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Mabel – Know Me Better

mabel

Travel down the road of artistic possibility with brand-new London vocal talent and daughter of Neneh Cherry Mabel on her summer-soaked forward-female-vibe pop-inspired career-first-single “Know Me Better” which relishes in some very choice, subtly hot and bothered, sweet n’ romancey lyrics and a catchy and unexpected hook that we think places the singer-songwriter firmly on the new artist map. We hope to know your music better Mabel and look forward to seeing what direction you take to further unveil your artistic style as well as what collaborations come your way. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Mabel england (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-16-15

Ofelia K – As a Bell

ofeliak

We dig the tension in the pauses, peppy animated percussion and sparkling acoustic guitar accents of new singer-songwriter down-tempo gem track “As A Bell” from LA-based songstress Ofelia K who also just released (in June) her very good nostalgic sentiment-laced career debut single “White T-Shirt”; both tracks come off Ofelia K’s “Heart” EP which is available August 2015 via South By Sea. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Ofelia K california (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-16-15

Zola Blood – Play Out

zolablood

London foursome Zola Blood perfect a wonderful mixture of vocal vulnerability and beautifully-spun calm-and-collected brightly-laced indie rock-leaning subtle electronic instrumentals on the group’s amazing new track “Play Out” which we are specifically drawn to for its gorgeous beats, slowly escalating synth-line and warmly reassuring friends-for-life lyrical sensibilities. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Zola Blood (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-16-15

Giraffage & Viceroy – Impression of You (Feat. Patrick Baker)

giraffageviceroy

Get into the mesmerizing mood and bold-audacious synth lines on new-release “Impression of You” a sarcastic sweetly-lovelorn vocals-driven electro-pop ballad track which features a perfect blend of slow-building emotional-bent instrumental atmospherics beautifully punctuated by snares and dance-y vibed wicked-effect high-hat drum action (that we totally dig). “Impression of You” is a collaboration between B3 artist-fave San Francisco native Giraffage and B3-featured master-of-summery textures and fabricator of up-beat vibes, producer Viceroy. The duo go all out with subtlety and class on their inventive new video of the catchy mid-summery single. Their awesome perspective and emblematic humorous-angle in the video is best introduced (without ruining its artistic element of surprise) as the perfect single-guy visual iteration of how seductive and sexed up the track feels emotionally with its synth-y schmooze, deeply-grounding bass-line and sultry vocal charms of top-notch East Coast vocalist Patrick Baker (who hit B3’s Best of 2013: Readers’ Top 50 Most Popular Artists list at #27 for his soulfully-effervescent track “This Love (Higher)”. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Giraffage (Facebook)

Viceroy california (Soundcloud)

Patrick Baker (Official)

reviewed by
07-16-15

HANA – Avalanche

HANA

Get familiar with 25-year-old LA-based Montana-bred singer-songwriter HANA who recently charmed the blogosphere with her first single-debut “Clay” and subsequently caught the attentions of some big name artists such as Lorde, Grimes and Lana Del Rey. On her breathtaking new synth-pop second single “Avalanche” which features a lovely attention-drawing male-female vocal duo dynamic and simple-stuff slightly-tumultuous Sleigh Bells-vibe production accents from her producer boyfriend Blood Diamonds (who we covered last in 2014 for his excellent rework of Tinashe’s 2013 hit Vulnerable). Although it takes the song a bit to rev up and get going, we like the track’s seamless dynamic-opposite mesh of HANA’s delicate sweetly-biting vocals with Blood Diamond’s reverberant slicked-up electro instrumentals and bold unwavering staccato bass-line. “Avalanche”, according to HANA in her online Nylon Magazine interview, “is about my inability to say no and learning about becoming a more assertive person. I’m a people-pleaser to a fault, so this song is about saying no if I don’t want to do something, and becoming a more powerful person”. Good stuff. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

HANA california (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-15-15

Beshken – Know You Well (Feat. Mothica and Mayo)

beshken

Santa Monica producer Beshken woos us with subtlety on his new wonderfully dynamic synth-driven percussion-accented track “Know You Well” which is steeped in an excellent ultra-dramatic male-female vocal duet featuring B3 new-fave artist ethereal songstress Mothica and Chicago Cudi-school rapper Mayo. From the Alanis-style sad-undertone I-am-woman-hear-me-roar message and sweet sultry beats to the cheerful-uplifting vibe instrumentals and Mayo’s slick reassuring rhymes, we love this song. Get into it. Reviewed by Erin Shay

Beshken california (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-13-15

SWIMM – All the Time

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LA-based Floridians SWIMM are a psych-pop duo who recently dropped their guitar-driven EP second single “All The Time” off their upcoming “Beverly Hells” EP which is out via 24west Records on August 28th. A summery tropical-vibe follow up to the EP’s debut self-titled single, their new track “All The Time” has a sweet layer of hazy guitar riffs, punctuating hand-drum grooves, lush undulating synth and outstanding choppy-yet-melodic reverb-ed out Bono-vibe vocals with lyrics that address the duo’s awesomely close relationship to one another despite being opposites. We especially like the befuddled chorus “I want it all the time” and “you worry all the time” which according to SWIMM is “basically talking about how a couple people in a band can have stars in their eyes, feel as though every little decision they make could be life-changing, and that what they’re doing is super important, they are on the edge of everything… But maybe there is a lingering thought in the back of the mind that maybe it’s nothing?”. Don’t worry, we think you are on the edge of something really very good SWIMM and we look forward to hearing more great tracks from you on your new upcoming EP! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

SWIMM (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-13-15

Ryan Egan – Restoration

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B3 recently covered the ingenious lavishly-spun Tei Shi-featuring LUCA solo-side-project first track “Best On” from Luca Buccellati; one half of Brooklyn-raised producer duo Yellerkin who also produces music for an array of emerging-talent artists. We’re knocked out by his latest collaboration, “Restoration” for its soulful, deeply-percolating ambiance, vibey drawn-out beats and divinely-gorgeous tender heart-felt vocals from a new-find singer-songwriter Ryan Egan who makes his career debut online with the track. We’re taken with Egan’s emotive beyond-excellent refreshingly-vulnerable falsetto vocal style and big-picture deeply thought-out lyrics. As Egan indicates, ”It’s a song about hitting the reset button, a rebirth. It’s something that will and should happen many times throughout our lives, artistic and otherwise. It’s good to acknowledge where we’ve gone wrong and not be afraid to expose our faults so that we can move forward and grow in a positive way. I think everyone can relate to that.” We whole-heatedly relate to that and very much look forward to hearing more from the superbly-talented little-known artist Egan who we think has incredible promise. Stay tuned for more from both artists who are surprisingly (in a sense) at the same fresh and enthusiastic place in launching their respective solo careers. Excellent collaboration. Reviewed by Erin Shay

Ryan Egan (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-13-15

Oslo Parks – Slipping Away

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Zone out to the sublime atmospheric alt/synth-pop vibe of multi-instrumentalist producers Rob Flynn & Ian Booth, also known as Oslo Parks, on their new synthed-out luminescent-guitar-accented beauty track “Slippin Away”, which follows the Brighton-based indie duo’s B3-featured soft-edged new wave wonder track “Dress For That”. We really enjoy the dreamy up-beat 80’s-vintage sound of Oslo Parks! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Oslo Parks (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-13-15

Laurel – Blood Blood

laurel

We recently showcased the beautiful vocal talents of UK songstress, Laurel on “Nothing Ever Hurts” the new Pete Tong recent-feature track from UK house dynamos Shadow Child and Ben Pearce and we also wrote about her in December for the broody modern-pop Sivu-featured Holy Water EP track “Come Together”. Laurel’s latest track “Blue Blood” features the singer-songwriter’s languid straightforward vocal tone and vastly-layered grandiose and emotional singing style that makes a dynamic dichotomy to the track’s larger-than-life dramatic synth, bellowing strings and mumbly whispery-quiet atmospheric ambient touches. Excellent. Turn it up ya’ll. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Laurel england (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-10-15

Frances – When It Comes To Us (Feat. Ritual)

frances

Frances who wow’d us in May w online debut “Grow”, is back with follow-up track “When It Comes To Us” featuring upstart UK trio Ritual. “When It Comes To Us”‘s excellent dual female/male vocal dynamic comes off brilliantly in the context of the track’s narrative of relationship subject matter. Very believable.

Frances (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-10-15