ALL THINGS GOLD 008: NIKI & THE DOVE

This month's ALL THINGS GOLD showcase with our All Things Go brethren provides us with yet another perfect excuse to make memories in our nation's capital. This time around, we have Swedish debutantes Niki & The Dove playing their first ever US headline show (a couple days before they slay our pre-SXSW New Shapes party with Charli XCX and Clock Opera at Knitting Factory). Supporting will be NYC's finest, the inimitable Gordon Voidwell, getting things started early and electro-masseur Lightwaves will be manning the decks throughout. All that plus a special guest DJ headliner ready to bring U Hall to its knees in their first ever DJ gig in the DC. We've probably already said too much, but trust us it's going to be BIG. It's all going down at U Street Music Hall on March 8th at 9pm, and you can cop your tix HERE.

STREAM: "The Drummer" - Niki & The Dove


DOWNLOAD: "XO Boyfriend" - Gordon Voidwell

WRITE MY STORY DOWN.

Our Fort Lean 7" drops tomorrow, and we're stoked to be unleashing their first physical release into the world together with our dudes at Black Bell Records. We already shared our thoughts on the escapist pleasures of A-side "Sunsick", but flipside stunner "Precinct" is a slow-burning lament that lights the way and then ashes on your expectations. Keenan Mitchell's arresting vocals bay at the rising moon and drift towards classic rock guitars that curl up like a shadowy come-hither. Once the drums crash and the four corners cave in, you know this is the triumphant jailbreak scene. Without a shred of doubt in our mind, Fort Lean are the best new rock outfit in NYC by miles, so get your order of the single from the Neon Gold Shop in HERE. Oh yeah, and if you're in New York tomorrow, we're properly celebrating with a single release blowout at our new haven of rage, Santos Party House. Tickets are HERE, doors are at 8pm, see y'all there?

MP3: "The Precinct" - Fort Lean [exclusive]

NEW SHAPES NYC: DJANGO DJANGO + MORE

Because one of anything is never enough (and for those of you who can't/won't make it out to Brooklyn), we're ready to announce round two of our pre-SXSW New Shapes weekend. It's all going down in Manhattan at our new live headquarters Santos Party House two days later, on March 12th. This time out we've got Clock Opera and Charli XCX back for another round of blinding pop brilliance, as they open things up for another one of London's finest in experimental popstars Django Django. These New Shapes shows will most likely be our biggest shows of the spring and considering how fast tickets are selling for our Brooklyn show the Saturday prior, we highly recommend snapping up a pair HERE before it's too late.

STREAM: "Default" - Django Django


STREAM: "Once And For All" - Clock Opera


DOWNLOAD: "I'll Never Know" - Charli XCX

MIXING MY EMOTIONS.

We couldn't possibly be more all about Athen's primary guarantors of good vibes, Reptar. Ever since they first premiered "Sebastian" on Neon Gold TV last year (back when it was still spelled "Sebastien"), we've been dying to hear the studio version in all its Ben Allen-produced splendor. Our wish finally came true today, and yeah, it's everything we hoped it would be and more. From the first notes of jangly guitars and house party beats, we couldn't feel more at home. Frontman Graham Ulicny is like a southern fried cross between Ezra Koenig and Isaac Brock, flaunting reverb-coated hooks with a punch-drunk, impassioned cadence and leading an incredible singalong bit that's likely to be the highlight of live shows for years to come. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for their debut record, Body Faucet, out on Vagrant May 1st.

MP3: "Sebastian" - Reptar

BLOOD WILL DRIP THE COLOR GOLD.

Charli XCX keeps the hit streak alive with her latest offering "I'll Never Know", recorded as part of some Red Bull/Fashion Week thing that we don't totally understand but are FULLY down with if it means new Charli for our ears, which - thankfully - it does. We'd venture to describe it to you in some kind of detail, but Yasi over at Cultist pretty much smashed it with her whole "drinking pina coladas at the beach with Robert Smith" thing, so we'll just quit while we're ahead and point you to the download link below. As well as the ticket link to her first ever US show (with Niki & The Dove! and Clock Opera!), which we'll be putting on at Knitting Factory next month.

DOWNLOAD: "I'll Never Know" - Charli XCX

NEW SHAPES BROOKLYN: NIKI & THE DOVE + MORE

By now you're likely well familiar with our annual New Shapes extravaganza every CMJ, but now it's time to introduce it to the spring as we establish a new Neon Gold tradition. The weekend prior to SXSW will henceforth be celebrated (by precisely no one but those attending) as New Shapes weekend, as we look to bring those of you unable to make the trip down to Austin our picks to steal the show as the reigning acts of SXSW. This year's festivities will be a two night affair, popping off Saturday March 10th in Brooklyn with a second night to follow Monday March 12th in Manhattan.

It all kicks off at the Knitting Factory March 10th, as we bring you a triple threat of our favorite new international acts in Niki & The Dove, Charli XCX and Clock Opera, plus one of the best new bands in the NYC in Ghost Beach. For Niki & The Dove it'll be their first NYC headline play, while Clock Opera and Charli XCX will be playing in our fair city (and on US soil in the case of Charli) for the first time ever. All signs point to this being one of our biggest events of the spring and tickets have already been selling like hotcakes on the back of the Knitting Factory's soft announce last week, so move swiftly and get your tickets NOW before it's too late.

DOWNLOAD: "The Drummer" - Niki & The Dove


DOWNLOAD: "Mother Protect" - Niki & The Dove


STREAM: "Nuclear Seasons" - Charli XCX


STREAM: "Lesson No. 7" - Clock Opera


DOWNLOAD: "Too Young" - Ghost Beach

SHAKE IT FOR YOUR HOLY GHOST.

With only a few more weeks to go before the long-awaited release of her debut album, our girl Alex Winston goes under the knife of 17 year old J£ZUS MILLION on this chopshopped remix of "Choice Notes". Precisely splicing Winston's vocals over pounding beats and whirring synths like the demented bastard child of Clock Opera and Star Slinger, J£ZUS shifts to warp drive in the chorus as you hurtle towards an ominous conclusion. Yet another remix trophy for Winnie's mantle.

DOWNLOAD: "Choice Notes" (J£ZUS MILLION Remix) - Alex Winston

ALL THINGS GOLD PRESENTS: BREAKFAST AT NIGHT

Don't worry DC, we didn't forget about you. While NYC gets Chiddy Bang as the special guest headliner at Popshop next month, we're bringing them to you two days prior on their album release date of February 28th, presented by All Things Go and yours truly for a very special ALL THINGS GOLD to remember. To celebrate the album, we're calling it Breakfast At Night and will be bringing you Chiddy Bang live at 11pm, followed up by a face-melting DJ set from the almighty Xaphoon Jones into the early hours. Going to be a LARGE night to say the least. Doors are 10pm with only 300 advance $10 tickets available HERE before they're $15 on the door, so get going as these won't last long.

TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS

POPSHOP014: CHIDDY BANG + THE KNOCKS

Time to unveil the special guest for POPSHOP014, which will also be doubling as the official launch party of the Neon Gold Tour. We're thrilled to welcome Chiddy Bang to the Popshop stage for a very special underplay for the duo, celebrating the release of their debut album Breakfast earlier that week on February 28th. In order to bring you this supersized lineup we've had to bump the ticket price up to $15 adv and $20 day of show, so congrats to the large number of you who followed our advice and cashed in on the $10 early bird tickets over the last few weeks.

With less than two hundred tickets to remaining and this being our biggest Popshop bill yet, we'd recommend you RUN, not walk, to our Popshop ticket page to lock down your spot for March 1st. This should sell out in a heartbeat, so don't sleep NYC. Oh and shouts to Bomb Lager for the one hour of complimentary beer for 8pm-9pm, as if you needed another reason to come out for this.

TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS // TICKETS

ALL WORTH MY WHILE.

Charli XCX is pretty much our favorite new ladysinger in the game for 2012, and her debut album is way up there on our most anticipated debuts of the year list. With two flawless singles already in the mix and another one on the way (trust us, it's amazing), she hits again with this free Valentine's Day giveaway, appropriately titled "Valentine". We'll be putting on her debut US shows in NYC and SXSW next month, so stay tuned for more details on those and - in the meantime - Happy Valentine's Day friends. See y'all at Hearts of Rage tonight?

MP3: "Valentine" - Charli XCX

NEON GOLD PRESENTS: HEARTS OF RAGE

Tomorrow is a BIG day. Not only is it the second week of St. Lucia's residency of Pianos, but it also marks our "We Got It Wrong" 12" release day. Oh, and it's Valentine's Day or something too. So to celebrate all of the above, we're teaming up with Pianos to bring you two floors of incredible free entertainment, in a double decker Valentine's blowout for the ages. On the main floor, we have the inimitable St. Lucia back for round two after a massive kickoff performance last week, as well as Brooklyn synth wizards Tiny Victories and future superstar Devin Therriault making his Manhattan live debut. Popping off upstairs will be a DJ set from MNDR, plus leftfield pop connoisseurs Psychobuildings and (who else?) Make Out keeping your hearts in check on the live stage.

Valentine's Day, the most fragile of holidays, can so easily be ruined with one wrong decision, so get it right and make it out to Piano's for a glorious night of live music and merrymaking, absolutely FREE with doors at 9PM. If you have a date, bring him/her. If not, fuck it, make new friends. We are a singles label, after all.

TOUCHING THE SKY TONIGHT.

D-E-W-L are a relatively mysterious new d-u-o emerging from the backstreets of London with a refreshing approach to experimental soul and leftfield R&B. Debut offering "Red Velvet" affectionately (confectionately?) borrows elements from Miike Snow and Phantogram, setting the scene with a glitchy backdrop, Icarus-flying oohs, and chop pop vocals out of the Clock Opera playbook. Then come the heartwarming tones of fingers falling gently on piano keys and that soulful croon on the hook, coming off like the most unclassifiable parts of James Blake and Jai Paul with a vocal reminiscent of Paul Usher of the late great Magistrates.

It's like a more subtle take on Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness", until D-E-W-L catches full-blown Ratatat fever and revs up dueling guitars and rousing atmospherics, as tribal chants drive you to an epic conclusion. There's no shortage of reference points in play here, yet the final offering - premiered below - manages to come off entirely unique, a monolith of pop accomplishment that has us incredibly excited to see what the two Londoners have in store for us next.

DOWNLOAD: "Red Velvet" - D-E-W-L [exclusive]

MY EYES ON YOUR EYES.

Grouplove is one of those pure sunshine bands that just sweats positive vibes. We were pretty sure "Tongue Tied" - our all-time favorite by the group - was relatively untouchable, but that was before the illustrious Gigamesh flexed his production muscles and expertly chipped away at the indie rock shell, uncovering this latent disco diamond. With Christian Zucconi's lovestruck vocals at the core, this lost Jackson 5 gem is polished to pristine perfection with '80s synth washes and feverish guitar scratches. If you're around DC tomorrow, you don't want to miss Gigamesh live at our next All Things Gold blowout along side Summer Camp. It's all going down at U Street Music Hall, with a limited number of advance tix still available HERE.

DOWNLOAD: "Tongue Tied" (Gigamesh Remix) - Grouplove

GOLD032: FORT LEAN

The last few months have seen Fort Lean rise from relative obscurity to quickly become our favorite new band in Brooklyn, and it's with great pleasure that we welcome them to the NG family with the co-release of their new single "Sunsick" on Neon Gold and Black Bell Records this month. The five piece have an uncanny knack for escapist summer anthems, a point underscored on the A-side as a waterfall of cascading drums and sweeping guitars draw you in and an armed-to-the-teeth bassline pumps seratonin through your veins. Then it's Keenan Mitchell's impassioned vocals entering the mix and leaving you strung out on pure empathy as he howls through the chorus behind a shield of reverb-coated guitars.

On the flip, "Precinct" begins as a slow-burning lament and grows into a staggering climax, filled to the brim with emotional fortitude and rousing harmonies. Together the tracks pack one hell of a one-two punch and make you pine for a getaway, the destination: irrelevant. If The Walkmen were fronted by the long lost son of Iggy Pop and raised on a sundrenched beach, you'd have a blurry outline of Fort Lean. The Sunsick 7" drops February 28th and is available for preorder from the Neon Gold Shop HERE, or come down to the single release party at Santos on the 28th to pick it up for yourself and catch Fort Lean bringing down the house alongside Stepdad and Black Bell kingpin Ayad Al-Adhamy (who also produced the single) from Passion Pit's new band Team Spirit. BIG ONE.

MP3: "Sunsick" - Fort Lean

OUTLINED AGAINST A PURPLE SKY.

Niki & The Dove can do no wrong as far as we're concerned, and their incredible new video - courtesy of Seattle production collective WINTR - for last year's single "The Fox" is no exception. Niki & The Dove blew us away in their first London headline at Popshop UK last year, and we're thrilled to announce that we'll be bringing the Swedish duo stateside for their first headline plays in NYC and DC next month. Stay tuned for more info...

DOWNLOAD: "The Fox" - Niki & The Dove

COLORS IN THE AIR.

Since making their Manhattan debut at Popshop last March, Friends have well and truly blown up on both sides of the Atlantic, and they continue their ascension to the stars on a much-needed re-release of debut 7" "Friend Crush" this month. The single already won over our hearts and minds the first time around, and the remix package highlight from Leo Zero is the golden ticket to disco salvation, when the fever grabs hold of you with the vice-like grip of young love. As she sways and seduces, frontwoman Samantha Urbani holds out her hand and you just can't help but take it, as Monsieur Zero takes us deep into another disco galaxy. It's like the Flight Facilities remix that never was, all resplendent synths and groove train basslines, and it's available for free below from our dear friends at Lucky Number Music.

DOWNLOAD: "Friend Crush" (Leo Zero Remix) - Friends

STAY SHOTGUN UNTIL THE DAY I DIE.

Walk the Moon, quite possibly the best new band in America, step out into the spotlight this week with the Anna Sun EP, going the Foster route and coming out swinging with three of their biggest tracks ahead of their debut album proper this spring. The anthemic title track already won over the hearts and minds of just about anyone who heard it last year, but it's "Next In Line" here that's dialing us up and making advance reservations for a spot at the top of our Singles of 2012 list.

Put the key in the ignition and the track revs to life with a thumping backbeat and brassy synths, the anticipation palpable as frontman Nicholas Petricca's vocals set an urgent tone and anxious guitars shred through the leather upholstery. As you sit shotgun sweating bullets in the summer solstice, there's nothing to prepare you for THAT chorus, a Killers-sized behemoth that's sure to be one of the most infectious of the year. Streaming only tracks aren't usually our speed here at Neon Gold, but we can make an exception for one of the biggest songs we've heard in recent memory. Get involved with the exclusive premier of your new favorite song below, and be sure to cop the Anna Sun EP when it drops worldwide tomorrow.

STREAM: "Next In Line" - Walk The Moon [exclusive]

CITY IS MY CHURCH.

A few months ago we'd have told you "Midnight City" - our number one song of last year - was just about uncoverable, but leave it to The Knocks to prove us wrong once again. Eschewing the production of the M83 original in favor of an extreme disco makeover, they enlist the talents of 20 year old Queens native Mandy Lee on the track, who explodes onto the scene out of nowhere and absolutely smashes the vocal out of the park . The Knocks are quickly establishing themselves as some of the best talent spotters in the game, and it looks like they may well have another superstar on their hands in Lee. Expect big things.

DOWNLOAD: "Midnight City" (ft. Mandy Lee) - The Knocks

DON'T YOU THROW IT AWAY.

For further proof of Ghost Beach's snowballing status as one of NYC's next big things, we're excited to premier their newest single in all its hometown glory. "Too Young" is like popping a bottle of shaken soda in the middle of a heatwave and watching it fizz, as the sticky-sweet beginning signals the start of something excellent. As the riffs grow sharper and the synths grow confident, the resilient bassline swells and stands by for moral support when the breakdown teleports you to your first heartbreak and back and lives are affirmed. If you're one of the lucky ones in DC next week, get out early for Ghost Beach at our next ALL THINGS GOLD, which advance tickets are still available for HERE.

MP3: "Too Young" - Ghost Beach [exclusive]

ALL THINGS GOLD 007: SUMMER CAMP + GIGAMESH

We're back with our second All Things Gold of the new year, and it's one of our most stacked and diverse lineups yet. This time, UK lovebirds Summer Camp are headlining with their unseasonably warm brand of nostalgia pop that will make everyone (literally, everyone) swoon. Warming up the stage are electro-pop perfectionists, Ghost Beach (who positively killed it at our December Popshop year-end blowout), before the almighty Gigamesh hits you with the high octane disco adrenaline as the DJ headliner late night. It's all going down at DC's finest music venue, U Street Music Hall, February 9th at 9pm sharp. Tickets will be $13 at the door, but a very limited number of $10 advance tickets are still available HERE. Get involved DC.

DOWNLOAD: "Better Off Without You" - Summer Camp


DOWNLOAD: "Groove Is In The Heart" (Gigamesh Remix) - Deee-Lite


DOWNLOAD: "First Time" - Ghost Beach

ALWAYS ON MY MIND.

As if there wasn't enough brilliant music coming out of Sweden this time of year (or, y'know, any time of year), Milano Sun has provided us with the perfect summer escape from the icy grips of the New York winter. The Gothenburg trio's debut single, "Already Gone" is hammock-pop at its best, with the blissful '80s hooks of a John Hughes soundtrack and the ultra-smooth vocal stylings of the legendary Kings of Convenience. When the crescendo of the shore reaches the breakdown, you're fully engulfed in an acoustic blanket until the masterfully timed bassline rescues you right as you're going under. And just like that, you're grateful to be alive.

MP3: "Already Gone" - Milano Sun

RUNNING WILD.

hav·oc noun \ˈha-vək, -vik\ - wide and general destruction : DEVASTATION

Yeah, that sounds about right. Adventure Club in the mix, reinventing melodies and toppling cities on this monolithic rework of Foxes' "Youth".

DOWNLOAD: "Youth" (Adventure Club Remix) - Foxes

ST. LUCIA NYC RESIDENCY

Yesterday we formally announced our signing of St. Lucia to Neon Gold (as well as his first NG release), and to celebrate we're taking over Pianos as St. Lucia settles in for a three week residency on the first three Tuesdays in February. Supporting him will be a stellar cast of some of our favorite new bands in New York, and the residency will culminate in the launch of the Neon Gold Tour at Popshop on March 1st, as St. L takes the stage alongside The Knocks, Savoir Adore and that massive special guest we're still not quite ready to tell you about.

It all kicks off NEXT TUESDAY, February 7th, at 8pm with St. Lucia joined by Savoir Adore and Slam Donahue. Then we're back on Valentine's Day for round two and the official single release party for the We Got It Wrong 12" as the band are joined by Tiny Victories and Devin Therriault in his first official show, before we close out the Pianos portion of the residency on February 21st with Cookies and Shadows On Stars. Best of all, we're doing them all ABSOLUTELY FREE, so come one, come all, and let's welcome St. Lucia to the Neon Gold family with style.