMT.

Even though many listeners may be struck by the initial similarities, Remiddi's sharp creative wits prevent comparison from being the main talking point here. Lead single "Put Me to Sleep"carries a thin stream of harmonies along on a clattering, cymbal-and-bells drum pattern, the layers of drum samples practically tripping over each other in something that sounds like the delightfully primordial stages of a break-beat song. "Picture," on the other hand, frames a simple, catchy, four-chord guitar ballad in a vast, echoing soundscape.

More laid-back tracks are no less infectious. "Backwords" and "Shapeless and Gone" bathe sun-faded psych-pop songs in ambient synth loops and wailing guitars: lazy, engrossing, like a nap on the beach on a hot day. As relaxing as these cuts are, they would be downright boring if left to roam in the traditional six-minute-plus running time of other experimental acts. Fortunately, Remiddi knows the art of song length, crafting the 10 tracks on Strange Weekend to have space for dynamic development but still fit into a lean, accessible, 34-minute package. The LP's shortness also invites repeat listens, with every play-through revealing another quirk hiding in the framework. It wasn't until my fourth or fifth listen that I truly appreciated how the sleigh bells and glitchy 8-bit blips on "If You Have a Wish" complemented the track's dreamy, astral atmosphere.

Strange Weekend is an album with a finger in every type of pot imaginable: cultural, musical, aesthetic. Most of the time, attempts to capture large swaths of sounds and ideas result in an unfocused mess. But in the case of Remiddi and his "How I Spent My 27 Years Around the World" project, listeners can now witness a rare breed of debut album, one that takes on the lofty task of musical multitasking and succeeds.

Porcelain Raft-Put Me To Sleep

Electric Guest

Being able to attend Monday Night Residency shows at The Echo may be one of the greatest things to result from my turning 21 this past fall. This February, shows will be devoted to LA duo Electric Guest. Backed by their producer Danger Mouse, it's no surprise these guys a mean beat.

Electric Guest-This Head I Hold

Electric Guest-American Daydream

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