French producer TEEMID who’s successfully mixed warm/breathy female-led indie-dance covers of popular songs; including favorites like Gnarls’ “Crazy”, Flight Facilities’ “Crave You”, and this new version of one of the 2000’s best pop songs, “Love At First Sight” from Kyle Minogue. Joining TEEMID on the expertly crafted “Love At First Sight” is the comforting vocal of the frontwoman of Scottish act Julia & the Doogans.
TEEMID 
(Soundcloud) (Facebook)
Rating 8.6
Rising L.A.-based (via Orlando FL) singer Chris Batson‘s writing/producing ably blends the best bits of R&B, dance music and pop. Marrying the spatially expansive sound of contemporary EDM with skilled soul-informed pop songwriting, Batson is adept at creating both the mechanics of memorable alt-R&B as well as a most compelling, highly personal lyrical arc. We’re pleased to present below the premiere of the excellent “A Thousand Pieces” from Chris Batson. p.s. If you’re in L.A., catch Chris at The Bootleg on Friday May 19th.
Chris Batson 
(Official) (Twitter)
Rating 8.4
“Midnight Swim” is the new one from Aussie R&B songstress Vanessa Elisha. Framed by a grimy heavy on the low-end and hypnotic syncopations, “Midnight Swim” achieves a neat dynamic both through Vanessa’s ethereal lighter-than-air vocal and its juxtaposition against the darker instrumental and thematically too as that heavy/light counter-positioning is central to the lyric. A+
Vanessa Elisha 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
Island/Def Jam high priority Iggy Azalea knocks out a new trap-ish single with UK popstress Rita Ora. “Black Widow” shines especially in its dark melody tap “Beez in the Trap”-esque verses where the maybe underrated as rhymer Iggy does some serviceable work. While fine in isolation, Ora’s hook is a bit awkward juxtaposed against the musicality of Iggy’s verses but Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” worked in a similar template and succeeded all the same. “Black Widow” isn’t quite “Dark Horse” but it’s definitely holding a bit of potential pop radio shine.
Iggy Azalea (Twitter)
Rating 8.3
Will Phillips a/k/a Tourist a/k/a one of indie dance’s current most sought after gets an assist from the great Lianne La Havas on new track “Patterns”. “Patterns” hits that perfect and much grasped at grail/nexus of 2014 indie dance and 90’s Whitney; the big gospel-y chorus is particularly standout in that way. “Patterns” is the third single from Tourist’s upcoming EP of the same name and it’s out April 20th in the UK on Method Records and April 22nd in the US on Monday Records.
Tourist 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
Words and Photos by Russ Ramos
Perhaps one of the nicest bands on the indie circuit right now have got to be Chvrches. When I say nicest, I literally mean the kindest band. It was a hot day in Pomona CA. Chvrches were getting ready to headline a packed show at the Glasshouse, and before they did their soundcheck, band members Lauren and Martin came outside to a line of patiently waiting fans to handout popsicles and take pictures. Pretty rad if you ask me.
9:00 pm comes around and it’s showtime. A large amount of fog filled up the stage and the venue went black. The Scottish trio then proceeded to put on an amazing show of powerful vocals and dazzling lights. In fact, their immersive light production put fans into a trance. Check out some photos below from their performance that night. If you’re on your way to Coachella for Weekend #2, Don’t forget to catch their set!
Chvrches 
(Facebook)
Risers BASECAMP provide a lush, low touch R&B track for songstress Sophia Black on the excellent “OVR AGN”. The L.A. singer’s sophomore single (“OVR AGN” is the follow-up to the more pop-leaning but still great “Kissing”), “OVR AGN” is great pop songwriting; melodically A+; wall to wall airtight w/ inventive hookiness; and its, most importantly, just accessible enough to current trends in R&B (there’s a definite bit of Jhene Aiko in “OVR AGN”‘s DNA) to possess that essential familiarity that all great pop succeeds on.
Sophia Black (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.3
The Italian-British quartet known as MAUSI (and authors of one 2013’s best singles “Move”) make a return today with a cocktails at the poolside cover of one of 2014 indie’s biggest breakouts Canadian singer Kiesza‘s “Hideaway”. P.S. Don’t miss the smooth interpolation of J. Lopez‘s “Play” snuck into the choruses!
Mausi (Official)
Rating 8.4
Poutine lover and Canadian beat sensation Kaytranada puts some of the creative vitality that over the last eighteen months has boosted his profile exponentially underneath Portland-based Reva DeVito‘s new single for HW&W Reva DeVito. “Friday Night”, while sounding at times like a C&C Music Factory deep cut (this is meant as a compliment), is electric as the dynamic between Kaytranada’s fast-motion glossy dance&b and Reva’s propulsive sultry tone is quite special. Listen.
“Serbia” is the latest track from London upstart singer TĀLĀ and wow. “Serbia”‘s synth-jab-aided stop-start choruses are close to flawless. While the whole of the track is a bit more atmospheric and obtuse in its instrumentation, “Serbia’s” main hook is electric and instantly attention demanding. “Aesop”, the debut EP from TĀLĀ, is released June 2nd.
TĀLĀ 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.5
The talented Ms. Grant makes her return to the blogosphere today with the stylistic change-up “West Coast”. While a bit of a departure from the expressed hip hop affect of the Born To Die record’s tracks, “West Coast”‘s guts are still of the rap breed; with Lana sing-speaking the track’s vocal lines – all while gliding wistfully off the top of each subdivided one. Ultraviolence is the new LP upcoming from Lana.
Lana Del Rey 
(Official) (Facebook)
Rating 8.0
Team B3 is very pleased to present the premire of Philly-bred duo Marian Hill‘s new vid for “Lovit”. Shot by locally-based Out of Town Films, the excellent live clip of the “Play” EP track was filmed at the Philadelphia middle school where MH’s Jeremy and Sam first met. Marian play Glasslands in Brooklyn next Monday (5/21).
Marian Hill
: (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
