THE WAR IS ALREADY WON.

We can thank PLAINS, aka Michael McGinnis, for the stroke of scuzzy genius that is "Innovator". It comes fully stocked with joyriding guitars and angst-ridden synths, egged on by spaced out vocals that curiously swoop in and out of sight like a 21st century UFO. Once it crosses the great sonic expanse and reaches the eureka moment of pensive drum traps and whizzing solos, he's achieved the perfect middle ground between The Pixies and Miami brethren/labelmates (and Neon Gold darlings) ANR. It sounds progressively mischievous and deeply full of ulterior motives, and that's exactly why we love it so, plains and simples. So really we had no choice but to include PLAINS on next week's Popshop bill as one of two surprise live guests. Surprise.

MP3: "Innovator" - PLAINS

POPSHOP008: FRENCH HORN + AVAN LAVA

It's hot outside, we know, but you'll have to forgive us for turning up the heat yet again with another smoldering Popshop lineup. This month we welcome back POPSHOP001 alums French Horn Rebellion, who tore the fucking roof off of the launch party back in January and stole the show in the main support slot. They've been killing it ever since, supporting Yelle's sold out US tour and releasing their acclaimed debut album in the meantime, so now we've got them back in the mix to crush it even harder in the headline slot. Support comes from ex-Fischerspooner electro types AVAN LAVA and the hottest new DJ duo in town on the decks, The Jane Doze, plus special live guests to be announced next week.

And since taking it to another level is all we do here, we're expanding the action to both floors at Tammany Hall with our friends at Finger On The Pulse taking over the downstairs and lighting it up with DJ sets from PUNCHES and Australia's finest, G.L.O.V.E.S. As per usual, we've got the standard open bar of Absolut from 8pm-9pm, with a free keg of Heineken in the mix late night from 2am-3am. Tickets are $10 in advance and $13 on the door and available from the Popshop site HERE.

UPSTAIRS
11:00pm: AVAN LAVA // STREAM: "Lemons"
12:00am: French Horn Rebellion // STREAM: "Up All Night"

01:00am: The Jane Doze //STREAM: "Ain't No Drugs High Enough"


DOWNSTAIRS
G.L.O.V.E.S. // STREAM: "Sometimes" (G.L.O.V.E.S. Remix)

PUNCHES // DOWNLOAD: "LightHouse" (PUNCHES Remix)

SWEATING ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT.

PAPA is the brainchild of the Girls' drummer Darren Weiss, who swaps his garage rock day job for more indie rock pastures, and his new outfit is a great look for him. Debut single "Halloween To Me" sets out with a steadfast bassline that only bothers to take a breather when stripping down the middle eight to its skivvies, while the melody shoots and scores with a powerfully raw nod to Muse's "Starlight". It's almost as if Wolf Parade and The Strokes fathered an artistic savant, who learned to get his feet wet in the golden vibes by surfing giant hooks and raindancing on ivory keys.

MP3: "Halloween To Me" - PAPA

CALL YOU IN THE NIGHT TIME.

Under the watchful eyes of our friends at HeavyRoc Music, the well traveled mysterioso St. Lucia is shaping up to be one of those types physically incapable of producing anything less than extraordinary. We already waxed poetic on his brilliant debut single "This Old House Is Gone" when we premiered it last spring, but his latest offering, "All Eyes On You", establishes St. Lucia as a talent of a different class. The way he breathily spaces out his verses atop currents of resplendent synths is that of a pitch perfect poet and the enjambment of his free-flowing lyrics moves the track along like a slow burning fuse, gradually introducing a call-and-response bass groove, cascading keys, and a bare-chested sax solo (of course) that sounds like Dan Bejar getting weird in the studio with Washed Out. All done with the confidence of a debonair jetsetter, racking up frequent flyer miles left and right as he traverses countless genre boundaries in a little under five minutes.

MP3: "All Eyes On You" - St. Lucia

WAITING FOR A RIDE IN THE DARK.

“Midnight City” starts with an air raid and ends with an all-out deep space assault - what initially sounds like an intergalactic SOS is just the primer for an epic sendoff by the song's conclusion. Cue drum hits straight out of Phil Collin’s playbook and synth surges ripped from the clutches of our very own Neon Gold dreamcatcher, the kind of brilliant sonic flourishes that would make Mille or Sound of Arrows green with envy. Missing in action for a solid three years, M83 prove they weren't dead, just gearing up to bring the sexy back in a big way, as their signature ethereal vocal harmonies bring chills to the spine and play nice with that brazen sax sound that seems to have become the de rigeur in Big Pop Music in summer 2011. It’s a true return to form for the French stargazers, as we giddily await the October 18th release of their forthcoming fifth album, titled Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, which conveniently enough sums up our feelings exactly as we lose ourselves in the ether of "Midnight City".

MP3: "Midnight City" - M83

LIGHTS + MUSIC 001: BAG RAIDERS

Uh oh y'all, there's a new club night in town. Introducing: Lights + Music, a new monthly rave brought to you by Popshop, The Knocks and The Wilkes Agency, coming at you live and in color every month from Tammany Hall. Popshop's been killing it this year, so we figured it was as good a time as any to launch a spinoff, so here's Lights + Music - your monthly destination for the biggest DJs and electronic acts the world has to offer. And who's up first? Motherfucking Bag Raiders, that's who. With their only NYC headline play of the summer (and support from DJ Equal and Luka Son of Wolf), they'll be headlining our Lights + Music launch party Thursday, July 28th before opening up for our homegirl Ellie Goulding the next night at Terminal 5.

What's Lights + Music all about, you ask? Late nights, loud music and bright lights. And pizza. That's right, we've got a pizza sponsor on board for this, with world champion pizzamakers 900 Degrees serving up free pizza from 11pm-12am or until supplies run out. So bring your dancing shoes and a healthy appetite, because this is gonna be one for the ages. It all kicks off Thursday, July 28th at 11pm, $14 advance tickets are now on sale HERE - with $16 tix at the door day of show - and if we were you we'd lock them down early as these will go fasssst. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Bag Raiders // STREAM: "Shooting Stars"

Bag Raiders // STREAM: "Way Back Home"

Bag Raiders // STREAM: "Sunlight" (ft. Dan Black)

THICK AS THIEVES.

Attention industry heads: there's a new next big thing in town. Ambassadors rolled quietly onto the scene earlier this year and wasted no time shaking Brooklyn's sleepy indie rock scene up with their visceral soul-powered vocals, primal percussive beats and arena-sized live show, quickly establishing themselves as the kind of immense hybrid of Kings of Leon and Local Natives that could take mainstream rock radio in the US (and the UK for that matter) by storm. With one of the bigger live shows we've seen from a new band this year and their debut album Litost already in hand, Ambassadors strike us as the kind of thing major label bidding wars are made of, as the four piece look to establish themselves as a formidable presence in the rock landscape of 2011.

For proof, look no further than triumphant lead single and live highlight "Unconsolable", all militaristic drums and ominous brass surges, as glass-half-empty lyrics are consoled by a blanket of industrial guitar swipes and brooding synth-noir washes. Coming on strong as Ambassadors' unflinching statement of intent, it's an ambitiously well-layered song with a stomping Dodos-esque percussive heartbeat that picks up immediately where your last heartbreak left off.

MP3: "Unconsolable" - Ambassadors [exclusive]

PANIC ATTACK.

Shrouded under a passive aggressive electronic veil, Talking Pictures manage to maintain a sharp semblance of too-cruel-for-school. "Mirrors", their debut offering, is a song that reflects on itself with dirty electronic pulses atop moody dark impulses, while reverb-heavy guitars toss and turn like a restless beast. While they may not be the first to rhyme "night" and "light", it's the inspired internal conflict and resolution that takes centerstage and steals the show. And it certainly doesn't hurt that they sound so akin to such formidable pop outfits as Jump Jump Dance Dance and Is Tropical and happen to boast a pretty memorable talking picture of their own in the music video for "Mirrors", above.

MP3: "Mirrors" - Talking Pictures

XAPHOON JONES + BRENTON DUVALL AT BK BOWL.

Earlier this week we were all, "What's going on this weekend?" and realized we had no plans for Friday night, so we decided to throw a party at Brooklyn Bowl with two of our favorite DJs in the world, Xaphoon Jones and Brenton Duvall. Why? Because it's going to be amazing. And because we can. Tickets are $7 on the door or $5 in advance here. Get involved NYC, your Friday night just got awesome.