We’re into the jazz-inflected alto vocal of new to B3 artist Isabel on track “Fences”. Working within a minimalist piano-led modern R&B idiom, Isabel’s full-toned vocal reveals a bit of star quality to it in its singular-ness and strong emotive communication. Stream “Fences”, a track we like very very much, below.
We completely recommend (and adore) the cheery vocals-led natural-vibe beats-based atmospheric gem “Summer Sunday” from mysterious new (2015-origin Soundcloud) artist called Pools. Beautiful. On repeat. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Tune into the austere array of finely-laced percussion and cosmic reverb-y synth accents of B3-fave group Little Dragon on their radient new spin on “Underflow” the tremendously emotive plaintive-poetic vocals-led recent track from talented Aussie songstress Emma Louise. Reviewed by Erin Shay
17 year old Joy Crookes makes a very strong debut on the subtly sublime “New Manhattan”. Based around whirling cinematic strings and a cool twisty melody “New Manhattan” not only feels powerful (by virtue of its engaging production) but melodically and lyrically is magnetic; the narrative of isolation, smallness, world spinning round being very well fit to the track. A must listen.
Whoa. “Lavender & Dandelion”, the debut track online from bi-coastal tandem MUN & SOL, is stunning (yes, stunning is a word that’s gets thrown around blogs a lot but “Lavender & Dandelion” is really stunning. Warm rhodes, low-touch beats and a soul-stirring tenor vocal set a perfect piece of R&B-influenced indie pop. Take a listen.
Welcome SONDAR to B3SCI. The Nashville (ostensibly) girl-girl duo tap into a very strong bit of melodic writing (that “if it’s OK with you darling, if this doesn’t sound alarming” bit is particularly memorable) on debut track “Singlewave”. SONDAR, we are listening.
New-to-B3 artist Artlife are the electronic duo of Casper Jansen & Benjamin Brommer (two close friends who currently live in Amsterdam, Netherlands). We’re jamming out to the duo’s new highly recommendable up-tempo piano-melody-infused remix of Astronomy tune “Something About You” (and totally loving it). According to the Artlife Soundcloud page, after being asked to remix the song by Astronomyy himself the pair set out to create a mix that “keep[s] the deep chords and cool vocal lines while making it more up-tempo and energetic”. Artlife does a beautiful job at highlighting the melody and texturing the remix with their signature multi-dimensional piano-led instrumental touches and phenomenally enhancing guided guitar riff. Our very favorite part of the remix is the euphoric dramatic pause-y portion around 1:25 where there is a perfectly enchanting cohesion of instrumental elements. This is a fantastic remix, we actually like it better than the original. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
“More” the debut track from shrouded-in-anonymity newcomers 4am is beautiful. A terrific piece of melodic writing, that bit around 0:16 when the “give me more” turn in the tune first happens is one of those brief moments of magic that makes this whole music blogging thing a bit more worthwhile. We hope that’s a strong enough endorsement of “More”.
Opia are the duo of producer Jacob Reske and guitarist Cole Citrenbaum. The pair met as math and physics majors at Yale and now ply their trade in R&B-driven modern pop. “Falling” excels on Mr. Citrenbaum’s blues/jazz-informed guitar playing which adds a cool texture/layer to a very current sound. Sample “Falling” below.
The Melbourne AU duo return with their unique blend of visceral R&B melody and cool modern pop grooves on new single “Kintsugi”. The band’s March 2014 song “Old Friend” was one of our favorite songs of the year and “Kintsugi” lives in a comparable zone of quality and neatness of arrangement. “Kintsugi” is excerpted from Hoodlem’s forthcoming debut EP, out in March.
Often featured LA-favorite Wildcat! Wildcat! (who was discovered here at B3) comes out of the blue with a surprise track called “Straight to the Top” (after a year or so without releasing anything on Soundcloud). A straightforward blend of catchy casually-delivered melody-infused vocals and low-key indie elementals, “Straight to the Top” reminds us why we fell for Wildcat! Wildcat! to begin with all those years ago. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
