FEEL THE ENERGY.

Cillie Barnes first pirouetted across our radar via a showstealing How To Make It In America sync (for infectious early offering "Indian Hill") a few years back, but even then we had a feeling it wouldn't be the last we heard from her. Since then the LA-based singer-songwriter has since inked a deal with Universal imprint Loma Vista and her debut single proper "Brainwash" is every bit as heady as the name would suggest. Barnes' precious vocals moondance along an immensely entrancing piano line as you're overcome with the nightheat of fragrant horns and warm acoustics. It all comes off a bit like Phantom Planet or The Magnetic Zeroes fronted by that ex-girlfriend who got away, and it's one of the more endearing debuts you'll hear this year. Keep an eye out for Barnes to make her live NYC debut later this spring, hopefully coming to a Neon Gold stage near you soon.

DOWNLOAD: "Brainwash" - Cillie Barnes

THE GIRL WON'T STAY.

Ko Ko is yet another band staking claim to the Californian goldmine of talent that's about to sweep the nation. Opening with candy coated whistles that will literally make your mouth water, "Float" is a heavenly paradigm that sounds like a summer-salted highball of Fun and Coconut Records. Their sunbeaming vocals and spine-tingling harmonies drift across a carefree backbeat that's basically a publisher's dream come true, like the vibrant love child of Feist's "1, 2, 3, 4" and Edward Sharpe's "Home". Your summer anthem's arrived a couple months early, but something tells us no one's going to mind.

MP3: "Float" - Ko Ko