181. CHLLNGR "HAVEN"

next up is the devastating title track, Haven from Copenhagen-based lap-pop/dub producer Steve Borth aka CHLLNGR off his forthcoming album "Haven" (2011).

Haven is an epic, spaced-out, deconstructed 90s-smeared r&b-pop song, with an inspired commingling/amalgamation of glitchy industrial samples/electro blips et synth washes/drones with intense tribal percussive rhythms, trust me you need to turn this one up real LOUD! for the maximum immersive experience i would recommend wearing a pair of headphones, closing your eyes et just allowing the rich matrix of intricately produced sounds to completely envelop you mind, body et soul!


MP3: Haven

check out the moody music video for the stunning, dubbed-out track Ask For, from the forthcoming "Haven" album, directed & filmed by Bjorn Stig Hansen.

CHLLNGR "Ask For"

the much anticipated "Haven" album will be available July 5th through Green Owl on cd et vinyl!

you can find CHLLNGR here: myspace | facebook | twitter

VACCINES "ALL IN WHITE" MUSIC VIDEO

check out the great new 80s-laden, orgiastic music video for UK revelers Vaccines latest single All In White, created/produced by the always entertaining/innovative CANADA!

Vaccines - All In White

181. AGAIN ...

181.

Again and again this conviction crashed over us.

{Banana Yoshimoto, Love Songs}

180. STILL CORNERS "CUCKOO"

need an injection of sonic bliss in your life? this next ethereal pop track should do the trick nicely, Cuckoo from London-based dream/psych pop outfit Still Corners off the forthcoming debut album "Creatures Of An Hour" (2011).

"I'd like to read your mind / can you read mine?"

Cuckoo is a vaporous, rueful, atmospheric, dream pop apparition, a solemn, undulating organ drones away eerily while a muted drum beat pounds steadily, Murray's hushed, wispy, lamenting vocals/harmonies swirl around us delicately, her lilting voice is utterly mesmerizing, completely transparent, gauzy et fragile, an epic, reverb-stained guitar riff cuts through the haze from time to time, breaking the spell Murray casts over us momentarily. Cuckoo is infectious stuff, it drifts inside your head et lingers in there indefinitely, like a tantalizing perfume you can't forget et long to experience again. enjoy!


MP3: Cuckoo

check out the new music video wonderfully hypnotic & ghostly, Lynch-esque, blurry, strobe-laden visuals for Still Corners stunning single Cuckoo, directed by Lucy Dyson.



the "Cuckoo" 7" is available from from Sub Pop on vinyl+mp3 et the debut album "Creatures Of An Hour" is set for release on October 11th, which will be available on cd or lp!

you can find Still Corners here: myspace | facebook | stillcorners

180. ART ...

180.

"Art is a mirage that can lead you to death."

{Philippe Garrel, Cinéma, de Notre Temps Interview}

179. EX COPS "MILLIONAIRE"

here's a wonderfully blissed-out, hazy, bittersweet track, Millionaire from Brooklyn-based bedroom pop crooner Ex Cops {Brian Harding} off his forthcoming debut "White Women" EP (2011).

Millionaire is a wistful, hallucinogenic, 60s-tinged reverie, a Badalamenti-esque synth wash surges away, lending a redemptive, expectant air to the track, a melancholy guitar drenched in reverb plucks et jangles away nostalgically, while Harding's reflective, poignant vocals et mellifluous, dreamy harmonies float delicately over a sea of warm analog tape hiss. Millionaire delves into the sublime realm of transcendental pop, imbuing listeners with a rich et uplifting musical experience, Harding leaves us with a bittersweet optimism, enjoy!

for fans of Youth Lagoon et Her Space Holiday.


MP3: Millionaire

check out the experimental 'found footage' video for Millionaire, created by Tim Underwood, nice re-usage of the epic ultra-slow-motion symphony/climax from Antonioni's Zabriskie Point.

The Millionaire by EX COPS

the "White Women" EP is set for release September 2nd!

you can find Ex Cops here: mysapce | facebook | excopsband

179. THEY ...

179.

They were alone in the silence of a dead city —

it seemed to her that he was miles away, a reflection of
suffering without identity, a fellow survivor whose problem 

was as distant to her as hers would be to him.

{Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged}

178. BJÖRK "CRYSTALLINE"

next up is Björk's hotly anticipated lead single Crystalline from her ambitious forthcoming album/multimedia project "Biophilia" (2011). 

Crystalline is an epic 90s-tinged, plinky, dubbed-out, scratchy, glittering avant pop concretion, featuring a devastating et intense, glitched-out, breakbeat outro that will give you whiplash. Björk mines the greatest moments from her innovative et eclectic musical oeuvre to give birth to this resplendent musical experience. trust me, this track demands to be played LOUD! but be warned, one listen is all it takes et you'll be playing Crystalline on an endless loop until september when the full album finally drops, absolutely captivating! enjoy!


MP3: Crystalline

the "Crystalline" single will be available from June 30th, while the "Biophilia" album/multimedia project is set for release on September 26th. the multimedia side of the project is directed by regular Björk music video collaborator Michel Gondry.

you can find Björk here: myspace | björk | facebook

178. BEFORE ...

178.

"Before I write about it, it has to happen."

{Eric Rohmer, Claire's Knee}

177. SODA SHOP "LONGING"

i know, i know, there's been a deluge of indie pop songs of late, well it's gloomy et rainy here in the antipodes/southern hemisphere, so bear with me while i mope about for a few days, anyways here's the fantastic new nostalgia-laden single, Longing from Brooklyn-based indie pop duo Soda Shop {Drew Diver of Horse Shoes & Maria Usbeck of Selebrities} off their forthcoming {not yet titled} EP (2011).

Longing is a warm et woozy, 50s-inspired, jangly, snare drum tapping, tambourine jingling indie pop track, with dreamy, saccharine, reverb-swooning vocals from Usbeck. Longing hesitates between light et dark, oscillating between whimsical instrumentation et heartbreaking lyrics et harmonies, it's as if we are standing in the vast shadow of the past, we can see the warm sun ahead, but can't manage to free ourselves, we are transfixed momentarily. enjoy! 

this track is definitely for fans of Cults!


MP3: Longing

et here is another wonderfully whimsical, jingly, 50s-tinged single

MP3: Farewell

the "Longing" single is from a yet to be announced EP to be released on Shelflife, in the meantime the "Farewell" 7" is still available on white vinyl with mp3 download.

you can check out Soda Shop here: myspace | facebook | sodashop

177. NO ...

177.

No obstacle stops him, and all suffering, all insults,

all rejections are indifferent to him as he seeks that

invisible and promised territory, that country that

does not exist but that he bears in his dreams and

that must indeed be called beyond.

{Julia Kristeva, Strangers To Ourselves}

176. BURNING HEARTS "INTO THE WILDERNESS"

next up is a day-dreamy, spaced-out indie pop track, Into the Wilderness from Finnish indie pop duo Burning Hearts {Henry Ojala & Jessika Rapo} off their new "Into the Wilderness" EP (2011).

"You walk with the foxes, dancing round your feet

they followed you into your dreams."

Into The Wilderness is a wistful, melodious, nostalgia-tinged, twee pop reverie, Burning Hearts add to the already rich canon of Nordic pop music. like all memorable 80s twee pop Into The Wilderness offers a catchy blend of ephemeral, melancholy-laced, idiosyncratic pop music with gorgeously fragile, swoony harmonies, enjoy!

cover art by Helsinki-based freelance graphic designer Johann Höglund.


MP3: Into the Wilderness
 
check out the retro, impressionistic music video for Into The Wilderness.




the delicious "Into the Wilderness" EP is available from Shelflife on cd/ep or as a digital download.

you can find Burning Hearts here: myspace | facebook | lastfm

176. WHAT ...

176.

What does it mean to disarticulate, 

to cease to be an organism?

{Gilles Deleuze & Felix Guattari, A Thousand Plateus}

175. RAZIKA "EG VETSJE"

here's a zesty, ska-tinged pop track, Eg Vetsje from Bergen, Noway-based all-girl indie/ska pop group Razika off their forthcoming debut album "Program 91" (2011). 

Eg Vetsje is a euphoric, 60s-flavoured, jangly, stomp-heavy, day-dreamy indie pop jamboree, this track is made to be played loud while you dance around the room idiotically or while doing a spot of vacuuming/cleaning in your underwear! enjoy!

it seems that young girls knees are becoming tres fashionable on indie album covers, often covered in bruises or with bloody scrapes {one band even named themselves the Bleeding Knees Club!}, i'm sure we have Eric Rohmer to thank for this wonderful trend/fetish! who doesn't secretly want to caress Claire's Knee!


MP3: Eg Vetsje

et here's another super catchy indie pop track from the album

MP3: Nytt Pa Nytt

the  album is will be available August 22nd from Smalltown Supersound on cd & lp! otherwise it will be available for digital download from itunes.

you can find Razika here: myspace | facebook | lastfm