Everything Everything's massive sophomore record is already one of the albums of the year (out now in the UK and barreling towards US shores as we speak), and this week they bless us with a triumphant return to New York for a very special Neon Gold Presents show at Brooklyn Bowl this Friday, March 22nd. Supporting them are our favorite UK hair band, Swim Deep (also making their NYC debut) and Brooklyn's own dance party upstarts Junior Prom. And with Everything Everything's Bowery Ballroom headline show next week already sold out, this is sure to be a hot ticket and one of the best shows we bring you all spring, so get your tickets HERE now.
STREAM: "Kemosabe" - Everything Everything
STREAM: "Honey" - Swim Deep
DOWNLOAD: "Sheila Put The Knife Down" - Junior Prom
With SXSW around the corner, we're teaming up with Ultimate Ears to bring you yet another jam-packed New Shapes day party to get involved with. Last year, we had Charli XCX, St. Lucia, and HAIM to name but a few, and we're taking it back to the Red Eyed Fly for another two stage indoor/outdoor extravaganza again this year. Outside, we've got Kodaline, Wardell, Ambassadors, and Michael Kiwanuka, in addition to our very own HAERTS and the inimitable Sky Ferreira in the headline slot. Inside, we've got London's Jamie N Commons and Swim Deep, Canada's Half Moon Run and our beloved Neon Gold allstars Wildcat! Wildcat! and MØ rounding things out. Plus complimentary Vita Coco and open bar cocktails courtesy of Western Spirits ALL DAY LONG. It's all going down next Thursday, March 14th from 12-6 at the Red Eyed Fly, with RSVP now open HERE: http://newshap.es.
Swim Deep's latest and greatest "Honey" has just about the best hook you'll hear out of the UK all year ("don't just dream in your sleep, it's just lazyyy"), carrying on from their immaculate Chess Club debut "King City" in fine form. Already singed and honed to sonic perfection, we thought it was case closed until Montreal's Love Thy Brother tapped in and injected their Disney prince of a remix directly into our bloodstream. What follows is a coupling of heavy Daft Punk temperature drops and light galactic Fred Falke chords that swirl together like heavenly bodies in the November sky. We just walked into our favorite video game and we're never leaving.
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.
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.