Ghanaian-born New York MC offers up the nicely layered/100% bombs/aptly titled “African in New York”. Do not sleep.
Blitz The Ambassador 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.2
Ghanaian-born New York MC offers up the nicely layered/100% bombs/aptly titled “African in New York”. Do not sleep.
Blitz The Ambassador (Facebook)
Rating 8.2
Wow. Australian band The Red Lights new single “Chaperone” is very very good. Though (in a very good way) “Chaperone” almost feels 3 minutes 28 of non-stop choruses (the track’s actual chorus is one of our favorites of the year), “Chaperone” doesn’t lack for variation and dynamics; ably maneuvering between the quieter bits to the song’s more hectic chorus with ease. The Red Lights as they make their introductions to America are definitely a band to keep ears on.
The Red Lights 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
The MMG Bawse snarls through an intense commentary of the Trayvon Martin trial/decision on latest Mastermind release “I Wonder Why”. Ross, who is one of the best pickers of beats in rap, selects for a cold high-drama rumbler for “I Wonder Why” that is as equally intimidating as it is impactful. We love “Aston Martin Music” but Rozay is at his best on these grimier, socially current sort of records. A++
Rick Ross 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
UK producer SaneBeats styles up Bastille’s “Things We Lost In The Fire” into a sea of thumping bass and cinematic sweeps of synth and percussion on this brand new official remix. Bastille’s Bad Blood LP is out now.
SaneBeats 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.2
We’re digging this nu-disco re-styling of Phoenix’s “Trying To Be Cool” by Icelandic DJ Maestro. Sample the track below and join us in dreaming about be-iced discotheques and “tryna be cool”.
Maestro 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.3
I have been waiting to hear this studio version of “Others” for what feels like ages. This is a special song for the band, that they have been playing it at shows for a few years now, but they were holding out for that perfect moment to get in the studio and release it to the masses. B3SCI has detected some early Kings of Leon sound in this one. At their live shows I never stop dancing, but Canadian blues-rockers Indigo Joseph have their grooviest single yet with “Others”. Just wait until you hear those keys. By Jon Herriot
Indigo Joseph – OthersIndigo Joseph 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.0
The Vaccines’ first album was titled What Do You Expect From the Vaccines. Years later and two new tracks from their upcoming Melody Calling EP, things appear to be nothing at all what we’d expect. Those ace melodies are still calling, but the delivery is much softer. While the title track on Melody Calling is getting most of the attention so far, “Everybody’s Gonna Let You Down” to me is one of their best-written songs to date. Singer Justin Young has talked about how the band’s success hasn’t changed much in terms of his mental outlook on things. Here he sings, “I just burn all night, it’s a lonely life. A lonely ride.” By Bruce Rave
The Vaccines – Everybody’s Gonna Let You DownThe Vaccines (Official)
* Links and playlists from Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
A digital stamp has always been there, but the evolution of L.A.-based NazcarNation into Gangplans, brings about a duo that shifts out of indie haze-pop to highlight their production and collaboration skills. Gangplans’ track, “Bust The Way You Were” (feat. Unravel), keeps the coastal warmth and youthful energy of their former band, and brings in cool, ethereal layers of electronic and laid-back beats. By Desiree Autobee
Gangplans 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Swim Deep is a new band on the cusp of an emergence into the mainstream spotlight – having flourished amongst a newly thriving British Midlands music scene. In the 70’s and 80’s Birmingham was a hive of undiscovered rock and metal, producing legends such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. During the 90’s it was engulfed in the Madchester Britpop movement with bands like The Charlatans and Ocean Colour Scene mimicking what was happening in the North. In truth, it was missing a true musical identity of its own. Fast forward to 2012. The almost overnight success of Peace, a Cure-inspired indie-pop outfit, saw a whole host of indie labels fighting to pluck the next big thing out of dingy nightclubs like The Rainbow, The Victoria and Sunflower Lounge.
Suddenly the city seemed filled with bands making ironically indie-beach-pop music set against a dingy industrial backdrop, christened BTOWN by the locals. The fact that the city is so vast and yet the amount of live music venues is relatively small, has meant that bands have needed to network in ways different from bands in other larger cities. It’s well documented that successful locals such as Peace, Troumaca, Corelli, Wide Eyed, JAWS and Swim Deep were all regular drinking buddies when they were growing up. In turn, this created a chain of bands bringing one-another into the mainstream; Swim Deep began supporting Peace, JAWS started supporting Swim Deep and Wide Eyed have recently begun supporting JAWS. Swim Deep are undisputedly the new next-big-thing to come out of BTOWN. Dressed like ninenties throwbacks and sporting long hair like California surfers you can’t dispute their talent – The dreamy rhythms, the introspection of their lyricism and altogether rawness of their sound. Debut track “King City” flew around the social-web with a video that was paid homage to the city that was backing them, showing the boys skating around run-down graffiti-clad parts of the city and drinking in local bars. Next came “She Changes The Weather”, a laid-back, sleepy love-song that could still be adapted when the band thrashed it out live, stage-dives and all.
Having signed to RCA last year, the four-piece have broken the city limits jetting around the world to spread their sun-kissed tunes supporting the likes of Spector on tour. Swim Deep will no doubt be heading along a path of international recognition with the release of their debut album Where The Heaven Are We making its appearance this September. But they will always be a product of an incredible wave of music that’s coming out of Birmingham. By Angela Newfield
Swim Deep (Facebook)
Rating 8.2
Review by Brian Litwin
Photos by Jesse Wright
We recently spent a weekend in Temecula, California at Lake Skinner for Lightning In A Bottle 2013. For the lack of a better term, this festival is different compared to others. With a main stage being construed around a tree, workshops regarding Yoga and healthier living, free water, and an assortment of art installations, LIB (as it’s referred to) was nothing short of a memorable experience. Here’s a collection of musical and photo highlights from the festival.
Purity Ring – Thanks to typical L.A. traffic on a Friday, getting into the secluded area of Lake Skinner where LIB was taking place was a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, we arrived in time to catch Edmonton electronic duo Purity Ring’s set. Corin Roddick and Megan James seemed to be on a mission to please the crowd that night, with their noted stage lighting and drum pad pods. Though the set seemed a bit short of the midnight ending, Purity Ring played the majority of their 2012 release Shrines.
Odesza – Seattle duo Odesza threw down. Playing from their free album Summer’s Gone and ending with new tunes, as yet to be release, there was good reason why these guys were one of my 5 to see acts at LIB. Also, they played on a stage constructed with Bamboo (pretty awesome stuff).
Blackbird Blackbird – Over at the Lightning Stage, San Francisco based Mikey Maramag made some noise himself. Mixing in his “folktronica” sound with trap and some house, Blackbird Blackbird turned some heads. This was my first time seeing this guy live, but it won’t be the last.
Nicolas Jaar – This NY/Chile native is extremely talented and very young. His set featured loads of house and it will surely have people remembering his name long after LIB. Side note: his track “The Ego” with Theatre Roosevelt may be a single that has gone under the radar for way too long.
GRiZ – Speaking of young talent, GRiZ, aka Grant Kwiecinski from Detroit, MI, is younger than Nicolas Jaar and also plays saxophone over his produced beats. GRiZ also brought guitar player Dan Hacker on stage for some tracks. Playing selected songs off of Mad Liberation and End of The World Party releases, GRiZ ended Saturday night nicely.
Goldroom – Their sound has Southern California written all over it. It is radio ready and instead of being just the solo project of Josh Legg, it’s now a full band with Mereki Beach singing lead vocals. I saw Gold Room at Dim Mak for a DJ set and also live while during SXSW. “Fifteen”, “Only You Can Show Me”, “Morgan’s Bay” and “Angeles” should be in your next beach mixtape, and they sounded great live at LIB.
Giraffage – This is a no brainer. We love this kid. Throwing down crowd pleasers like “Close 2 Me” and his stellar remix of Janet Jackson’s “Someone To Call My Lover” really got the party started. Later, Giraffage mixed in possibly the best remix of 2013 (so far) and a personal favorite Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You”. However, the biggest reaction was the drop to “Money” and with friends on stage throwing out fake hundreds to the unique trap stylings of Mr. Yin, the crowd was floored. Do yourselves a favor and see this man live
gLAdiator – The LA production duo, Danl Goodman and Ian Johnson, may have had the surprise set of LIB. I had heard of them, but didn’t know what was about to transpire at this festival. How foolish of me. Their trap heavy set created so much noise that they pulled fans from other stages, who came to see what the commotion was all about. gLAdiator have a nice run of dates in the future, including a set in LA for HARD Summer. Do not miss these guys.
Tycho – Dive might be one of the more complete albums of recent history and Scott Hansen, project leader, clearly has a great and well defined artistic vision for Tycho. Stunning live visuals were set to all of the tracks. The tightness of the band evoked an energy that flowed calmly from the speakers to the crowd, capping off the perfect set to wrap up the festival. Tycho also performed a new track that had similar vibes to Dive but was much more bass and house influenced.
Lightning In A Bottle Festival (Info)
South London band The Hics offer beautiful and sweeping indie-leaning R&B on new track “Tangle”. The track is previewed here from the band’s forthcoming EP of the same name which is out August 19th on Nero Records UK.
The Hics (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
Bolstered by a smooth Janet Jackson “I Get So Lonely” sample, “Shine” is new from West Coast newcomers Audio Push. Break it down, break it down.
Audio Push (Facebook)
Rating 8.1
