GOLD038: HAIM

The sisters Haim are the friendliest hurricane in the western hemisphere. Over the past six months they've swept across both shores of the Atlantic with their down-and-dirty solar-powered guitar pop, and their debut EP has become something of a life essential for us in a bare necessities kind of way. So we're over the moon (understatement, we're actually kind of sweating and stuff) to welcome the girls to the Neon Gold family this week, as we celebrate with a long-awaited North American release of their Forever EP on Neon Gold. Basically, it's a California dream come true.

The 10" EP drops without warning next week on October 2nd, strictly limited to 300 copies. National Anthem's UK pressing sold out in no time at all and we expect this to do the same, so don't delay, this is music to fall in love to and with. Hold onto your hearts kids, the thrill-seeking journey to the eye of the HAIM storm starts now. Get your preorder on HERE, and get ready for the release and the weekend with an exclusive new remix of "Forever" by The Knocks below

MP3: "Forever" (The Knocks Remix) - HAIM [exclusive]

GOT A FEELING.

Xaphoon Jones is having a MOMENT. After killing 'em all summer long with more insane remixes than even we knew what to do with, Yung Xaph returns to the mixtape game with XJV3, the third and final installment in his mixtape trilogy. Fully loaded with more hits than a blotter sheet, it's the perfect curtain call to his illustrious remix career and an incredibly promising taste of things to come for the young beat architect. While you'll have to wait just a little bit longer for the whole thing, we're here to premiere our favorite cut for you today, as Xaph turns in what is quite possibly his finest remix to date on St. Lucia's "Closer Than This". Stripping the original down to its skivvies 'til it's just topless synths and bottomless beats, it's a tranquil starlit nightswim before the ocean-sized chorus comes crashing down without warning in a torrential downpour of space horns and lunar guitars. Swim at your own risk.

DOWNLOAD: "Closer Than This" (Xaphoon Jones Remix) - St. Lucia [exclusive]

GOLD039: ST. LUCIA

Well friends, the wait is over. After teasing audiences for months as the epic finale to his live sets, St. Lucia's "September" arrives today, available NOW on iTunes and Beatport. The biggest and baddest track in his increasingly amazing repertoire, it's an all-consuming dancefloor behemoth backed by some equally massive remixes from the likes of Alex Metric, Punks Jump Up, Leo Zero and dance music legend Neil McLellan. Alex Metric's got his remix - one of his best ever if you ask us - streaming over on his Soundcloud page, and you can download the Punks Jump Up remix for free from St. L's Facebook page. But with a track this ambitious and masterful, it's always going to be about the original. Don't take our word for it though, dive into it headfirst below and cop the full EP at iTunes HERE.

STREAM: "September" - St. Lucia

THE SUN WILL RISE AGAIN.

It feels like we've been on West Coast time for most of 2012, so taken are we with the Californian pop landscape at the moment. Dipping a toe into the crowded LA waters this week are Night Terrors of 1927, who dust off their floral print shirts and dive right in on debut offering "Watch the World Go Dark". As lily-jumping synths skip across an ocean of deep blue vocals and breezy balearics, it plays a bit like an Active Child remix of PAPA covering Kisses - a best coast trifecta of sand-blasted pop that kicks up the beach and keeps summer alive.

DOWNLOAD: "Watch The World Go Dark" - Night Terrors of 1927 [exclusive]

POPSHOP WEST 004: KISSES + SAVOIR ADORE

Popshop West returns on Thursday for another month of life-affirming excellence at The Echo, this time with dance romantics KISSES playing their first LA show in close to a year. NYC's very own (and very amazing) Savoir Adore and Blondfire will be rounding out the music for the evening, plus resident DJ's Captain Cuts and Hit City USA keeping the hits coming until the early hours. $8 advance tickets are going fast and available HERE, let's make it happen, LA

DOWNLOAD: "Midnight Lover" - KISSES

STREAM: "Regalia" - Savoir Adore

STREAM: "Where the Kids Are" - Blondfire

YOUR MYSTERY ENGULFS THE NIGHT.

The Griswolds are the latest export from Australia about to make waves on international shores. Their euphoric slice of indie pop brings to mind the youthful exuberance of Vampire Weekend with the nonchalant cool of The Strokes and percussive intensity of Friendly Fires, and while they're not doing anything earth-shatteringly original, the total package is just undeniable. Their latest single "Heart Of A Lion" tastes like candy-striped Ozzie courage and has all the makings of a houseparty summer anthem. From the irresistibly hooky verse to the endlessly ebullient chorus, it swells with pride, while "Mississippi" bursts at the seams with heartfelt sing-a-long grandeur. The Griswolds' debut EP is out next week and it's a corker from start to finish -- this won't be the last you hear of this lot.

MP3: "Heart Of A Lion" - The Griswolds
MP3: "Mississippi" - The Griswolds

HOLD YOU BY THE FRAME.

Alex Winston's got a brilliant new Google Chrome commercial that's pretty much everywhere in the UK at the moment, and today she further ensures the omnipresence of "Velvet Elvis" with this stripped-down version of her lead single from King Con. Great for us then, as we still can't get enough of the track a year on from its initial release, and this acoustic version shines with the shiver and shake of a fierce fiesta.

DOWNLOAD: "Velvet Elvis (Acoustic)" - Alex Winston

NEON GOLD PRESENTS: STARS + SAVOIR ADORE

We promised you some amazing underplays this fall and we're not about to disappoint. Ellie Goulding graces the Neon Gold stage next month, but first we've got a veritable dream come true as we bring you Stars live at Mercury Lounge next Saturday. For a little over a decade, their northerly pop charm has set our hearts on fire and put all our fears to rest, and to celebrate the release of their sixth full-length, The North, we're throwing a special afterparty for them after their sold out headline at Webster Hall. And supporting them live, we've got our very own Savoir Adore, undoubtedly New York's answer to Stars if ever there was one. The whole intimate affair is taking place on September 22nd at the Mercury Lounge, with tickets available only through Thrillcall starting next Tuesday (the 18th) at 10AM. When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.

STREAM: "Hold On When You Get Love And Let Go When You Give It" - Stars

ALL THINGS GOLD 014: POP ETC

As if you didn't already know, Thursday is the new Friday, and this Thursday we've got another All Things Gold in our nation's capital. POP ETC blew the roof off our Popshop Bk stage this past Saturday and now they're back in fighting form for our DC constituency. Opening things up, we have Philly's finest, Cold Fronts, in the live support slot and the amazing Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. in the DJ slot. It's all going down at U Street Music Hall, with doors at 10pm, and advance tickets available HERE. Let's get Fall started right.

STREAM: "YoYo" - POP ETC

DOWNLOAD: "Strange Architecture" - Cold Fronts

STREAM: "Reunion (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Remix)" - M83