Big Wild (great name) hooks up the feel good, “summertime in March”, big vibes on new one “La Brisa”. Blending pitched up major-keyed vocals w/ hooky piano stabs and beachside electronics, “La Brisa” will (guaranteed) make your “March 5th, 2014” way less sucky. Tip to the pros at HD.
Big Wild (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.6
On new track “My Medyk”, UK duo Face and Heel do the boy-girl nuvo-R&B/pop thing to near perfection. There’s not a guitar wah, a drum loop, a melodic line out of place on “My Medyk” its that skillfully crafted and streamlined; particularly standout is Sinead McMillan’s soothing flawless alto vocal. Do not miss.
Face+Heel 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.7
The indomitable La Sera (Katy Goodman, ex-Vivian Girls) makes a distortion-fueled power pop return w/ “Losing To The Dark”. About the record, Goodman called it, “”I wanted the new La Sera record to sound like Lesley Gore fronting Black Flag” and while (RIP to the great Lesley Gore) “Losing To The Dark” isn’t quite that, it does do well to marry that described 60’s pop melodic dynamic to a bed of turned-up, thin and blustery guitars. Hour of the Dawn is the new record from La Sera and its’ due May 13th on Hardly Art.
La Sera 
(Facebook) (Hardly Art)
Rating 8.3
The COIN boys drop off a slightly more honed but no less accessible new indie pop gem with “It’s Okay”. The hooks are a bit sharper, the placement and arrangement of the instrumental just that little more precise; however, the charisma of melody and pop immediacy, the formula that COIN has successfully rode thusfar are still very much present (and perhaps here at their strongest realization). COIN’s focused, they’re after it and we’re (along with a great swath of the blogosphere) delighted to be party to it.
COIN 
(Official)
Rating 8.0
The impressive Odesza chalk up an equally impressive placement credit as they join M83, Ellie Goulding, A$AP Rocky, etc on the ostensibly blogger-friendly Divergent soundtrack with their big drums, big synths new mix for Pretty Lights’ “Lost and Found”.
ODESZA 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.4
Hoodlem, the Melbourne AU-based synth-hop act that inscrutably swept unto the blogosphere last year with heavily-lauded singles “Firing Line” and “Through”, release a strong return with “Old Friend”. Minimalist and soulful and melodically precise in all the best, most viscerally grabbing ways, “Old Friend” is the repeat salvo of a band that, on it’s current exponential trajectory, can only continue to command larger and larger platforms and audiences. With Hoodlem, we are party to the genesis of a twosome of true and real stars. Sample our premiere of “Old Friend” below.
Hoodlem 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 9.0
The UK alt-R&B train kept rollin’ w/ its latest arbiter Southampton-based Barnaby. Sound-wise in a lane between the more abstract melancholy of James Blake and the more direct plaintive melancholy of Raleigh Ritchie, Barnaby makes a standout strong first foray into an otherwise crowded genre with “Things We Could Do”. A++
Barnaby 
: (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.6
The Big King Remembered In Time grabs the BIGGEST executive Def Jam’s ever seen, noted character actor Rick Ross for the silky smooth low-ridin of “New Agenda”. The first entry in K.R.I.T.’s “Week of K.R.I.T.” which will feature seven days of new and unreleased material from the Mississippi rapper. Boss Ross could body a mid-tempo beat like that on “New Agenda” in his (we’re imagining very expensive) sleep and he does well to play laid-back foil to KRIT’s more methodical on-the-1 flow.
Big K.R.I.T. 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Don’t miss it. Every Monday night this March, Moses Sumney will be the artist in residence at the Bootleg Bar in LA. Not only is ‘The Bootleg’ the place to be on Mondays, but if you haven’t been keen to the Moses Sumney tip yet, then this could be your last chance (as a local) to get familiar with this one-of-a-kind singer/songwriter talent before he takes the music universe by storm. This Monday come watch Moses’ paint a canvas of soulful performance live, and along with a standout cast of support sets from rising singer/songwriter stars Vikesh Kapoor and Jerome Holloway.
Doors for the event are at 8:00pm and the show is for ages 21+. More details for the show can be found HERE.
Also, a tip for the early birds, drop by The Bootleg early that night from 7:00pm – 8:00pm for an open bar and exclusive pre-show set from blossoming indie phenom Zella Day.
Moses Sumney 
(Facebook)
Bootleg Theater ) (Complete Moses Residency Event Info)
Fear of Tigers continues down the road of great production. Just released upon the world is “The Legend Of Ian Usher”, an unf-tastic, synthy funk jam that is just too infectious to listen to at a low volume. A bad day is damn near impossible with this track on the stereo. By Desiree Autobee
Fear of Tigers Traces : (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.6
SF producer whiz kid Giraffage puts a nice flip on the much hyped Stockholm native Mapei’. Throwing some signature synths and 808 hits over the soulful vocalizing of “Don’t Wait”, Giraffage makes another incredible remix. Favorite part of the remix has to be that breakdown at 2:00. Straight head-nod inducing. By Brian Litwin
Giraffage (Facebook)
Rating 8.5
The new single from Brooklyn by way of Chicago spaceman Moon Boots is a slight step away from his bouncy, tropical disco feel. More raw and full of emotion “Don’t Ask Why” features the vocal talent of Crystal Fighters’ Kyiki, who shines on this track. This latest offering from the French Express solider is his closest thing to a pop song yet. By Brian Litwin
Moon Boots 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
