NEON GOLD PRESENTS: THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

So far, 2012 has been a banner year for California indie, and The Neighbourhood are one of the figureheads of this recent West Coast takeover. "Female Robbery" was love at first sight, and "Sweater Weather" remains one of our absolute songs of the year, so it's with boundless excitement that we announce their maiden voyage out east later this summer. We'll be putting on their debut New York dates this August at the Studio at Webster Hall on the 21st, before heading across the bridge to Glasslands on the 23rd. Tickets for Webster are HERE, and you can get your Glasslands tickets HERE. It's a late summer treat, so tell your friends, tell your neighbours, and come on out to see one of the most promising bands of the year take their first steps towards world domination.

STREAM: "Wires" - The Neighbourhood


STREAM: "Female Robbery" - The Neighbourhood


STREAM: "Sweater Weather" - The Neighbourhood

GOLD036: WILDCAT! WILDCAT!

There's something about Wildcat! Wildcat! that just makes us feel superhuman. Maybe it's the dark magician charm, maybe it's the meticulously brilliant execution. Either way, we're smitten like kittens and very excited to be bringing their debut 7" into the world next year, starring the familiar wiles of "Mr. Quiche" as well as the unfettered behemoth that is brand new track "The Chief".

As the shimmering, morning glorious beat pumps you full of caffeine, supercharged keys electrify the air and the rose-tinted falsetto picks you up and carries you to high heaven. The anxious middle eight thaws out any leftover cold weather and blows the blues away, paving the yellow brick way for the sexiest sax solo since St. Lucia's "All Eyes On You". If you need more than a shadow of optimism in your life right now, look no further than this. Our Wildcat! Wildcat! double A-side - and your essential summer 7" package - drops July 30th, so get your preorder on HERE.

DOWNLOAD: "The Chief" - Wildcat! Wildcat!

BLOOD ON MY HANDS AND MY HANDS ON THE GUN.

Regardless of where Viva Brother stand (or sit), we're not here to talk about the merits of a bygone era. We're here to talk about Lovelife, the fresh new face of Brother frontman Lee Newell and Mirrors' Ally Young. Through a sequence of various events, they've skipped Londontown and landed on our very doorstep, as they get ready to launch a month long residency at Pianos tomorrow night. "Me After You" may still be in demo form, but you can already feel the melodic contrasts and fluorescent synth outlines taking shape through the hazy smoke and mirrors of it all. It's a black-and-white chase scene that heals more than Hurts, and reminds you that sometimes when the car runs out of gas, the only thing left to do is hit the ground running.

DOWNLOAD: "Me After You" - Lovelife [exclusive]
 

ROCK FIST PAPER SCISSORS.

∆ (alt-J) is one of our favorite acts to emerge from the UK this year, so we're thrilled to hear that our dear friends at Canvasback will be bringing the debut full-length, An Awesome Wave, crashing down on US shores in September. Album highlights "Breezeblocks" and the awe-insipiring "Taro" stun in spades, while lead single "Fitzpleasure" triangulates between soul-searching vocals, idiosyncratic melodies, and meticulous instrumentals. Given that "Fitz" already sounds like the genetic hybrid of Wild Beasts and new TV On the Radio, it makes perfect sense that TVOTR's own Dave Sitek took the reins on this massive rework. Mr. Sitek neatly trims the fuzz to reveal the more youthful exuberance of alt-J hiding underneath. Gone is the rumble and grumble of the original, replaced by all the tribal goodness in the world. Cop the exclusive download below and see for yourselves.

DOWNLOAD: "Fitzpleasure (Dave Sitek Remix)" - Δ [exclusive]

POPSHOP BOSTON: RAC + PENGUIN PRISON

The Popshop takeover continues next week as we set our sights on Boston, teaming up with The Chuckness to bring you a double headliner affair for the ages. Fresh off their spotlight-grabbing collaboration on one of the year's biggest tracks, "Hollywood", RAC and Penguin Prison look set to launch Popshop Boston in style. They're both bona fide headliners in their own right, so expect this one to be LARGE, and maybe we'll even get a live collaboration of "Hollywood" out of it. WHO KNOWS. Getting things started early will be the new favorite sons of the Berklee electro scene, Carousel, fresh off a rousing Popshop debut in NYC earlier this month. Tickets are $15 advance and $18 day of show, but act now and hit up our superfans only ticket link HERE, where we've got a very limited amount of cheap $12 tickets available while they last. See you next week, Boston, it's ON.

WATCH: "Hollywood (ft. Penguin Prison)" - RAC

STREAM: "Don't Fuck With My Money" - Penguin Prison

STREAM: "Where Have You Gone" - Carousel

GET A LITTLE CLOSER.

Going hammer on the blog today - new Purity Ring single "Fineshrine" coming correct, the first taste of their forthcoming debut album Shrines. Picking up right where last year's untouchable AA-side single "Ungirthed"/"Lofticries" left off, expect big things from the full length.

MP3: "Fineshrine" - Purity Ring

BABY IN SECONDS FLAT.

And so the West Coast hit parade just keeps marching on, as the mysterious and amazing Ghost Loft hit the scene with "Seconds", an R&B chart-topper in another life coming back to haunt your dreams. With all the shadowy intrigue of The Weeknd's arrival last year and the Tumblr-noir aesthetics of Ms Mr,  "Seconds" opens with an XX-esque bass line that pulses through sliced up samples of straightforward sentiment. When the verses take over, the dreamlike vocals intertwine seamlessly with the instrumental, flitting effortlessly between soothing and soothsaying. Shouts to Ms Mr for shining a light on Ghost Loft via their brand new (and, uh, kind of amazing) mixtape, Track Addict Vol. 1, available for streaming or track-by-track download now.

MP3: "Seconds" - Ghost Loft

SINGING A MELODY ALL OUR OWN.

Morning Parade are starting to happen in a big way at US rock radio, and they're storming our shores tonight by headlining Mercury Lounge to celebrate the release of their debut album in the US this week. Better yet, they happen to be giving away our favorite track on the record, "Carousel," for free, so cop that below and don't miss the dawn of the takeover tonight at 8pm.

MP3: "Carousel" - Morning Parade

GOLD035: FOXES

Foxes (our girl Loui Rose Allen) has been churning out effortless hits like butter for the better part of the last year, so it's with the great pleasure that we announce our next release with her, the three track Warrior EP. We've already hinted at the thunder-stealing AA-side's prime cuts in the empire-toppling "White Coats" and anthem-in-waiting demo "Let Go For Tonight", but it's EP title track "Warrior" leading the charge on the A-side.

With a lovesick power surge of Loui's larger-than-life vocals and enough riotous coming-of-age inertia to move mountains, "Warrior" is perhaps her biggest offering yet. This dovetails beautifully into "White Coats", an adrenaline rush of dystopian pop whose merits have already been preached from the mountaintops in these very pages. "Let Go For Tonight" rounds things out, a shining demo of boundless potential that has all the makings of a radio smash.

The Warrior 7" hits shops July 9th, but you may preorder the entire thing and get physical HERE. In the meantime, stream "Warrior" below and be sure to check out the digital EP (including two bonus tracks) on iTunes.

STREAM: "Warrior" - Foxes