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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.

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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)

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07-16-15

Andrea – Without You

andrea

B3’s low-key consistently-cool long-time-favorite trap-influenced eclectic-electro producer Andrea (who we recently featured for the infinite heady-atmosphere-laden Vanessa Elisha-featured track “Down”) turns the pace up a notch with his deeply-rooted herculean-bass-line-textured experimental-beat-embellished soundscape called “Without You” which is off the French producer’s “Black Magic” EP that released July 10th via Jakarta Records. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

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07-16-15

Roy Wood$ – Drama (Feat. Drake)

roywoods

Tune into the classic r&b silly-as-f boyfriend-honesty-awesomeness, slick bass-line and compelling meld of vocals on new Drake joint “Drama” which showcases the immense promise of 19-year-old Brampton (Toronto suburb) vocalist homeboy Roy Wood$ who we recently discussed in regards to Krs’s newest bootleg endeavor “All Of U”; which is a slightly more upbeat percussively-textured bass-heavy take on Wood$’s track “All of You”. As you might recall Roy Wood$ wowed us on his original track with his superbly impassioned MJ Reverbing vocals and we are not surprised to discover how much we enjoy his super-fresh accompanying vocals on “Drama” (to the one and only Drake). Evidently the refreshingly light-hearted r&b-bent track is one of several Drake pet-projects (fellow Canadian) that aired on the debut OVO Sound Radio show on Beats 1 via Apple Music. Stay tuned and be sure to check out Roy Wood$’s upcoming project EXIS which is scheduled to drop sometime in 2015. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Roy Wood$ (Soundcloud)

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07-16-15

SOCIETY – Protocol

SOCIETY

A really nice dynamic is struck between a beautifully-wandering thoughtfully-understated scratchy-vibed hip-hop essence, Brendan Lynch’s (Primal Scream, Weller, The Rakes) psychedelic leaning instrumental digs and James Girdler’s UK/Coldplay/U2 school-of-thought vocal atmospherics on new track “Protocol”; which is out via Luv Luv Luv Records on August 21st from UK indie-pop/pop-noir duo act Society (who B3 featured in 2013 for their classic UK-wrought meld of soul/r&b/gospel/hip-hop called “14 Hours”). We particularly enjoy the song’s subtle atmospheric reverb and picturesque horn-laced background terrain. Society also just released a very good deep-messaged beat-trippin’ electro-tinged 60’s-psych rock slow-burner called “We All have A Price” last month. Get into it and be sure to earmark Society for their divinely moody, intricately textured brand of broody drama-tinged vintage-leaning UK pop (noir) that we think stands out against a crowded genre of distinctly British sounding indie pop that’s currently permeating the blogosphere. Well done! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Society england (Soundcloud)

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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)

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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)

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07-16-15

Tearjerker – Perfect

tearjerker

We’re into the muted atmospheric sensibilities, classic blend of low-key instrumentals and warm hazy-vocaled presence of Toronto dream-pop group Tearjerker on their new down-tempo track “Perfect” which is off the trio’s new album Stay Wild (out on July 17). According to Tearjerker in an online interview with Impose Magazine, the group’s lush-vibe home-recorded album Stay Wild (which was carefully created over three years in the comfort of the band’s own surroundings) is partially about not allowing “life’s curve balls get you down, and alternatively to never grow too complacent even when life seems to be treating you really well”. Interestingly enough, according the the interview Tearjerker is going to have a cassette-tape release of Stay Wild but the group (in keeping with their environmentalist naturalist sensibilities on the project) plan to use natural packaging. We dig the quiet minimalist style, message and well-balanced instrumental demeanor of Tearjerker and look forward to hearing the album in its full-release form very soon. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Tearjerker (Soundcloud)

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07-15-15

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)

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07-15-15