POPSHOP PARIS 001: ST. LUCIA + SAVOIR ADORE

Next up - or, technically speaking, first up - on Popshop's maiden voyage overseas, it's the grand unveiling of Popshop Paris. In case you hadn't noticed, St. Lucia and Savoir Adore have quickly become some of the finest touring companions in all the land, destined to play alongside one another forevermore (at least if we have anything to say about it). They're also serving as the American delegates of Popshop on this debut international run, and we couldn't possibly be happier to bring the two to the The City of Love next month. Preceding them on the bill, will be local nu-disco wunderkind Yan Wagner, holding it down after LA's White Arrows kick it all off with flying colors. The world debut of Popshop Paris pops off Tuesday, May 15th, at the legendary Nouveau Casino. Doors are at 7pm sharp, and advance tix are available HERE. Get ready to make some friends and fall in love, it's that kind of a night.

STREAM: "Before the Dive" - St. Lucia

STREAM: "Dreamers" - Savoir Adore

STREAM: "We Are Young (Yan Wagner Remix" - Juveniles

STREAM: "Fireworks Of The Sea" - White Arrows

POPSHOP UK 001: ST. LUCIA + FOXES

After 18 months of living the dream in NYC, the time has come to take Popshop beyond the borders of our beloved city, and the debut of Popshop West in LA earlier this month was only the beginning. Next month, we spread our wings and take Popshop global as we head across the Atlantic to London and Paris for the first of what we hope to be many pop up Popshops around the world in the months to come. And better yet, we're sending our boy wonder St. Lucia overseas to headline both.

For now, we're here to talk about Popshop UK, as we team up with the infamous Black Cab Sessions to bring you some of the best new acts from both sides of the pond. First up, it's the brilliant Hannah Yadi setting the stage with her empowered brand of primal pop, followed by Savoir Adore making their triumphant return to the UK as they seek to win over the hearts and minds of every lovely creature in the room. Rounding out the night will be two of the hottest new tips for stardom in 2012 making their hotly-anticipated London live debuts, as our latest (neon) golden girl Foxes looks set to shine as the main support before our knight in shining armor, St. Lucia, shuts it down in the headline slot. It's all going down Thursday, May 17th, at CAMP, with £7 advance tix available HERE. Yes. Mate.

STREAM: "Closer Than This" - St. Lucia

STREAM: "Youth" - Foxes

STREAM: "Loveliest Creature" - Savoir Adore

STREAM: "Sahara Heart" - Yadi

NEON GOLD GREAT ESCAPE 2012.

 May is quickly shaping up to be one of the greatest months in Neon Gold Live history. After turning the heat up in NYC with another big Popshop and our special Cinco de Mayo fiesta, we're jetsetting across the pond to show our UK fam some love. It all kicks off in Brighton at The Great Escape, as we team up once again with our partners-in-crime, Chess Club, to bring you a massive Great Escape takeover on May 11 with some of the most talented new acts from both sides of the Atlantic.

First up, we have our resident dreamers Savoir Adore getting things started before Chess Club's latest batch of up and comers takes the reigns, as grunge-pop rapscallions Swim Deep, dream-folk quartet Pale Seas, and soul-charged crooner Chet Faker keep things moving in the early slots. Immediately following, we've got our new favorite ladies, HAIM and Foxes, with their own distinct brands of empowered female glory-pop, before our knight in shining armor, St. Lucia, closes out the night in style. It's all going down at Psychosocial (formerly Ocean Rooms) in Brighton starting at 6:30 sharp, so get involved and get fucking ready for another legendary night to remember down in Brighton.

STREAM: "Closer Than This" - St. Lucia


STREAM: "Home" - Foxes


STREAM: "Better Off" - HAIM


STREAM: "Terms and Conditions" - Chet Faker


STREAM: "Something or Nothing" - Pale Seas


STREAM: "King City" - Swim Deep


STREAM: "Dreamers" - Savoir Adore

GOT GAME BY THE POUND.

Until recently we'd have told you Blackstreet's "No Diggity" was virtually untouchable, but then Australian up-and-comer (and New Shapes SXSW alum) Chet Faker went and changed our whole shit up. Swinging for the fences on his original interpretation, it's all swooning minor chords and murky Thievery Corporation-esque production. When the smoke clears, you're fully entranced by Chet's cigarette-scorched croon, the downbeat synths, and his bearded James Blake whiskey swagger. All in all, it's an ultra-modern ballad that goes toe-to-toe with the original at every step of the way. Major hat-tip to our brothers from another motherland, Chess Club, who dropped Faker's Thinking In Textures EP in March and will be bringing him over to the UK with us for his debut shows there next month.

MP3: "No Diggity" - Chet Faker

FAR FROM FADING.

It's been a minute since we last heard from Manchester's The Kill Van Kulls, but they've been hard at work further honing their epic noir-pop for their debut EP, Songs For Sinners, announced last month alongside new single "Impossible Man" (video above). Good news for all though, the new material is just a hair's breadth from achieving new wave perfection, cementing the four-piece as a band to keep an eye on for 2012 and beyond.

Although our favorite cut from the EP, "Shame & Pride," may sound like Keira Knightley's next Oscar-baiting film on paper, it's actually the soundtrack to an emotional rollercoaster of reckless hedonism that we can fully get on board with. With the swagger of Friendly Fires and a glint of M83 in their starry eyes, The Kullers command a Bowie-in-space bassline and an immensely atmospheric guitar riff that will firmly entrench itself in your consciousness in no time at all.

MP3: "Shame & Pride" - The Kill Van Kulls [exclusive]

NEON GOLD PRESENTS: CINCO DE MAYO

Cinco de Mayo is coming up fast, and what better way to celebrate than with the best unsigned band in all the land and two of the greatest rock 'n roll outfits Brooklyn's seen in years. Yeah, we're doing it up right this year and throwing down big style with our number one lady homies HAIM, hot on the heels of their NYC debut at Popshop two nights prior. And helping them tear the roof off Glasslands will be Passion Pit's own Arab Elvis, Ayad Al Adhamy, and his shit hot new band Team Spirit, plus our resident guitar heroes in Workout - the self-proclaimed #1 party band in New York - getting things started early. We'll have drink specials, good times, and poor life choices aplenty, so come out for this very special, very rare chance to throw down Neon Gold style on a Saturday night with no need to call in sick the next day. Advance tickets are available now for $10 HERE or $12 day of show, let's go New York.

DOWNLOAD: "Forever" - HAIM


STREAM: "Fuck The Beach" - Team Spirit


STREAM: "I Wanna Die With You" - Workout

WITH THE SUN ON MY BACK.

Swim Deep are a new Birmingham trio injecting a heavy dose of acid-bleached grunge into the UK pop scene. Though debut single "King City" lacks most of the hallmarks of our usual taste, there's a magnetic quality to the songwriting and melodies that's had it stuck on repeat around Neon Gold HQ for months now. With an expansive instrumental that recalls the more uplifiting moments of Arcade Fire's Funeral (SEE: the driving guitars of "Rebellion" or the addictive oohs of "Haiti"), the original is one of the more impressive debuts of the year.

Out May 14th on Chess Club, the single comes with an impressive remix package in tow, with London's newest remixers du jour, II Figures, lending their royal treatment to "King City" on one of their best mixes yet. Keeping the blueprint of the original largely intact, Figures gently drape it in a tapestry of tessellating synths spread neatly across thin gasps of air. Heavenly electronic bodies twinkle high above cold-blooded Wolf Gang piano stabs and gentle Coldplay guitars, before the chorus finally puffs its chest, swoops down, and delivers the coup de grace.

MP3: "King City (II Figures Remix)" - Swim Deep [exclusive]

NEON GOLD PRESENTS: ALEX WINSTON

It's no surprise that Alex Winston has so quickly become one of those great American heartbreakers with her irresistible brand of potent indie-pop. Hot on the heels of the release of her brilliant debut album King Con, we're pleased to present her first NYC headline show in over a year at the Knitting Factory next Tuesday. Setting the stage for her triumphant return to the NYC stage, we'll have the pop noir of Savoir Adore's leading lady Deidre Muro and her new solo project Deidre & The Dark, before Pittsburgh's finest 1,2,3 light up the night in the main support slot. Better yet, it's a very rare all ages show for all you under 21s out there, so there's no excuse not to come out and bask in Winnie's glow with us. Advance tickets are going fast HERE, and if you haven't already, we highly advise that you procure your own copy of her brilliant debut ASAP.

DOWNLOAD: "Velvet Elvis (RAC Mix)" - Alex Winston


DOWNLOAD: "Work" - 1,2,3


STREAM: "Don't Blame Me Now" - Deidre & the Dark

STARLIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN.

With a string of upcoming singles leading into a debut full length later this year , St. Lucia is about to dominate your summer 2012. And just in time for spring break, this brilliant Viceroy remix of EP finale "Closer Than This" arrives to usher in the fairer months with all the sunswept synths and gold-dipped island drums you can handle. Best enjoyed poolside, it's a nu-disco pitcher of coconut water that tastes like heaven and feels right at home with Jean's wistful verses and exultant harmonies. Live the St. Lucian dream with us at our May Popshop, where they're headlining alongside HAIM and Goldroom, with advance tix still available for a limited time HERE.

MP3: "Closer Than This" (Viceroy Remix) - St. Lucia

POPSHOP016: HAIM + ST. LUCIA

Our not-so-discrete love affair with the HAIM sisters hit a new level of amazing at Monday's Popshop West, as their magnificent live show reached new heights (big ups to special guest Ryan Adams) and all in attendance were reminded why they're the best new band in LA right now. And with that in mind, we're thrilled to keep the dream going at our next Popshop NYC, with none other than HAIM and our golden boy, St. Lucia, headlining. On top of that, we have LA's synthwave mastermind Goldroom in the headline DJ slot and heralded Popshop alum Xylos - fresh off a sold out headline at Mercury Lounge - warming it all up. It's all going down Thursday, May 3rd at Santos Party House, with open bar Bomb Lager for the first hour and $10 advance tickets now available HERE. So come join us and our darling buds of May to kick off summer 2012 the right way.

STREAM: "Before the Dive" - St. Lucia



STREAM: "Forever" - HAIM


STREAM: "Mother Protect (Goldroom Remix)" - Niki & The Dove


STREAM: "Summerlong" - Xylos

I TRY TO RUN TO FREE MY SOUL.

"So Strange" - the second potential single off KO KO's shockingly good debut EP - awakens to the sound of elegiac organs that fill your mind with reveries of lazy afternoons and hazy filters. As a blanket of stained-glass falsetto and swirling acoustics wrap around you after the chorus, the clap-heavy drum spine keeps it upright and fuels the sentiment. Even the pianos flutter through like birds of paradise with an unquenchable thirst for everlasting companionship. It's almost as if Adam Levine's younger brother fronted Youth Lagoon and was lactose intolerant to cheesy radio pop. Get familiar with KO KO tonight at Popshop West, as they make their LA debut at the Echoplex. Free entry. 8pm. RSVP@neongoldrecords.com.

MP3: "So Strange" - KO KO

RUNNING FROM THE EDGE OF KINGDOM COME.

Wildcat! Wildcat! - a band so nice they named it twice. We brought you to the incredibly infectious "Mr. Quiche" a little under a fortnight ago, and they've since kept the gold standard going on the song's exceptional video (above). Then there's companion track, "End Of The World Everyday", which sets the scene with a sunkissed bass line and squinting falsetto-tinged vocals before a luminous chorus arrives overflowing with bright, iridescent harmonies, like MGMT in the throes of a nostalgic acid flashback.

Tonight, the band continue their rapid ascent to the stars as they play the launch party of Popshop West alongside fellow bright young things Haim and Ko Ko. And just added, it's our dudes The Knocks out to give the night a bit of NYC flavor with a headlining DJ set. It's free with RSVP (boom: RSVP@neongoldrecords.com) and is a pretty magical bill through and through, so come out and have the time of your life. Go ahead, this one's on us.

DOWNLOAD: "End Of The World Everyday" - Wildcat! Wildcat!

CHASE DOWN THE WALLS AROUND US.

Foxes (neé Loui Rose Allen) has been riding high as the UK's next great hope for empowering female pop since the release of her triumphant debut anthem "Youth" this January, and it's with great pride that we now draw back the curtain on her much anticipated follow up, as we ready her debut EP, Warrior, for release this summer. "Warrior" is the lead track, but it's thunderstealing AA-side "White Coats" that shines as the sleeper hit here, a black and white tale of search and rescue set in a distant (or not so distant) dystopian future.

The dynamic production that made "Youth" so special remains a focal point here, as a dark tunnel of scrambled vocal loops set the scene in the intro, before Lou's honey-throated vocals light the way forward through an emotional progression of volatile chords. As our tragic heroine swells with hope towards the feverish chorus, it's the gravity of her unrequited qualms that keeps it all grounded in reality, before the weight of the world comes crashing down and the track erupts in the song's arena-sized finale. "White Coats" will feature alongside "Warrior" and new demo "Let Go For Tonight" as part of a special three-track 7" and digital EP out on Neon Gold in June, watch this space and get your exclusive first taste below.

DOWNLOAD: "White Coats" - Foxes [exclusive]

ATG 009: YUKSEK + FRENCH HORN REBELLION

The day before our double-stuffed Popshop extravaganza this Thursday, we're throwing another mega All Things Gold with our partners in co-rage, All Things Go. In the headline slot, we've got the legendary Franco-pop stalwart Yuksek (yes, two days in a row) burning down the roof, with dance-aholics French Horn Rebellion warming up the live stage and getting your body moving early on. It's all going down April 4th at our favorite venue in the nation's capital, U Street Music Hall. Cop your $12 advance tix HERE and get involved, it's gonna be another BIG night.

STREAM: "On A Train" - Yuksek


STREAM: "This Moment" - French Horn Rebellion