New Bloc Party and Smith Westerns

Less than a year after their long-awaited first album in four years with Four, Bloc Party are back with brand new material in the Nextwave Sessions EP. "Rachet" is quite catchy and "viciously danceable".


EP track-list:
Ratchet
Obscene
French Exit
Montreal
Children Of The Future

Smith Westerns have a new single titled "Idol". The first was "Varsity" and you can watch the videos for both below:





If you haven't had a chance to hear the record yet, it is streaming in full on NPR. Buy the album "Soft Will" here.

J.P. Rose - "Back To Me" Video

Such a great song! Get J.P. Rose's "Seascape" EP here.

Weekend Update

I really like this one from The Secret History!


Here's a dreamy post-punk one that could've come the early 90's. I am always up for that nostalgic sound. This is the first single from the album "Jinx", due out July 23rd on Slumberland Records.

Free Sunny Indiepop from Sweden: The Belljars

I came across "You Will Know" in a sub-folder on my PC and thought I needed to share this happy 4 song collection from Sweden's The Belljars. This will appeal to fans of The Sundays. 

Humble Braggers

One from the Inbox today: "What's Fair" by Humble Braggers (@humblebraggers) out of Buffalo, New York. Pleasant indie dreampop with a hint of melancholy. Certainly evokes some emotion in me and that is what makes it something special among the many disposable tracks I collect. I am looking forward to more!

80's Dream Compilation Tape - Vol 2

New Arcades offer an instrumental piece from the "80's Dream Compilation Tape - Vol 2" which can be found here for a "name your price" download. 21 synth tracks to explore!

Everybody Knows (I'm Still In Love With You)

Wow, this girl is gorgeous.
Also, this is about as twee I can get. Elefant Records has some nice tunes. Laziest blog entry ever?

New Arcades: Take A Breath video just released (synthpop)

In what might be a blog-premiere, I give you the new video for the New Arcades song "Take A Breath". I sat on YouTube all morning to try and post it first, but they decided to use Vimeo instead! If you haven't heard New Arcades beyond this video, be sure to visit them on YouTube.

New Arcades: Take a Breath // Official Music Video from Rebecca Gravil on Vimeo.

"New Arcades are Dean Canty and Adam Sullivan, a duo inspired by nostalgic memories of 80s cinema and vintage synth sounds. Taking those feelings and bringing them into a contemporary production setting, New Arcades craft something that at once feels both excitingly fresh, and comfortable like an old friend. The soundtrack to hazy memories you never had and the intensity of right now, New Arcades bring passion and heart to the retro sounds of SynthWave."

Editors and the Wait for Selebrities

Editors are back and they've got a video in the style I like (looks like they are recording the song). As I have said a million times: "Don't read the comments." Some idiot compared them to Fleet Foxes...what?


Just can't wait for the new Selebrities album. It "drops" on June 25, 2013. I really don't think I have heard a bad song from them (and they covered The Monster Mash!). The single "Lovers" employs some real heart-tugging something. I think it might the percussion that brings me to the first half of the 80's. It might be the bottle of wine I discovered today. It was under the passenger seat of my car. Not sure how long it was there. It did taste a little funky, so I mixed it with a new bottle purchased today.

Synthpop for Your Saturday

Victoria and Jacob (Fika Recordings) offer this sunny track in a few remixed versions. "Festival" is a perfect song to start your Summer off (sorry, Southern Hemisphere). I have included my two favorite remixes. Is is just me or does her voice have bit of Stevie Nicks in it?

Odds, Sods and Found Sounds

The excellent Soliti record label, based in Helsinki, has turned two. They celebrate with "Odds, Sods and Found Sounds", an eight track complication. I am a fan of Big Wave Riders and Cats on Fire, so it's nice to hear demos.

Two more great finds

Here's one from the submission inbox. It's a nice synthpop piece featuring a great build-up. I love the girl/boy vocals and the gentle guitar strum. This is a mature sounding number, and I hesitate to call it synthpop. Fitness Club Fiasco has a Facebook page here.



I am currently enjoying the delicious dreampop of Dead Leaf Echo.
Here's the video for the first single off "Thought and Language".



The upcoming release from Austra is available to stream over at NPR. "Olympia" is in stores on June 18th.

More Synthpop for Summer

Here's something I should do more often: share the blogs I read with you. So, let's start with Cover Me (http://www.covermesongs.com/). An excellent source for covers from many genres. I subscribe via RSS (Google Reader is being discontinued, so I am moving to Feedly on July 1).

Here's a classic synthpop-sounding track from The Department. It's the debut video from this London act. Thank-you, Rob Green, for the submission!




Strangeheart has covered a 1920's song, and the outcome is quite fun. Here's the video, complete with cool old cartoons.

New Arcades (Synth) + Big Wave Riders + Scanners

New Arcades sent me this nice new one to post for you synth-lovers. His voice is as important to the track as the lush music. Rare these days, for this genre. Fans of Iris should enjoy this one.


I am happy to hear and share this track from Big Wave Riders. It's not available to embed at this time, so head to Soundcloud to hear it or watch the video. I think it's got a nice 90's sound to it.


OK, I have 701 unread messages addressed to this blog. Rather than read them all, I will randomly pick one and, if it's good stuff, I'll post it today. Here we go:


Not bad! Scanners has a video for "Control" here. I like this... so I'll have to check out more from them.

Soon, Summer

With Summer coming soon (in this hemisphere), I thought this one by Sweden's Summer Heart captures the season:



How about a creative video by the incredible Clubfeet?

June Gloom and Bloom

Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last post. Sorry. I am still here. There was a time when a quarter of my posts came from submissions. Now, I only post things I have found on my own. The PR machines can be way off in their submissions. I often scratch my head, wondering why the hell I would want to hear music that doesn't fit in with what this blog is about.

Here's a fine indiepop tune that has me anticipating more from the Dufflecoat Records band:


As a reader and now watcher of (A) Game of Thrones, I was mildly amused to find there is an Aussie band called Greyjoy. The two tracks I have heard are quite good, so give them a listen:


An internet friend of mine sent me this lovely track. Guess he knew I'd love it:


So, what else is worth acquiring? I have loaded a nice blend of albums on my iPod: Still Corners "Strange Pleasures", The Pastels "Slow Summits", Camera Obscura "Desire Lines", Wild Nothing "Empty Estate (ep)" and Feathers "If All Here Now". Still can't get into Hurts "Exile" or Indians "Somewhere Else" and I am struggling with Chapel Club "Good Together".