Wednesday, January 30, 2013

TONIGHT I'LL GET THE STORY RIGHT.

You know when you swing by a friend of a friend's house for an hour but end up staying all night? That's San Antonio's Wild Party in essence, who take you to their best friend's house on LP highlight "Outright", going 'round the roundabout with rambunctious guitarlines, venomous vocals and pithy drums that ensnare you as the night wears on. The perfect midpoint between the striking wiles of The Wombats and Two Door Cinema Club, this is the sound of (twenty thir)teenage angst in the here and now.

MP3: "Outright" - Wild Party [exclusive]

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

NEED YOU LIKE A DRUG.

New kids on the block, Little Daylight, turned heads throughout 2012 with remixes for such Neon Gold luminaries as Passion Pit, St. Lucia, and Penguin Prison. Now the trio have their eyes set on 2013, as they arrive with their debut original single "Overdose". The track finds our shadowy heroine singing over a heavy grind of vindictive synths and drums, almost like Sky Ferreira fronting The Naked & Famous with streaks of Blondfire and Passion Pit making their presence felt throughout. Are winter anthems a thing? Because if "Overdose" is any indication, they might be now.

MP3: "Overdose" - Little Daylight

Monday, January 28, 2013

POPSHOP023: FRENCH HORN PARTY ENSEMBLE

Those who reside within the greater NYC area know French Horn Rebellion as one of the city's most purely enjoyable partystarting crowdpleasers, so it's with great pleasure that we welcome them back to the Popshop stage next month. But this, dear friends, is French Horn as you've never seen them before, as they bring their 8 piece Party Ensemble - featuring The Great Apes and members of Penguin Prison, HAERTS, Savoir Adore and more - to Popshop as they look to showcase one of the most powerful party supergroups the world has ever seen. Amazing, WE KNOW.

As if that itself wasn't enough, we've got one of our favorite new UK pop starlets making her US debut as Yadi comes to town to kick things off early, before Brooklyn's finest, Workout, keep things rocking in the main support slot and the almighty Xaphoon Jones shuts things down on the decks. And since last month was so much fun, we're doing it 1000% FREE with RSVP once again, so be sure to take advantage as unfortunately a party bargain like this can't last forever. It's all going down at Santos next Thursday, February 7th, at 9pm sharp and if the line around the block last time was any indication, you'll want to get there early to ensure maximum euphoria.

STREAM: "Poster Girl" - French Horn Rebellion

STREAM: "The Blow" - Yadi

STREAM: "These Are The Years" - Workout

THIS HEART IS BURNING UP.

Walk The Moon rolled through town last week to give NYC a second consecutive three-day weekend, selling 2,000 tickets across three sold-out shows at Bowery Ballroom and Music Hall of Williamsburg. Saturday night's Bowery show marked almost exactly two years since their breakout New York performance as an unsigned act supporting Panic! At The Disco in January 2011, and to celebrate this milestone and the band's new Tightrope EP, they've thrown us the exclusive premiere for J.Viewz's refreshing remix of their latest. Awash in a sea of concurrent synths and bubblegum optimism, it pops off like a molotov cocktail of RAC-esque 80's technicolor and supercharged group vocals reminiscent of young Futureheads. Dive in.

 DOWNLOAD: "Tightrope (J.Viewz Remix)" - Walk the Moon [exclusive]

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

TALK WITH MY HANDS.

Aussie superduo YesYou are no strangers to the kind of visceral pop that makes us swoon in our seats. We premiered the first taste of their debut EP, "Frivolous Life", last summer, and now we're back with another exclusive, this time for the two piece's much anticipated follow up, "Amsterdam" (pictured above, played below). After an explosive Delphic-sized intro, "Amsterdam" goes full-on Metronomy with shapeshifting faux-setto and moody, brooding basslines before ultimately opening up into an oceanous singalong chorus. The lads are opening for our number one stunner Ms Mr next week in Australia so if you find yourself down under, we don't have to tell you (yes, YOU) twice. GO.

DOWNLOAD: "Amsterdam" - YesYou [exclusive]

Friday, January 18, 2013

GET THE JOB DONE.

The Royal Concept are back with a new single that could just about melt the Swedish tundra. "World On Fire" continues their trajectory away from that Phoenix 2.0 sound that found them catching so much shade early on, as churning earworm synths come and go like an icy mirage and frontman David Larson switches his vocals up with a calming Of Montreal colloquiality. Then when that spiraling backflip of a guitar riff drops in, you've got all the makings of a future radio smash and then some. This is an absolute BURNER, folks.

DOWNLOAD: "World On Fire" - The Royal Concept

Thursday, January 17, 2013

ALL I NEED FOR WARMTH.

Dead Times are yet another new Los Angeles outfit fanning the flames of last year's California hot streak, and their latest single, "Feel", is a brilliantly nuanced genre-blender. As the hummingbird synths warm up their shivering dual vocals, the Eraser-era Thom Yorke beat and reassuring handclaps provide a steady blanket of sun-beat calm. And after a hushed emotive piano bridge, the palpitating strings are back to work, pumping you full of pop opium. It almost feels like the whole of LA uprooting itself to come save New York from the cold heart of winter.

STREAM: "Feel" - Dead Times

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

POPSHOP WEST 007: SIR SLY

Our first Popshop West of the new year is a (sir) slightly special one. Not only is it the single release party for our first release of 2013 with Sir Sly, but it also marks the knighted trio's official LA live debut. With west coast favorites Kitten and Onuinu supporting, it's a gathering of some of LA's brightest new hopes for 2013. It's all going down February 6th at 8pm, 100% FREE, and kicks off Sir Sly's Echo residency for the month of February. Check out digital-only B-side "Where I'm Going" below and preorder Sir Sly's debut single "Ghost" HERE, out February 11th on Neon Gold.

STREAM: "Where I'm Going" - Sir Sly

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

PROMISED YOU THE WORLD.

Seems like comeback season is in full swing, so it's great to welcome The Postelles back into the fold with a taste of their new record, featuring none other than our own beloved kid sister, Alex Winston. "Pretend It's Love" shines like a beacon of glimmering hope in the tangled hair of Americana, like Elvis Costello going down an Alex-in-Wonderland rabbithole after vacationing in Saddle Creek, USA. Keep an eye out for The Postelles' new full-length ...And It Shook Me, shaking things up April 23rd on +1 Records

DOWNLOAD: "Pretend It's Love (feat. Alex Winston)" - The Postelles [exclusive]

Thursday, January 10, 2013

GOLD041: SIR SLY

The mysteriosos behind Sir Sly are dark knights in the truest sense. Since first making their presence known last summer, the LA outfit have been running the tastemaker underworld with their monochromatic blend of vigilante pop, leaving onlookers with nothing more than a pair of explosive tracks and a hero-shaped shadow to go on. So it's with great pleasure that we're able to pull the curtain back today and unveil our next release, as we bring Sir Sly's debut 7" into the world on Neon Gold next month in conjunction with our UK sister label, National Anthem.

Sir Sly is not one sir but three - Landon Jacobs, Jason Suwito, and Hayden Coplen to be precise - who have been hard at work for the past few months writing, recording and producing all aspects of their debut offering in Suwito's studio. From the arresting cold open to the ever-restless denouement, lead A-single "Ghost" doesn't just pass our every litmus test, it passes right through it, swimming through a fog of wartorn synths and floating with timeless melancholy in an ocean of unforgotten pasts. Elsewhere, the vinyl's AA-side "Gold" - for which the band have put together the perfect visual accompaniment (below) - jangles with moody desperation and reckless abandon, while digital-only B-side "Where I'm Going" delves deeper into the depths of the trio's doom-and-gloom pop noir.



The Ghost 7" arrives stateside on Neon Gold February 11th, before making its way to the UK on National Anthem March 4th. There will also be a three-track digital Ghost EP hitting iTunes next week for the impatient among you, and those on the fairer coast next month can catch Sir Sly making their LA live debut at their single launch party at Popshop West (more details to follow). Preorder is available now from the Neon Gold Shop and National Anthem.

STREAM: "Ghost" - Sir Sly

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

FEEL THE MAGIC INSIDE.

The golden Los Angeles renaissance of 2012 only seems to be picking up steam as we cruise into the new year, and Bom Bom are the latest California dreams to capture our hearts and minds. Debut single "Woman" is a blast from the not-too-distant past (is 90's Motown a thing? because it might be now) and barely takes ten seconds to hook you with its brazen brass-and-keys instrumental before unfolding into a classic chorus that'll be soundtracking Garnier (or is it more L'Oreal?) commercials in no time at all. Having already written songs for Britney and Conor Maynard through her songwriting work with Dr. Luke, this is frontgirl Sophie Stern's first time stepping out in a band, and the future is blinding for this LA duo. Stay tuned for more, "Woman" is just the tip of the iceberg.

MP3: "Woman" - Bom Bom [exclusive]

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN.


New year, new sounds, and what better place to start than with Kids of the Apocalypse. Brought to our attention earlier today by the always reliable Disco Naiveté, KOTA (as they call themselves) are about the most exciting thing we've heard in ages. DN describe it as "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy as produced by M83", and while that is lofty praise indeed, it actually seems impossibly spot-on in this case. There's next to nothing known about the anonymous collective beyond the cryptic messages found on their website (which is kind of amazing in its own right), but with a masterful aesthetic and a home run on their first at bat with the song and video for "Masters of the Sun", we couldn't be more excited to hear more. What a way to start the year.

DOWNLOAD: "Masters of the Sun" - KOTA