MP3: The Dodos – Don't Stop

The Dodos delivered an extremely promising album in 2008 with Visiter and even though their follow-up Time To Die didn’t quite live up to expectations (“The Strums” and “Longform” excepted), I’m still very eager to hear whatever the Bay Area psych-folk duo release next. With the two spectacular tracks out so far for their new album, not to mention the record’s colloboration with indie folk heroine Neko Case, my anticipation level for No Color has been steadily rising. The latest track to be released (leaked by Ms. Case herself) features the type of rapid-paced guitar plucking and spirited drumming that hooked me on the band from the beginning, now interjected with twitchy electric guitar stabs and laced with their always-lovely vocal harmonies. An exceptional track from start to finish. Download below.

MP3 The Dodos – Don’t Stop

Pre-order No Color from The Dodo’s website (and listen to first single, “Black Night”)

New Animal

With New Animal‘s name, you may download a few tracks thinking you’re getting some new Anco tunes from a guy who forgot to type the word “Collective”. If that happens though, I’m quite sure you wouldn’t be disappointed. This psych-pop duo from Atlanta, GA  released their self-titled album in January this year and have been steadily gaining followers ever since (a quick hop on their elbo.ws page shows how these guys very quickly went from complete unknowns to blog favorites). Their success can only be attributed to gorgeous, well-crafted tunes like “Last Winter” and “Other Side”.

The duo are able to create these beautiful, lush soundscapes by slowly building layers of of electronic and acoustic elements, whether it be slightly distorted guitars, rhythmic hand claps, atmospheric synth drones, or their own warm, echo-y vocals. For me, it doesn’t get much better then “Last Winter”, an ethereal song drenched in hazy pop splendor. As inviting and mesmerizing as they come, the track lazily meanders from one breathtakingly gorgeous moment to another. “Other Side” is a more direct pop tune with an anthemic chorus and some euphoric, whooping vocal harmonies, but no less whimsical and captivating. After downloading the tunes below, make sure to visit their bandcamp and grab the full album, free of charge.

MP3 Last Winter
MP3 Other Side

Commercial Watch: Jónsi, Rogue Wave, Big Boi + more

It’s time for another edition of Commercial Watch, where I again highlight some of the best and brightest indie songs that are out there soundtracking commercials for cars, mobile phones, chewing gums and national football leagues. Since I know all of you are the Hulu / DVR / next-day-on-youtube type, here’s a few of the best tunes that the modern day Don Drapers and Peggy Olsons have been digging up. The commercials are embedded below with MP3s included. Make sure to click the continue reading link to double the pleasure, double the fun, and uh… see the full post.

2011 Ford Explorer: Go

MP3 Jónsi – Go Do

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LG Vortex- Carousel

MP3 Rogue Wave – Eyes

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AMC: Your Favorite Movies

April Smith and the Great Picture Show – Terrible Things

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Subaru Outback: Honeymoon

MP3 M. Ward – Here Comes the Sun Again

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MP3: Architecture in Helsinki – Contact High

I’m one of those Architecture in Helsinki fans that loved In Case We Die and was incredibly let down by their follow-up Places Like This. It’s been four years since that album came out, and the Aussie indie pop collective finally have some new material with “Contact High”. I wouldn’t exactly call it a return to form since they still sound nothing like the band that released brilliant tracks like “Wishbone” and “It’5”, but it is a big step in a good direction. The new single sees the band heading directly into the dance-pop realm which seems to suit them very well. “Contact High” is an addictive electro-pop tune with bubbly synths, thumping beats and bright falsetto vocals. The chorus has one of the catchiest melodies I’ve heard this year. Looking forward to hearing what else they have in store.

MP3 Architecture in Helsinki – Contact High

The new album Moment Bends is out this spring on Modular Records.

Tyler Jon Tyler – Tyler Jon Tyler

Tyler Jon Tyler play a style of rock & roll that has been around since the dawn of time. The band creates short pop songs about love, loss, and pain; it’s the kind of thing that countless bands before have attempted, succeeded, and failed at. But all arguments over whether this kind of thing has been done before are rendered moot by the fact that Tyler Jon Tyler execute it perfectly.

While Tyler Jon Tyler’s setup is minimal, it’s certainly not simple. They make the most of what they have, because when you have so little everything is essential. The interplay between the band means there is always something to draw your focus. Whether it’s the jangly, cavernous guitar sound, the anxious energy of the vocals, the moments where the bass gets to carry the melody, or the toms pushing the songs forward, the band makes sure everything fits into place.

In an age where bands can just throw some songs onto a Bandcamp page and call it a release, Tyler Jon Tyler use the medium of vinyl incredibly well. The band uses the A-side as a primer, warming the listener to their sound. Opening track “Tick Tock Tick” serves as the album’s abstract, the perfect summation of the record as a whole. Its frenetic energy keeps you off balance and prepares you for what’s to come. The A-side is a slow burn, the band letting the song’s subtle charms unfold nonchalantly.

But it’s all in preparation for the B-side, where the bands rips through songs like “Separate Issue” and “Faster Than Light” making a mad dash towards the finish. The album has no shortage of great hooks, but “Faster Than Light” may be the best thing here. True to its name, the song sticks around just long enough to plant itself in your subconscious, making sure you spend the rest of the day singing the chorus to yourself. It’s a bright spot that can be easy to miss at first, simply because everything else here is just that good.

MP3 Tyler Jon Tyler – Tick Tock Tick
MP3 Tyler Jon Tyler – Faster Than Light

Robyn / Diamond Rings – Live @ Canopy Club

Although Swedish dance-pop artist Robyn has had some flirtations with mainstream success, it is her reputation as an outsider pop star that makes her so fascinating. Her dance-club ready tunes are not too far removed from what Lady Gaga or even Katy Perry (who she will be touring with this summer) are doing, just with far superior songwriting and performance. Listen to a song like Robyn’s “Dancing On Your Own” and then “California Gurls” and you’ll see what you mean. Another benefit of Robyn’s outsider status, you can see her in intimate, mid-sized venues like the Canopy Club in Urbana, IL and not have to pay a fortune to do it. The Canopy was packed for the day-after-Valentine’s show and Robyn’s hyper-enthusiastic performance made for an extraordinary night of music.

The night started off with a electro-pop vixen Natalia Kills, who played an extremely brief (just three songs) and mostly forgettable set. One point of interest, the whole time I thought she was adopting a trendy fake British accent, but it turns out she’s actually British. Who knew? Diamond Rings fared much better with his glittery synth-pop. I was reminded of Patrick Wolf by both his theatrical, glammy performance and his smooth, baritone vocals. Taking the stage in dauntless gold spandex / blue leather attire the young artist showered the audience with catchy tunes and gleeful dancing. His self-assured confidence was evident throughout the set and songs like “Show Me Your Stuff” and “All Yr Songs” were instantly appealing. I will be definitely checking out more of his stuff.

Robyn was a high-spirited ball of energy from her very first moments on stage, opening with “Time Machine”, one of the many bangers from her latest album Body Talk. Her stage-set up was like a miniature version of what I’d expect at a stadium show: fog machines, big pinwheel set pieces, crazy lighting and a uniformly dressed backing band (two on synths/vocals, two on drums). The dance-crazed set continued focused primarily on her latest album with “Fembot”, “Indestructible”, a cover of Teddybears’ “Cobrastyle” and her irresistible single “Dancing On Your Own” all being played early on.

Robyn has an effervescent stage presence, performing vigorous dance routines and making time for plenty of audience interaction (she also made time to peel and eat a banana on stage during her performance, uh… cool!). She did have appear to have some problems with her headset and at one point had to left the stage for an extended time to fix it, but it didn’t deter her from putting on a fantastic show. The biggest highlight for me was the infectious “Call Your Girlfriend”, a song which is quickly becoming my favorite of hers. The song’s bombastic beat, buzzing synths, and soaring chorus showcases the best of Robyn’s abilities and the track whipped the crowd into a bouncing frenzy.

The set ended with Body Talk Pt. 3 club banger, “Stars 4-Ever” which had the audience chanting the chorus, “You and me together / Stars forever” over and over as she briefly left the stage. We were treated with two encores the first of which included the blissful “Hang With Me” and her biggest hit to date, the string-laden “With Every Heartbeat”. She ended the night with three classics “U Should Know Better”, “Konichiwa Bitches” (which included a great snippet of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”) and “Show Me Love”. As a celebration of pop music, Robyn’s show was a complete triumph and although she may never get the mainstream success she deserves, when she’s on stage in front of a room packed with diehard fans, it’s easy to imagine that you’re watching the biggest pop star on the planet.

MP3 Robyn – Dancing On Your Own
MP3 Robyn – Call Your Girlfriend
MP3 Diamond Rings – Show Me Your Stuff

View more Robyn / Diamond Rings / Natalie Kills pictures after the jump. Click here for the entire set.

Video: Cut Copy – Need You Now

I can always rely on director Keith Schofield for endlessly creative and abundantly entertaining videos. His off-the-wall style has made clips like Beck / Charlotte Gainesbourg’s “Heaven Can Wait”, Chromeo’s “Don’t Turn The Lights On”, Justice’s “Let Love Rule” and The BPA’s “Toe Jam” some of the most unique visual creations of the last few years. Cut Copy, with their blissful electro-pop tunes seem like the perfect band for Schofield’s style and he knocks it out of the park with this ridiculous “Sports!”-themed video for monster jam “Need You Now” (which is about a bajillion times better then the Lady A song of the same name). The hockey player hitting a soccer ball with a tennis racket cracks me up for whatever reason.

MP3 Cut Copy – Need You Know

Cut Copy’s outstanding album Zonoscope is out now on Modular Recordings.

MP3: Kimbra – Settle Down

I was turned onto Penguin Prison’s remix of this track by my buddy Av a few months back and have neither been able to stop listening to it nor leisurely move onto anything else. Kimbra, the amazing talented soul-pop singer from Melbourne has stealthy dipped her hands into all things infectious and doesn’t seem to be yielding to any radar. Aside from appearing on several tracks by blog-phenomenons, Miami Horror, she has shattered every ordinance of being a female singer-songwriter and approaches this insatiable industry with her ineffable thinkability and solitary charm. Settle Down is definitely the right-foot forward, as she swoons her listeners over with smokey-soulful scats and the funkiest pop-insrumental that never seems steps before her enchanting vocals. It is only with a voice as raw as this that nothing more is needed and thus the very formula that gets us hooked is mere simplicity.

MP3 Kimbra – Settle Down
MP3 Kimbra – Settle Down (Penguin Prison Remix)

Video: Small Black – Photojournalist

From lo-fi electronic band Small Black and director Yoonha Park comes this drop-dead gorgeous music video for the band’s hazy single “Photojournalist”. From the opening shot, this video encapsulates you with it’s breathtaking imagery. The director shot two actresses visiting an aquarium weeks apart from each other, attempting to recreate the scene by memory alone. Thoughtfully blended with fluorescent images of time-lapsed flowers and rippling water effects, the results are nothing short of stunning. Watch the video above and download the lovely tune by Small Black below.

MP3 Small Black – Photojournalist

MP3: W-H-I-T-E – Fountain

Picture this, the sun. It’s an easy task, but can you feel the warmth? There isn’t a more concise way to describe the latest single from Santa Clara’s own than a real climatic gem. W-H-I-T-E (or White Horses In Technicolor Everywhere) promotes the upcoming release of his LP Twin Tigers with a track that is prescriptive to what we can expect when it drops. Fountain is the fated thought-process of something brilliant. From the second it starts, Cory Hanson composes the perfect combination of synthesizers and drums, allowing them to feed off of each other in a such a conversational way, you can’t help but feel grateful for having been included… and while I can rightfully say the instrumental stands disdainfully well on its own, he takes everything to the next level with vocals that embody the correctness of Beach House and maybe Jónsi if he ever had some free time on his hands.

W-H-I-T-E’s LP Twin Tigers will be available for purchase on March 14th at Swill Children.

MP3 W-H-I-T-E – Fountain