Les Sins

Some people in the world just have the gift of making music.  They have a natural ability to compose beats, riffs, and melodies in mass amounts and have it sound good.  Dan Snaith, the genius behind Caribou and Manitoba, apparently recorded 670 songs for his album Andorra, while Bradford Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound releases albums and mixtapes at an alarming pace (he recently released four "Databank Bedroom" Volumes under Atlas Sound for free here).  Although I can't seem to locate the exact article, I once read an interview where someone said that Cox "shits out music that takes others months to make".  Yes, it's unfair.  Yes, I wish I could do that.  But alas, I cannot, and therefore I will instead pitch the idea that maybe Chaz Bundwick of Toro Y Moi is emerging as one of those artists.  In early January of 2010, he released the chillwave Causers of This, and has already announced a new album Underneath the Pine to come out in February of 2011.  Meanwhile, in July he released a single entitled "Leave Everywhere", and now has released a single for his side project called Les Sins.  Needless to say, it's been a busy (and successful) year for Mr. Bundwick.  What's cool is that Les Sins is not like Toro Y Moi, but very different.  As mentioned before, Causers of This was a chillwave album, utilizing dreamy synths and glitch.  Instead of making something that I'm sure a lot of people get high to, Les Sins is all about moving your feet, not bumming out on a couch.  The single Lina includes two European disco-inspired tunes full of awesome bass hooks and beats, with a sampling of a female vocal in the first song "Lina".  Damn, is it ever catchy as hell.  The future looks promising!  Have a listen to it below:

Lina

Youth Gone

Pick it up here.

Jonquil

As I emerged from my Thanksgiving food coma the other day, I was happy to come across the emerging British band called Jonquil.  On November 16th of this year, they released a new EP called One Hundred Suns, a fun and happy collection of songs that plays from beginning to finish quite easily.  I think one of the things that drew me to it was it's jangle pop influence, reminiscent of The Smiths and R.E.M., two of my favorite acts from the '80s.  This is a little different from their previous releases, which tend to be more folkish and dreary, not quite so pop.  Yet the different direction they seem to be taking might be working well; they recently signed with Dovecote Records (same as The Futureheads, Aberdeen City, and Bad Veins) and have played with such acts of Foals.  This EP just might be the one to launch them a little higher, I am pumped to see where they go!  Below I've posted the song "Fighting Smiles" from the recent release One Hundred Suns.  Hope ya'll like it.

 Fighting Smiles

Snag this and another track here.

Kisses

The two-person band Kisses had a good deal of buzz leading up to their debut album The Heart of the Nightlife, especially with the song "Bermuda", which is a delightful Air France sounding tropical inspired tune.  It was enough to sprout my curiosity, and finally on November 16th of this year, the full album was released.  Overall, the songs on The Heart of the Nightlife are pretty consistent with "Bermuda"; most possess a catchy Caribbean-pop beat intertwined with some definite New Wave inspirations.  It wouldn't surprise me at all if Kisses listened to a lot of bands like XTC, New Order, or Prefab Sprout, some of the more influential bands of the '80s.  Most tracks use those elements to create laid back and beach sounding atmospheres, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering that they're from Los Angeles, the land of cool.  I've posted the songs "Kisses" and "Lovers" for you to have a listen to.  Hope you guys dig it.

 Kisses by Kisses

 Lovers by Kisses

Pick up these and few more tracks here.

Sky Hiker

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to interview one of my favorite ambient/chillwave artists Sky Hiker about his musical background, inspirations, and ambitions.  Now, on top of being kind enough to give such great and detailed answers to the interview, he has sent me his new track to hear and post on to the blog before uploading it onto his Myspace and Bandcamp.  The track is entitled "Run, Love, Fight" and it's off of his upcoming EP called thebeat myheart willskip.  It's a very uplifting and inspirational instrumental piece with a brilliant build towards the song's climax, making it a fantastic addition to Sky Hiker's earlier EP, Underwater Colors.  The intention of it is described as a "revolution which is happening in your heart", the song being a "journey with no return" where "going back isn't an option".  With this being said, I not only think the premise behind the song is a fantastic one, but it is also accomplished beautifully.  Given his great talent, I am looking forward to hearing what comes next!  Be one of the first to listen to "Run, Love, Fight" below:

 Run, Love, Fight

And as he has mentioned in the interview, he is offering all of his music for free.  He has sent me the link, where you can download it here.  Be sure to check out his Bandcamp and Myspace for upcoming news and updates.  I'd also like to give a huge thanks to the Sky Hiker for sending me the fantastic track!

Cut Copy

Finally.  This is exactly what I've been waiting for!  Yet another Cut Copy single to tease me until February for the release of their new album Zonoscope.  If you're a huge fan of Cut Copy like I am, everything pointing towards the new record suggests that it'll be fantastic.  Firstly, the two singles that have been released so far are great; beginning with "Where I'm Going" (although they've since told us that it isn't going to be the exact version) and now "Take Me Over".  Secondly, it's being mixed by Ben H. Allen, the same guy behind the masterminds of Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, and Deerhunter.  And lastly, the band has said on multiple occasions that they're experimenting with more organic instrumentation and trying to create a different "music universe" within the album.  If anything, the new song "Take Me Over" hints that they're doing that quite well, just adding to the excitement.  Now, all we have to do is wait until February 8th........this is going to be a very long two and a half months.

Have a listen:

 Cut Copy - "Take Me Over" (Radio Edit) Premiere

You can grab it here.

Lemâitre

The Facebook page of Lemâitre states bluntly: "We is discodudes."  They're certainly not lying; with such influences as Daft Punk, Justice, Deadmau5, and Phoenix (as stated on their bio), Lemâitre offers some fresh electro-disco/electronica to the music scene.  They pull it off well, too.  Most notably their new song, "Blue Shift", which was posted on to their SoundCloud, has had me rockin' my head back and forth with its light and extremely catchy synth beat.  I wasn't surprised at all to find the duo of Lemâitre (Ketil Jansen and Ulrik Denizou Lund) are from Norway, which has developed a fantastic electronic music scene.  They've started to grow outside of Norway, though, and as stated on a Musigh interview (which is worth checking out), they'll start playing abroad in the near future.  I definitely wish them the best of luck in their travels, I am sure they put on a pretty mean show.  What's also sweet is that they offer all their music for free to download on their SoundCloud, which you can check out here.  Below I've posted their new song "Blue Shift", and an older one entitled "Come Again".  Have a listen, hope ya dig it:

 Blue Shift by Lemâitre

 Come Again by Lemâitre

Tame Impala

Words cannot express my excitement.  This Friday I'm going into New York City to see Tame Impala, easily one of my favorite bands to have emerged this year.  I just can't get enough of their late-60s psychedelic revival, it's such a breath of fresh air from so much other crap that comes out these days.  Their psych-rock sounds pretty true to the era; I recently introduced them to one of my friends who lives on my floor and he said that if I didn't tell him they were a modern band, he "wouldn't have known the difference between them and a band from the '60s."  I think that's a pretty impressive feat for a band, not everyone can do that and do it so well.  As in most instances when I'm going to see a band live, I go through a listening binge beforehand.  As I listened again and again, I couldn't help but think that their earlier 2008 EP was put on the back-burner after the release of InnerSpeaker that came out this year.  Obviously a new release of such praise as InnerSpeaker would overshadow an EP that came out two years ago, but as I was listening to the Tame Impala EP today, I figured I'd try and revive it a little bit.  If you're at all into '60s psychedelic, definitely check it out.  Below I have posted "Skeleton Tiger" from the EP; have a listen:

 Skeleton Tiger

And for anyone who hasn't heard their new album InnerSpeaker, here's a little sampling of it with "It Is Not Meant To Be."

 It Is Not Meant To Be