With The Winds Of Despair

While yesterday's topic was the phenomena of avoiding a band based solely on their name, today's is the antithesis of that. When a certain "Tiger Forest Cat" showed up in my rarely-checked (sorry) submissions inbox , I downloaded the promo immediately. Normally to make it on to my precious hard drive a strict vetting process of internet streaming occurs, but I went out on a limb here because I just knew that any band with a name like that was going to be amazing. You may think I'm sounding silly and arrogant but you know what? I was so right.

Turns out in addition to having a great name, Tiger Forest Cat is from the greatest country - Sweden. So it's no wonder that his whimsical, breezy pop single With The Winds Of Despair seems destined to soundtrack the next great commercial spot -- Swedes are built and programmed since birth to make hits. This is fact. Even if you're skeptical of my sources, once you get to the chorus you'll agree with me. That run on "little darling of mine" is the stuff that dreams are made of. Kudos to me for finally checking a submission email, kudos to TFC for having the best name ever, and kudos to you for telling all your friends about him. I just knew you would.

With The Winds Of Despair

Stay

You know when you hear of a band and the lexemic association you place on their name completely overshadows any of their output for you? Like, "Awwwww man, Cake? I hate cake, why would I want to listen to a band called Cake?" Well, if you've ever found yourself in the preceding scenario, you're a sadist. Seriously, who doesn't like cake? But moving on.

Having lived in New York for just under a year, I've come to resent tourists with a fire equal only to how Beyonce undoubtedly feels about Kim K: I can't stand them. But I'm not letting that get in the way of enjoying Tourist, the man. Tourist is a London-based musician with an undeniable knack for the deep house-hearkening, lush production style so popular in the past year. That's not to say his downtempo beats and layered instrumentation render him a copycat act in any way -- his late night jams display a deftness artists twice his age could only dream of possessing. He's demonstrated this most recently in a string of EPs -- his next set for an early December release -- and some expert remix work. He'll be kicking off a US tour in NYC over CMJ, so be sure to shake off any xenophobia, and catch the man in action.

Stay - Tourist

Real Slow

While our government is crumbling under the weight of its own idiocy, in world news, Australian musicians are still killing it. At least everyone is being consistent, right?

As far as consistency goes, Miami Horror could very well have their picture in the dictionary in under the word, as their brand of sunny, feel-good pop rock never fails to disappoint. With this in mind, we had good reason to be excited when our buds at Neon Gold announced that they were releasing the band's new single, Real Slow. While Real Slow has a bit more of a dance groove to it than the name might suggest, its breezy chorus is everything we needed to help ease our begrudging transition from summer. You can cop the single here, stream it below, and -- GREAT NEWS -- see it in real time tonight, if you're in NYC.


While we're on the subject of Australians, another formidable group are making their way to the big apple, and various cities across the country. Gold Fields have been tramping around US for the past month, bringing their blend of hybrid power pop with them. They'll be in NYC on Thursday for NG's monthly Popshop installment. Check it out, as its sure to be all koalas and rainbows and sparkles. Best kind of party.

Treehouse (GLOVES Remix) - Gold Fields


Gold (Gold Fields Remix) - Sir Sly

Embrace

Our man Goldroom is back with his first EP in two years. Luckily, it doesn't feel like it's been that long what with the steady stream of remixes and one-off originals he throws our way...but it's still cause to celebrate. The EP showcases a string of female-fronted pop singles released over the past couple years, and includes the brand new Embrace. It seems Goldroom has saved the best for last, as Embrace is probably his catchiest original to date. And that's really saying something. We might credit that superlative in part to the co-writing credits from Australia's George Maple (a chick you should get to know immediately), but seriously - just try to get this shimmering chorus out of your head. Stream the tune below, and support the man by buying the full EP on iTunes.

Rollercoaster

Remember a few months ago when Skream said he was giving up on dubstep to start producing disco; and all the skrillex-worshiping high school ravers were like "ahhh what the fuck man?!", while everyone who had listened to dubstep before 'EDM' was a 'thing' were like "hmm ok yeah that makes sense."? Well, Skream just released his first single showcasing this new direction, and no one need be disappointed. Rollercoaster is funky, fresh, and expertly produced. Skream's talent showcased in a new medium is a great big gust of fresh air, and we're pretty excited to hear what his future catalog has in store. Stream the single below and check out its just-released music video, which is really, really cute.

PARTOFME

Is it wrong to make you love me?
Is it wrong to make you stay?
It breaks my heart to see you watching.

About once or twice a year I absolutely freak out over a new band. I listen to their every song on continual repeat (we're talking like 20 plays per song per day), and lament their obscurity to anyone who will listen. NO CEREMONY/// is one such a band. The Manchester trio craft the most perfect electrically-inclined music, and I hope they become the biggest group in the world. They excel in a specific brand of dark, driving pop: it's kind of dancey, kind of proggy (full disclosure: I love prog), and filled with a sense of urgency marked by growling crescendos and an always perfectly-timed drop. The use of two vocalists (of different genders) helps ensure that nothing sounds too "samey," though if every song in the world sounded like FEELSOLOW it would probably be an okay thing.

NO CEREMONY/// just released their debut album in England. You can't yet get it in the US but you can stream it here. If you're in Europe, you also have the chance to see them live. I missed them at this year's SXSW due to an unfortunate traffic situation, so someone please go and report back how awesome it was. As for the rest of you, have a couple teasers and welcome to your new obsession.

FEELSOLOW - NO CEREMONY///



You know I don't normally do YouTube streams but this is their new single and you need to hear it.

HURTLOVE - NO CEREMONY///

Feeling Foxy

Kitsuné, everyone's favorite fashion brand cum music label, has been on the grind lately. In addition to their seasonal Compilation albums, they've been putting out singles for up and coming artists left and right. Additionally they've been working on some pretty cool campaigns incorporating more music into their fashion, and vice-versa. August saw them release the Romanticise EP from Australian songstress Chela, who you may remember from last year's collaboration with our man Goldroom. Romanticise totally encapsulates the Kitsuné "sound" - bright synths, disco beats, and summer vibes. Fellow Aussies Gold Fields did a remix of the single, and it's quite a catch. Don't take my word for it - download it for free below.

But one EP is never enough for the label, who also put out Digitalism's new Lift EP two days ago. Veering from their pop roots and into more hardened electro territory, the EP's first single Electric Fist sees the German duo collaborating with Canada's Blood Diamonds. The end result is a fiery one two punch of pulsing beats and crackling distortion. If you're looking for a pretty solid 2008 throwback, look no further. (Ah, the good old days.)

Last, but certainly not least, Kitsuné have been expanding their always-rocking Club Nights to more cities around the globe, and this post comes just in time to remind you of a big one happening in New York City tonight. This time, Kitsuné teamed up with Matte Projects to bring us a crazy awesome lineup including Digitalism, Classixx, Plastic Plates, and Le Youth. Matte are the guys who put on summer's Full Moon Festival, at which we had wayyyy too much fun (seriously…it got aggressive), so we've got high hopes for tonight. Get your last minute tickets here, and I'll see you on the dance floor.

Romanticise (Gold Fields Remix) - Chela