FIND YOURSELF A NEW BOY.

CMJ had no shortage of highlights, but perhaps the best pairing of the week came when two of the UK's finest new electro acts, The Whip and Late of the Pier, made their stateside debuts at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last Wednesday. Between the mechanical brilliance of the Whip's crushing synths and the over-the-top spectacle of Late of the Pier, it was one of the more lethal one-two punches the week had on tap and another reminder of just how many untouchable singles the Pier's Fantasy Black Channel has to offer. The way in which the shockingly young four-piece recontextualize familiar parts - the Gary Numan synths and Zeppelin-esque chorus of "Bathroom Gurgle", the Hendrix-inspired guitar breakdown of "Heartbeat" - in a wholly original new setting is amazing on record and something even more special to behold live, and you get the feeling this is a band who's only just begun to tap into their seemingly boundless potential. And speaking of "Bathroom Gurgle", the single that served as the band's schizophrenic statement of intent when they burst onto the scene with Moshi Moshi a year ago saw a beefed up re-release this week complete with a flurry of big name remixes. Enjoy its fruits in the form of Filthy Dukes' faithful reimagination of the track below.

MP3: "Bathroom Gurgle" (Filthy Dukes Remix) - Late of the Pier

// Signalnoise //

THIS MODERN LOVE.

See, this is intimacy. Chills.

// La Blogotheque //

SO GO ON PACK YOUR BAGS.

CMJ is behind us, but the hangover’s only just begun. Friendly Fires topped our list of bands to see at this year’s extravaganza, but between scouting obligations, Passion Pit blowing up all over the place and the sheer number of bands on offer they somehow fell by the wayside. A shame, as the Aeroplane remix of “Paris” has had them in heavy rotation more than ever around these parts. Au Revoir Simone helped out on the chorus of the original, but the roles are reversed here as they take the lead, the honeyed vocals setting the mood over churning basslines and sprightly synths that propel the song forward in that signature Aeroplane style. Transcendent stuff and just another reason the Belgian duo are some of the most lusted after remixers in the game right now.

MP3: "Paris" (Aeroplane Remix) - Friendly Fires

// Coloresque //

BURNING SOLID BURNING THIN.

Back in the city and ready for CMJ 2008, the hiatus is over. In our absence we missed the opportunity to break the oven fresh video for “Sleepyhead”, created on a criminally small budget by the stupidly talented folks over at the Wilderness Inc. Practically shot and painstakingly put together with photographs and real objects (read: not on a computer), we think it’s one of the best videos of the year and is wholly deserving of your attention and praise. View above or go here to download the video for repeat viewings.

The guys are in town for CMJ this week, and they’re playing all kinds of shows over the next few days. We’ll be at most of their sets, but we’re especially pumped for their co-headlining gig with Little Boots Thursday night at the NME party. See you there:

10|21 /// Brooklyn Vegan Showcase [Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10 PM]
10|23 /// Fader Party [Fader Fort NYC, 4:30 PM]
10|23 /// The Annex Club [NME Party, 9:30 PM]
10|24 /// Planetary Group Party [Pianos, 4 PM]
10|25 /// After The Jump Party [The Yard, 6 PM]

US copies of the Sleepyhead 7” are nearly sold out, but there are still plenty of copies available at Puregroove in London, and there will be a few copies for sale at Other Music in NYC soon. The record is also now available for purchase in Japan from the following retailers: ARCH Records, Flake Records, Jet Set Records and Tokyo's vaunted Elevator Records store.

Finally, we’re all well familiar with “Sleepyhead” by now, and there’s been much speculation as to the source of that unplaceable vocal sample that gives the track its addicting backbone. No, it’s not some lost 80’s pop gem or a Kanye-inspired chipmunk soul thing, rather it’s lovingly lifted from a traditional Irish folk song called “Óró Mo Bháidín”, sung in Gaelic by Mary O’Hara in the 60’s. Seriously. So yeah, you already thought it was a brilliant tune, but realizing that one of the year’s most unstoppable pop behemoths was born from a simple harp-and-vocal track sung in fucking Gaelic truly boggles the mind. Yep.

MP3: “Oro Mo Bahaidan” – Mary O’Hara

// The Wilderness //

HAVANA.

The serendipitous alignment of my class schedule, the perks of my mother’s former occupation and the convenience of British citizenship have afforded me the opportunity to go to Cuba for ten days, and as such a fleeting blanket of silence will fall over these pages until my return Monday the 20th. All other aspects of Neon Gold will continue go about business as usual, and any label-related queries should still be sent to neongoldmusic@gmail.com, where the prettier, more responsible half of Neon Gold will be on hand to receive any and all inquiries.

Upon my return, we’ll have all kinds of exciting newsbombs to drop on you, including coverage of whatever we can remember from CMJ 2008 and the announcement of Neon Gold’s imminent sophomore release (guesses welcome in the comments, but don’t spoil the surprise if you’ve already been privy to some inside information).

Until then, here’s a song that – if not for its title – you’d have difficulty convincing me was written with any setting in the world in mind other than Havana by night.

MP3: “Sao Paolo” - Guillemots

Beyond that, it's worth drawing attention to the killer set Passion Pit unleashed for their performance on AOL's The Interface last week. I'm not normally one to get psyched for in-studio live videos, but anyone who hasn't seen these guys live yet needs the new version of "Smile Upon Me" in their life and this is the next best thing to the real deal. Video and MP3 here.

// Matt Robinson //

WE FLY BALLOONS ON THIS FIELD CALLED LOVE.

The fine young men of Holy Fuck and Foals have joined forces and are currently in the midst of a lengthy tour of the UK, and as is often the case when brilliant minds meet, they’ve produced something a bit special. Limited to only 500 copies and currently available for purchase in the rather excellent Young Turks Shop (where you’d also to do well to pick up one of their awesome t-shirts) is the progeny of an on-the-fly recording session in which each band chose a song from the other’s catalogue to cover and apply to a 12” slab of vinyl. Being the kind souls that they are, those handsome Young Turks have also made the tracks available for free download (in lossless format, no less) over on that blog of theirs, which should probably be in your bookmarks if its not already. Holy Fuck’s inspired take on “Balloons” is below, and make sure to run along and fetch Foals’ version of “Super Inuit” as well.

MP3: “Balloons” – Holy Fuck

// Philip Bernaerts //

IN THE DAYLIGHT ANYWHERE FEELS LIKE HOME.

I'm not generally one to feature music I'm not at liberty to make available for direct download, but when a song this good comes along it demands and deserves attention by any means possible. But yo, Matt & Kim, what's the deal? That debut album had a few solid jams and promised of good things to come, but where the fuck did these come from? First RCRDLBL brought us "Good Ol' Fashion Nightmare", the triumphant lead single off the duo's upcoming sophomore effort Grand, and to put it succinctly, it fucking ruled. "Daylight" followed a month later courtesy of Mountain Dew's digital imprint Green Label Sound, and has been blowing out the speakers at Neon Gold HQ ever since. Plinking keys hook you from the start, before a monumental drumbeat drops in and the song takes flight on a catchy-as-fuck vocal structure and oscillating synths. If this isn't one of the year's best singles, we don't know what is. Follow the link below to cop it for yourself, you won't regret it.

LINK: "Daylight" - Matt & Kim

ONE NIGHT IN OCTOBER.

Autumn in New York City lends itself particularly well to rough-around-the-edges British indie, so it was a pleasant surprise stumbling across Newcastle upstarts Little Comets last week. A cursory listen to their demo reveals no shortage of massive potential, but it's "One Night In October" that really stands out and establishes the Northeast quartet as ones to watch in the months to come. Bursting at the seams with fresh-faced vitality, "October" bounces along on a buoyant rhythm section and clattering percussion, shouty Wombats vocals and sunny guitars converging to make the four-piece out to be something of a cockney Vampire Weekend. With a publishing deal already in place and early support from Huw Stephens at Radio 1, don't be surprised to see this lot running amuck on all manner of hotly-tipped lists come January.

MP3: "One Night In October" - Little Comets

// Dreamer of Dreams //

AMELIA.

We're told Niyi is the coolest dude in all of London. Considering his resume - which includes running the Gauche Chic club night (the alleged jumping off point of the whole new rave phenomenon) and a new night at the painfully cool Punk - and associates (he's been known to roll deep with the Cassette Playa crew and M.I.A.), we don't doubt it. These days he's keeping himself busy with an album of original cuts that's slated for an early 2009 release, and if it's anything like "Amelia" it's going to be an absolute stunner. Like some lost 90's club anthem, "Amelia" thrives on these cascading piano stabs that sound equal parts classic and refreshing and make for one of the most timelessly brilliant jams of '08. He's also made the track's individual parts available for download here, so if you fancy yourself something of a remix talent, get on this shit.

MP3: "Amelia" - Niyi

FRANKMUSIK + BOYS NOIZE.

Scouting for one of London's preeminent music lawyers two summers ago, I was in office the day Frankmusik's demo EP arrived from Brighton and witnessed firsthand the ensuing outburst of hyperbole regarding showstealer "When You're Around", on which our young pop hero takes The Stranglers' early-80's classic "Golden Brown" and gives it a 21st century electro makeover. Chopping up the song's timeless harpsichord riff and upping the BPM, Frankmusik reworks 1981 chart-topper into a dancefloor burner and his best track to date. The original remains under wraps until its inevitable single release, but here's a faithful Boys Noize remix of the track, oven fresh and straight out of the studio.

MP3: "When You're Around" (Boys Noize Mix) - Frankmusik