MP3: White Denim - "Street Joys"

Quality tune from Austin's White Denim. The vocals particularly stand out in this one as the instrumentation is rather simple, yet full. You can pick up these guys album D whih was released May 24 via Downtown Records.

White Denim - Street Joy

MP3: Kasabian - "Switchblade Smiles"

Well the new Kasabian album is now imminent because a new single has been released. "Switchblade Smiles" is a groovy, synthesiser filled thrill ride with some pretty awesome synth bass. Theres this particular "aww aww" vocal sample that really reminded me of Led Zeppelin, so this really can trace back to some psychedelic influences as well as modern electronic ones as well. All in all, this song is chock full of awesome and is worth a listen. Velociraptor! is set to come out in September via RCA/Columbia.

Kasabian - Switchblade Smiles

ALBUM STREAM: Cults - Cults (Self-Titled)

Here is the highly anticipated debut LP from Cults. These guys already released the tracks "Go Outside" and "Make Time" ("Make Time" is actually not on the album). This album is very hip and very summer. I can picture myself blasting this through a boom-box on the beach as I indulge into a nice cold lemonade. So far, this is one of my favorite albums of the year!

1. Abducted
2. Go Outside
3. You Know What I Mean
4. Most Wanted
5. Walk At Night
6. Never Heal Myself
7. Oh My God
8. Never Saw The Point
9. Bad Things
10. Bumper
11.Rave On

MP3: Blood Diamonds - "Grins"

Phenomenal new track from Blood Diamonds. This jam starts out rather distant but grows into a huge synth/string filled masterpiece. The beat also sets a nice feel and is rather catchy as the strangely beautiful vocals sing over them.

Blood Diamonds - Grins

MP3: Beirut – East Harlem

 Folk-rock and a nice horn section with some smooth vocals to cool off to. This track is upbeat and "bouncy" with is piano section. Beirut comes up with a pretty catchy,feel-good tune to relax to.


Beirut - East Harlem by Revolver USA

MP3: Coldplay - "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall"

 The new Coldplay song is a lot more dance-able than previous songs. It's synth filled and very poppy. The vocals still have a classic "upbeat coldplay" feel but the song itself is almost on the verge of too radio friendly. This song was announced this past week and surfaced today. We can expect a new full length from them this Fall.

Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

MP3: CLAPS - "Across The Floor"

 

 CLAPS are a minimal synth pop band from Minneapolis, MN. These guys sent me their new song entitled "Across The Floor" which is going to be on their upcoming LP Wreck. This song has very cool bass rumbling  in the background as a playful lead synth prounces around over the mix. The vocals are very solid and have some echo making them rather powerful yet controlled.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/clapsclapsclaps

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CLAPSUS

Website: http://clapsus.tumblr.com/

CLAPS - Across The Floor
CLAPS - Across The Floor (Extended)

REVIEW: The Pear Traps - The Pear Traps EP

Check out The Pear Traps who have recently put out their self-titled EP. "Formed in 2009, The Pear Traps are a 5 piece band from Chicago who's music mixes lo-fi garage rock and alt-country." These guys dropped their new EP past my inbox, so here it is. You can stream the song "Come Home" here and you can go to the Bandcamp link to check out the rest of the EP.

The EP starts out with "Come Home" (which is available for free download). This song blends the eerie, echoing vocals with a base of alt-country style guitars which are accompanied by lead guitar shimmering in the distance.  The next song, "Honestly" starts out with some firm chords but breaks to a light, fluttering guitar riff. This song has less of that lo-fi "noise" but theres distant sustained chords which offer a really cool effect. "Predictable Kinds of Thoughts" starts out with a great guitar arrangement which returns for breaks. The drums in this are really cool because when there are heavy cymbol crashes its blends and adds to that "noise" factor. When this song ends is when it actually hits me and my ears want to be filled with beauty yet again. "Safer Than You" is a nice short song where the bass really stands out and is more noticeable than in the others. The end starts to get a lot of layering going on which drives us into "They Are Not Ours". This song starts out with just a guitar and those distant, fuzzy vocals that we have been enjoying then it builds up to a full band instrumentation to ride it out. This brings us to the final song, which happens to be my favorite. "Answer" starts with a very calm beginning which leads me to die down but I actually jumped when the song kicked in. A little after the 2 minute mark is where I start to really love this track because they kick it up a notch and it starts to get unsettling. The fuzz that the guitar creates is very cool and the end just drops down to a stand still as the final flame burns out.

All in all, I really enjoy the beauty that lo-fi creates. There is a lot of layering going on which blends into steaming pot of soup. Theres never anything overpowering, even the vocals are distant. The vocals are great because they serve more as another instrument rather than a center of attention. This is really as lo-fi as lo-fi gets, but thats what makes it so beautiful.

Bandcamp: thepeartraps.bandcamp.com (click here to check out full EP)

Myspace: www.myspace.com/thepeartraps

The Pear Traps - Come Home

MP3: League - "Golden Maps"

Very catchy track from London's League. The beat is very hoppin' and the synth is pretty luscious. Another cool track to add to you "Summer 2011" mix. These guys released a track earlier in the month entitled “Two Wild Hearts” but an official release has not been confirmed at this time.

League - Golden Maps

MP3: Mr. Little Jeans – “The Suburbs” (Arcade Fire Cover)

Well, this basically blew me away because before I listened I was expecting a jangly, acoustic cover of this song. Instead, I uncovered a totally new song thats dreamy and synth filled. The vocals are creepy and top notch as they fit perfectly into the song. Norwegian singer Mr. Little Jeans (Theres actually no "Mr." involved with the song) has proved that she is an artist to look out for.

Mr. Little Jeans – The Suburbs (Arcade Fire Cover)