“Falling Short” is new from Liverpudlian singer Holly Fletcher a/k/a Låpsley. The centerpiece of many highlights within “Falling Short” is Ms. Fletcher’s restrained but heart-wringing melodic phrasing and vocal performance. “Falling Short” is taken from a new release compiled by Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac entitled, Annie Mac Presents.
Låpsley 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.4
Our friends from The North Rainer + Grimm take on another stunning flip, this time in the form of Drake-affiliated internet faves Majid Jordan‘s “A Place Like This”. Already a stellar B3-backed track “A Place Like This” gets the late night booty-shaker treatment the Torontonian duo. In a seemingly vast and endless sea of monster remixes on Soundcloud, R&G continue to set a standard. We can’t wait to hear some original tunes! Reviewed by Brian Litwin
Rainer + Grimm 
: (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.7
Most successful bands endure a long haul before they gain recognition, but Alt-J’s career shot up like a comet upon the release of their debut album. The band’s success culminated in their winning the coveted 2012 Mercury Prize in the UK. Enter their new album This Is All Yours. It’s really laid-back, even more so than the first record. Besides the three songs heard prior to release which are all highlights, make sure you hear “Warm Foothills”. Its choral beauty is stunning. Joe Newman’s vocals are enhanced with spliced words contributed by Connor Oberst, Lianne La Havas, Sivu, and Marika Hackman. Contributed by Bruce Rave.
* Links and playlists from Bruce Rave’s weekly new music show can be found on his blog and be sure follow Bruce on Twitter too!
Alt-J (Official)
Rating: 8.8
World conqueror James Vincent McMorrow is releasing a deluxe version of his acclaimed Post-Tropical LP on November 10th. One extra from the re-release package, which also includes two other new tracks and remixes from The 1975, Atu, and DPAT, is the unreleased rhythm-driven folk gem “You Know”. You can stream “You Know” before and do look out for JVM touring Europe and America this fall (we’ve included those dates below).
Oct 05 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire – London, United Kingdom
Oct 07 – Kampnagel – Hamburg, Germany
Oct 08 – Vega Musikkens Hus – Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 09 – Huxleys – Berlin, Germany
Oct 11 – Gloria – Cologne, Germany
Oct 12 – Cirque Royal – Brussels, Belgium
Oct 13 – La Cigale – Paris, France
Oct 14 – Tivoli Vredenburg Grote Zaal – Utrecht, Netherlands
Oct 16 – Theaterfabrik – Munich, Germany
Oct 17 – Biko – Milano, Italy
Oct 19 – Mascotte – Zurich, Switzerland
Oct 20 – FRI-SON – Fribourg, Switzerland
Oct 22 – Sala Apolo – Barcelona, Spain
Oct 24 – Joy Eslava – Madrid, Spain
Nov 01 – The Kessler – Dallas, TX
Nov 02 – The Belmont – Austin, TX
Nov 04 – The Mercy Lounge – Nashville, TN
Nov 05 – The Variety Playhouse – Atlanta, GA
Nov 06 – Cat’s Cradle – Carrboro, NC
Nov 08 – The Lincoln – Washington, DC
Nov 10 – Town Hall – New York, NY
Nov 12 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Nov 13 – First Avenue – Minneapolis, MN
Nov 16 – The Neptune – Seattle, WA
Nov 17 – The Aladdin – Portland, OR
Nov 19 – The Fillmore – San Francisco, CA
Nov 20 – Ace Hotel – Los Angeles, CA
James Vincent McMorrow 
(Official) (Facebook) (iTunes)
Rating 9.0
Young & Sick are back today with a simple and inventive cover of a classic track, “Breathe” by Télépopmusik. A long time favorite song of the artist, Young and Sick had this to say about “Breathe”, “Breathe was my ignore-the-rain anthem and perfect hangover cure for the years I spent in North London. It feels like a timeless song. Angela McClusky’s smokey voice always stole my heart.” We couldn’t agree much more as “Breathe” is really one of those perfect timeless pop songs. Listen below.
Young & Sick 
(Tumblr)
Rating 8.0
It wasn’t long for Cali synth-pop artist Lincoln Jesser to set the music blogosphere a-buzz. After circulating online a series of high-flying tracks, the young songwriter looks toward his latest creation, debut album Modern Color. B3’s Geovani Donaires recently had the chance to catch up with the rising pop star to chat about his production prowess, high school bands, and (…of course) Elton John. Have a look at their conversation below.
B3: It’s an exciting time for you. Your debut album, ‘Modern Color’ drops on the 23rd of this month. Is there a theme to the album? And, were there any noteworthy inspirations while working on it?
LJ: It is an exciting time! This album has been in the works for about a year literally, but from a philosophical standpoint I’d say I’ve been building up to it since I moved out to LA 5 years ago. It’s a reflection of who I am not only as a musician but as a human being, about who we all are, about what we have in common and the things that distract us from happiness. But it’s also about remembering that most of the time, it’s better to say “fuck the over-analysis” and just enjoy life for what it is. Each of us has so much power to paint our individual realities the way we desire, more power than any generation of humans has ever had, so it’s up to us to use Modern Color to our advantage.
B3: You produce and write everything yourself, do you ever find that as a liberating or more confined experience?
LJ: Most of the time I find it liberating because I’m a bit of a control freak, but it can definitely get lonely and frustrating too. When I’m in the thick of working on a song, I find myself unable to really focus on anything else…if I’m stuck for a while on a particular lyric or passage, my life tends to go on standby. And there have definitely been times where my relationships have been affected by that. But the feeling when I finally connect the dots makes the loneliness and frustration worthwhile…and my real friends forgive me 🙂
B3: You’ve been in bands before. You were Yuna’s guitarist before going solo. Was being a solo artist always Plan A? When did the idea of starting your own band cross your mind?
LJ: I started writing my own solo songs at 13, but didn’t really begin performing until I started a band with my friends in high school. While I was involved with it, the band was pretty much my main musical focus. The summer after graduation was when I first really began exploring what I could achieve on my own, via a more electronic musical medium. I never had a very specific vision of what my long-term project would look like beforehand, I think it evolved pretty naturally. Yuna and I share management (Indie-Pop) which is how we met and became friends; she needed a guitarist/programmer and I was of course a huge fan of hers with a huge desire to get out and learn and experience live music on a much larger scale than anything I’d done before. But yeah, throughout all our touring together, I tended to spend my downtime in the green room corners, making my own stuff with a laptop and headphones (sometimes to everyone else’s dismay, haha).
B3: I noticed on Instagram you have a picture of Elton John. What’s interesting and awesome about this picture is the comment you posted stating, “he hit replay so many times that he hurt himself.” Tell us about that?
LJ: It’s so funny, so many people have asked me about that. Unfortunately, I’ve never actually met Sir Elton…I just came across that image and decided to Instagram it as a joke! I guess it looked like a real iPhone snap though. lol
B3: You recently performed at the Sunset Music Festival. How did you prepare yourself before stepping out on stage? Do you have any special or crazy rituals?
LJ: Yeah, I performed at The Roxy, which was a big milestone for me. I’ve seen a ton of inspiring shows there since I moved to the city…to perform there myself was definitely an honor. I like to do some pushups before my sets, to get the blood pumping a little bit. And occasionally a shot of Jameson.
B3: What’s next for Lincoln Jesser? What does 2015 hold?
LJ: I’ve got some visuals on the way for a few songs off Modern Color. Besides that, plenty of new music. I don’t plan on slowing down any time soon.
Lincoln Jesser 
(Soundcloud)(Facebook) (Spotify) (iTunes)
Rating 8.4
Words and Photos By Russ Ramos
The much lauded Seattle duo found their way to the iconic Fonda Theater in Hollywood this past Saturday. The sold out gig delighted fans with thundering drums and a brilliant light show. Personally, I was having a terrible night till Odesza took the stage and things soon took a complete 180 degree turn. I felt alive, and full of positivity just by hearing their music. Their live sound is certainly not one to miss.
ODESZA 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
“Temporary Life Lines” is the new single from Work Drugs upcoming Runaways LP. The track is framed by melodic piano chords and a vaguely disco-y guitar that do well to boost up and complement the song’s infectious set of vocal lines. Runaways is out October 7th on Bobby Cahn Records.
Work Drugs 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3796
Another day, another fantastic Poolside remix. Poolside’s (joined by Fatnotronic) target this time is a 1977 track (which we had not heard before today) from Brazilian soul/MPB artist Cassiano, which according to Poolside is a set favorite of Balearic scene DJs.
Poolside (Facebook)
Rating 8.2
Manchester UK’s Gorgeous Bully make their B3 debut with the neatly reverb-y jangle jam “925”. The track is a component part of 80N7 , a new Cassette Day special compilation featuring unreleased songs from some of Rough Trade NYC’s favorite DIY bands.
Gorgeous Bully (Facebook)
Rating: 8.8
