twin shadow - slow

This heavy, drum-driven, dark rock groove by Brooklyn's Twin Shadow hits you in the places that make you dance while simultaneously supplying a mood for a milder atmosphere. The lyrics repeating "I don’t wanna believe or be in love" wailed by George Lewis Jr. pull you in. The song recalls 80's new wave and does it romantically.

Twin Shadow is on Terrible Records. His official website is found here.

poliça - lay your cards out

This stunningly ambient piece hooked me immediately. The beguiling vocals beside the trip-hop like drums make for a necessary listen the whole way through.

Poliça is from Minneapolis and is on the Totally Gross National Product record label.

lissie - pursuit of happiness (nightmare) - (kid cudi cover)

I never considered the offensive factor in country artist Lissie's covering "Pursuit of Happiness". However, her upbringing and career suit the mood of this song and becomes rather appropriate, capturing the bittersweet in the pursuit with her folk-allegianced twang. Lissie's performance here adds a prayerful element that was missed by kid cudi's slightly more stilted and steady delivery.

Lissie is slated to play at Coachella 2012 and has an EP of cover songs you can check out at her official website, here.

john talabot - destiny feat. pional

This single track "Destiny" comes off of a masterpiece of an album entitled fIN, released on Permanent Vacation. With "Destiny" he creates a genre-busting landscape, which the album is ripe filled with. Here at times it's a dance song, at others experimental, and yet at other times you can swear it's indie-pop. Highly listenable yet magnificently crafted.

John Talabot is a DJ from Barcelona. This is his first album.

gretchen parlato - circling

Gretchen Parlato's icy cool song "Circling" is really a pleasure to listen to. The jazz songstress shines on this contemporary collaboration, off of her LP The Lost and Found.

Gretchen Parlato is based in New York, more information about her can be found on her official website, here.

kindness - gee up

The allure of "Gee Up" from UK artist Kindness lies in the listening. Listen closely and you will become a fan.

Kindness will release World, You Need a Change of Mind on March 19th through their record label Female Energy/Polydor.

beirut - vagabond

Beirut's "Vagabong" excites and delights. Off of his LP The Rip Tide, Beirut is ever the same, he emits the sweet sounds of his multi-instrumental genius, blaring horns, and eastern European feel. Alongside Beirut's enthralling and heartfelt melodies, Condon declares, like the message of his album, "The trees unfold / And I am lost / And not found." Like many other long-lasting artists, Beirut rarely fails to please.

The Rip Tide is off off Zach Condon's own Pompeii Records. Look them up here.

hoodcats - street fung

This chilled out tune comes from Oakland's new artists Hoodcats. It's an easy to jive to hip-hop treat, complete with perfect bass and sampling.

More of Hoodcats' futuristic music can be streamed here.

the weeknd - what you need

The Weeknd's third LP Echoes of Silence tests an environment where an up-and-coming artist's relationships are troubling and the nights are dark. Through this, The Weeknd's exploration of different styles while remaining primarily hip-hop keep the listener drawn in. "What You Need" is a sexual song with a hypnotic groove and undertones of torment in desire.

I recommend the entire LP for its high quality. The Weeknd releases his material for free, and it is available to listen on soundcloud, here.

miami horror - i look to you (feat. kimbra)

Being hailed as all-around awesome for the dance floor, "I Look To You" by Miami Horror's dance grooves will be around for some time. With lovely and uplifting lyrics sung by Australian songstress Kimbra, the track is driven by the delicious samplings of 80's soul group Caviar, who are from Miami.


Miami Horror is on the EMI label, they are from Melbourne. You can purchase their latest LP Illumination by clicking here. Additionally, you can listen to the original song by Caviar on youtube, by clicking here.

alunageorge - you know you like it

"You Know You Like It" is reminiscent of 90's R&B, only this time with funkier bass, altered choruses, and chilled out vibes resulting in this danceable song.

Alunageorge is from London.

perfume genius - hood

This heavenly 2 minute release off of Perfume Genius's LP Put Your Back N 2 It taps into emotions while remaining entirely unique, as Perfume Genius has been. This particular song establishes itself in a very slow manner and comes to a beautifully raucous end. Strong in melody, Mike Hadreas sings of self doubt in love, and succeeds in communicating the pain of truth.

Seattle's Perfume Genius resides on the Matador label, "Mr. Peterson", another amazing song of his, is found below.

THEESatisfaction - enchantress

Off of Sub Pop, the second release from Seattle's THEESatisfaction for their upcoming album awE naturalE, set to be released March 27th. There is lots of funk, pitch shifting, and rap goodness on this one, very cosmic.

THEESatisfaction are Stasia Irons and Catherine Harris-White. Find out more about these rising artists at their official website here.

huxley - let it go

UK's house producer Huxley is coming out with an EP, and this is the title track, entitled "Let it Go". The throbbing bass is the highlight of this song. The vocals are also club mashing.

Huxley has made his name in the UK house scene, and this is his latest release. For more information about Huxley and other artists on the Hypercolour label, click here.

little dragon - ritual union

This catchy electro song stays with you long after you've listened. "Ritual Union"'s beauty lies in its subject matter, an exploration of relationships with tinges of hurt and wonder. Lead singer Yukimi Nagano's voice addictive voice is honest and responsive to the song's story.


Little Dragon are from Sweden, learn more about this fantastic band and purchase their music on their official website, found here.

the shins - bait and switch

The Shins have released another song from their forthcoming LP Port of Morrow, a joyful harmonious song in the typical Shins style. An indie pop powerhouse, the Shins here sing of a hard to take girl. So infectious and smart, it's hard not to love every composition by the band. This song recalls Chutes Too Narrow or Oh, Inverted World moreso than Wincing the Night Away.



Port of Morrow will be out March 20th. In the meantime, catch up to the lyrics to "Bait and Switch" here, or watch a hilarious Funny or Die video starring the Shins in their studio, here.

sebastian - love in motion

SebastiAn's next release off of LP Total is another mad one of off this excellent album. Steeped in Prince influence and accompanied by vocals of Mayer Hawthorne, this hyper-sexual track exudes a take-over-the-dance-floor-with-killer-funk attitude. From its beginning, the unrestrained drum beat is overwhelmingly in your face and begs to be turned up and danced to. The dreamy synths transport you through an ascending journey of party-seeking, and once the good beat hits, you are already hooked.

SebastiAn is only one great artist from amazingly stupendous record label Ed Banger Records, check them out here. Also, here is the video for the first single "Embody", which is also killer!

metronomy - the bay

"The Bay" is a stand out track off of Metronomy's album The English Riviera. It is addictive, a nostalgic pop concoction with electronic flairs. The expectant twinkling synths build slowly, followed by singer Joseph Mount's refined vocals which set up a fanciful backdrop, and finally the crescendo of glittering harmonies, minimal 1970's dance bass, and warped synth. that may leave you thinking, "It feels so good in the bay."



UK's Metronomy is having huge success with The English Riviera, you can follow them on twitter here.

m.i.a. - bad girls

Bad Girls first came out as part of the ViCKi LEEKX mix tape she released in December of 2010. She has released the song on its own and we are all the better for it. She shines as a hip hop queen on this track, rapping about race cars and contenders. With its Arab feel and no-nonsense killer flow, it will be hard not to flip out to this cultural mishmash of a banger.

M.I.A. collaborated with Romain Gavras to make this scene-stealing video (its awesomeness gave me chills), watch the controversial "Born Free", also directed by Gavras, here.

grimes - oblivion

Canadian-born Grimes's latest LP, Visions, rose amidst much approval, with many calling it her breakout album. Describing herself as "post-Internet", the futuristic and cohesive noises singer Claire Boucher plays with (her tracks are composed in her bedroom, using Garage Band, with lots of loops and limited instrumental knowledge), in "Genesis" cultivated a track soaked deep in depeche mode and kraftwerk synth, operatic fairytale vocals and a touch of lyrical ambiguity.


The Montreal artist incorporates both musical and visual elements into her performances, read more about Grimes here.