New to B3 is Sunken, a UK band fronted by Poppy Billingham. Linked up with Handsome Dad Records and set to support Puma Blue on an upcoming tour, Sunken’s new track “Swoon” is a further step forward – matching a cool alto main vocal to jazzy magnetic and spacious production.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
The Hana Vu hype train has long departed the station (co-signs from Pitchfork, Fader, etc) but the immensely talented Vu continues to top herself which each new release. “Shallow” is immediate and potent in a way that demands attention and is a huge step forward! We’re listening, you should be too.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
Micky James arrived in LA, to open for The Struts, do some promotion, and do some writing. After shooting a video for BalconyTV on my rooftop, he and I sat down for a chat. Check out his “Give It to Me Straight” track. No surprise his influences include 70’s glam like T. Rex in addition to newer garage rock bands.
Hear Bruce Rave’s weekly new indie jams on three stations, with show announcements on his Go Deep With Bruce Rave facebook page. Archived shows available on the KX 93.5 site, where you can also subscribe to receiving the weekly two-hour version as an iTunes podcast at no charge.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
With a 1M stream Spotify single under their belt (“Do It Like You Do”) and several sold out London shows to their name UK duo KAWALA’s arrow is pointing decidedly up. New single “Funky”, which we are very pleased to premiere here at B3, combines a cool, measured tunefulness to cascading polyrhythms and runs of candy sweet guitar. “Funky” is out May 24 on Mahogany Records.
New from Leeds band Night Owls is the track and video for “Tragically Human”. The track is a surrealistic of swirl verb’d guitar and piano set to the turn of an experiential main lyric. About the song thematically, the band said “Tragically Human”, “reflects the upcoming EP as a whole. While at first glance the song may seem like an anti-smoking, at a deeper look we’re attempting to discuss everyday mistakes and our tendency towards self destructive behaviour as a species.”
The accompanying video for “Tragically Human” is set to scenes of the English sea and country sides and set to appear like hand-held film, the band continues “We filmed the video our selves using a mobile, with the intention of making it look like old home movies filmed by family members of the character in the song. But it kind of made it look like a memorial video, so decided to take the piss and make Will disappear half way through as if he had passed on to the next life. Kind of morbid, but also a bit tongue in cheek.”
Stream the B3SCI Premiere of “Tragically Human” from Leeds’ Night Owls below.
Out today on B3SCI Records is “Blame” the brand new single from Brighton risers Thyla. Praised by everybody from NME to Stereogum , who premiered “Blame” yesterday (included with the premiere is an interview with the band), to Pitchfork who called Thyla’s sound a “direct descendant(s) of Cocteau Twins and The Cure”, the kinetic post-punk-styled “Blame” is available now digitally from B3SCI Records.
Ravennas come to us as a dream pop duo out of Seattle, WA. On “Washed Away”, the twosome operate around a mix of reverb-y beachside guitars, a hooky but not entirely direct set of vocal melodies, and a rhythm track that suggests some influence/thinking through modern pop. All that adds up to a track/sound that is clearly up the B3 street. Stream “Washed Away” from Ravennas below.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
The latest iteration of our favorite 12 streams of the week is fresh off the press and out now. This week’s cover is UK newcomers APRE and their funky new one “All Yours”. The full list is included below as well select samples from Nick Dorian and Bakar.
Listen here: Spotify
APRE – All Yours
Davina Oriakhi / Preye – Vanity
Nick Dorian – Yawn
Eli Way / Cehryl – Papercut
Bakar – All In
Patrick Paige II / Syd / Kari Faux – On My Mind
Drake – Nice For What
Ravennas – Washed Away
Llovers – A Second With You
HalfNoise – She Said
Jon Hassell – Dreaming
Avid Dancer – Echoes
The NYC group Been Stellar have unveiled a new hazy rock single. “Everyone Smokes in the City” dips its toes into pop rock, lo-fi indie, and grunge. Compressed vocal harmonies skate over high-speed strumming. We’re trapped inside the spinning head of a 20-something pacing up and down the West Village.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
We loved “Sister Sadness”, the latest single from one of our favorite new bands Kidsmoke, back in February so we’re especially stoked to premiere the video for the jangly magnetic track. If you’re in England or Wales you can check out the Wrexham band live in the coming months (dates included below) starting tomorrow night in London at The Finsbury.
Stream the best new songs in emerging music with our Top 12 of the Week playlist
6th April – The Finsbury, London
7th April – Night & Day Cafe, Manchester
25th April – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff *supporting Bryde*
11th May – Focus Wales, Wrexham @ Ty Pawb
12th May – Focus Wales, Wrexham *acoustic show supporting Gaz Coombes*
24th June – Chester Live Festival, Chester
