We like the subtly tantalizing word play, classical emotive-blast choral-string interludes and sweetly catchy melody on “Drive” from Oh Wonder, a.k.a. Anthony and Josephine, London’s B3-highlighted electro-pop songwriter duo who we have covered here numerous times on the blog for their one-track-a-month-for-a-year series. August’s song “Drive” is Oh Wonder’s latest (and last) installment prior to the release of their self-titled LP on September 4th. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Oh Wonder 
(Facebook)
SoCal favorites (and B3 favorites) Cayucas and Barsuk Records band Hibou (all great) pair up for a show at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles this Friday, August 14. Secretly Canadian’s Cayucas released sophomore LP Dancing at the Blue Lagoon in June (which we liked) and play a Southern California-inflected version of anthemic indie pop. Hibou, the new project of former Craft Spells drummer Peter Michel, will a release a self-titled debut album next month from which the shoegaze-y kaleidoscope of reverb-drenched guitar sounds of “Dissolve” we’re rather into. We’re stoked to give away two passes to Friday night’s show, to enter email us here by Noon Pacific on Wednesday August 12th. Further details including ticket info for the gig can be found on the El Rey’s website.
B3 fave L.A. band Sego’s latest stream is “Fool Around” from upcoming “A Long Long Way From The Fringe” EP out September 11 on Dine Alone Records. The L.A. twosome ably blend pop primacy and a keen feel for rhythm and song construction on “Fool Around” which we’ve been bumping on the reg. The Kitsune-approved Sego are working on a full length LP due for release in early 2016. Stream/get psyched with the B3 Premiere of “Fool Around” below.
Sego 
(Facebook)
Portsmouth UK upstarts Kassassin Street debut lead track “Radio Silence” from their forthcoming first EP. The five piece have been accumulating a bit of a buzz on England South Coast, selling out shows in Portsmouth, Southampton and Worthing as well as appearances in the Hype Machine Popular Chart and Spotify Viral Chart. “Radio Silence” is a kinetic jolt English power pop of the best sort bridging accessibility and songwriting smarts with a visceral guitar-led aesthetic that is very impressive. We’re very pleased to B3 Premiere “Radio Silence” from Kassassin Street below.
Kassassin Street (Soundcloud) (Facebook)
We like the lighthearted sweetly-commanding bongo-simple boogie-down funk-town disco-infused pop vibrations of new song “Waiting For You” from London-based NZ-born disco electro-collective Flamingo Pier off their debut EP called “FPC001”. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Flamingo Pier (Soundcloud)
We’re into Burger Records recently picked up new one “Too Bad So Sad” in which songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/composer Michael Rault relishes his listener in some quite outstanding funk-guitar-infused psych-rock-digs that meshes seamlessly with his luminously-melodic poppy-hooked vocals. “Too Bad So Sad” is off Rault’s recent “Living Daylight” EP (out now) which (according to his press kit) is a sonic fusion of rambling psychedelica wrought with Rault’s own special concoction of life-encompassing wacky-bittersweet motives weaved into the songwriting. Check out the EP for yourself and look for Canadian artist Michael Rault on his UK/European tour this November. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
UK / EU Tour Dates
Nov 8 – Leeds, England – Oporto
Nov 9 – Manchester, England – Castle Hotel
Nov 10 – London, England – The Victoria
Nov 11 – Guildford, England – Boileroom
Nov 13 – Newcastle, England – Think Tank
Nov 14 – Leicester, England – Soundhouse
Nov 18 – Antwerp, Belgium – De Roma w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 20 – Lille, France – La Peniche w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 21 – Brugge, Belgium – Cactus w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 25 – Strasbourg, France – La Laiterie Club w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 26 – Munster, Germany – Gleis 22 w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 27 – Mainz, Germany – Schon Schon w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 28 – Konstanz, Germany – Kulturladen w/ Jacco Gardner
Nov 30 – Nuremberg, Germany – Club Stereo w/ Jacco Gardner
Dec 1 – Tubingen, Germany – Sudhaus w/ Jacco Gardner
Dec 2 – Yverdon, Switzerland – L’Amalgame w/ Jacco Gardner
Dec 3 – Zurich, Switzerland – Bogen F w/ Jacco Gardner
Dec 4 – Nancy, France – L’Autre Canal Club w/ Jacco Gardner
Dec 5 – Nantes, France – Stereolux w/ Jacco Gardner
Dec 6 – Caen, France – Le Cargo Club w/ Jacco Gardner
Michael Rault 
(Soundcloud)
We are wowed by the indie psych-rock trappings of Melbourne male-female duo Manor (Caitlin Duff and Nathaniel Morse) on their soulful sweetly-quieting modest-cadenced guitar-driven Led-Zeppelin-deep new one called “Can You Hear Me Talking At You” which we like immensely for its schmaltzy 70’s lounge vibe vocal style, radiant glitter-tinged subtler-than-day synth accents and brightly-blanched guitar riffing. “Can You Hear Me Talking at You” is the title track off the duo’s forthcoming soon-to-released debut album and is the first material from Manor since their 2013 “Architecture” EP. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
MANOR 
(Soundcloud)
Brighton male-female duo True Noir capture our utmost attention with their lightly-treading sense-saturating charmer melody on “Creation” a lovely slightly-hazy golden-edged guitar-tinged ethereal beauty which is richly-laden with the sort of profound emotive power that makes it a potent candidate for a movie soundtrack. Excellent dynamic! Reviewed by Erin Shay.
True Noir (Soundcloud)
Earlier this year B3 covered the impeccable modern pop style of UK singer-songwriter RHODES on “Turning Back Around” the excellent single from his debut “Wishes” EP which is out on September 18th. We like RHODES’ latest (totally breathtaking) installment from the EP called “Let It All Go” on which RHODES joins forces with remix-darling BIRDY. Recently premiered as Huw Stephens’ Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1 new track “Let It All Go” is a quietly-enamoring standout-timeless pop-ballad which deeply and artfully showcases a beautifully-simple soft-percolating raw-emotion chaotic-harmonic male-female artistic cohesion that might just land the track on some singer-songwriter best-of-lists for 2015. Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Rhodes (Soundcloud)
“Eat Your Friends” is an immediately-catchy melody-tempered r&b-vocaled deep-house house jam from Barcelona’s sexy-anonymous producer legend TÂCHES which captivates our sentiments in deep with its fun-loving percussion-led late-night-dance-grind background dynamic, incessant subtle-hued baroque-reverb-y bass-line and the sonorously-sultry sweet-magnetic r&b-slick vocals of LA-artist Shoffy (who is new to B3). Reviewed by Erin Shay.
TÂCHES 
(Soundcloud)
Take respite in freshly-spun vintage-inspired sonics of the delectably danceable dream-pop atmospherics, harmonic-repetitive melody-laced vocals and trippy-fantastical synth-driven disco-tinged trimmings of new track “Never Gonna Take You Back” from LA multi-instrumentalist duo Satchmode off their upcoming August-release “Afterglow” EP (which features the mixing skills of Grammy Award-winning sound engineer Robert Orton). Reviewed by Erin Shay.
Satchmode (Soundcloud)
