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M.I.L.K. – Everything You Know

milk

Zone out to the the horn-infused bongo-subtle 70’s-groovy funk undertones, cheery sweetly-reverberant pleasantly-subdued (Carpenters-inspired) vocals and brightly reminiscent summer-breezy feels of new jam “Everything You Know” the latest track from Copenhagen-based M.I.L.K.; a new group (headed by vocalist Emil Wilk) who B3 recently covered for their soulful and dreamy career-debut track “If We Want To”; both songs are off of M.I.L.K.’s upcoming no-details-yet debut EP. Stay tuned. Reviewed by Erin Shay

M.I.L.K. denmark (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
08-04-15

Wayde – Eleanor

wayde

We like the far-out atmospherics and mid 90’s to early 00’s school-of-rock vibe of new Essex, UK band Wayde who recently debuted their career-first-single “Eleanor”; which we really enjoy for its indie-hazy guitar-riff-heavy instrumentals, slow carefully-muted dramatic-paused pace, luminously-melodic fine-tuned calm-simplicity and sultry-sensitive quiet-shout vocals. Excellent track. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

WAYDE england (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
08-03-15

Fake Palms – Sparkles

fakepalms

Fake Palms is a four-piece Toronto-based lo-fi post-punk noise-pop group (begun in 2011 as a solo bedroom music project of front man Michael Le Riche) that prides itself on a natural effects-free style, sensible pop-driven vocals and righteously-heavy garage-gritty indie instrumentals from the group’s newest members (Slim Twig drummer Simone TB, Patrick Marshall of Burning Love/Nice Head and Lane Halley from Hooded Fang). With the addition of the new members (in 2015) Fake Palms is set unleash their fully-raucous self-titled debut album (which is based on demos from le Riche) via Buzz on August 28, 2015. We totally dig the EP’s stellar new poppy-hummable feedback-heavy distorted-rhythm-riffed second single “Sparkles” (which follows the group’s April career-debut track “Sun Drips”) for its finely-tuned balance between a loaded barrage of heavy-metallic-percussion-led instrumentals and le Riche’s divinely-spun poppy vocals. Apparently, Fake Palms created “Sparkles” in two very focused hours; Le Riche says it was “an experiment to see how off center we could get musically, counterbalanced with classic pop melodies… at the end of the day we’re trying to make music that you can hum along to”. Be sure to catch the new instrumentally-improved Fake Palms on tour during the late summer/early fall starting with an August 22nd start date in Montreal. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

8/22 Montreal, QC @ Bar L’Esco
8/23 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
8/24 Brooklyn, NY @ Palisades
8/25 Baltimore, MD @ The Crown
8/26 Washington, DC @ DC9
8/27 Chapel Hill, NC @ The Cave
8/28 Athens, GA @ Caledonia Lounge
8/29 Nashville, TN @ The Crying Wolf
8/30 Detroit, MI @ PJ’s Lager House
9/10 Toronto, ON @ Silver Dollar
9/11 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
9/12 London, ON @ Call The Office

Fake Palms (Facebook)

reviewed by
07-30-15

IYES – No Wonder

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IYES are the Brighton duo of Josh Christopher and Melis Soyaslanová. We expected big things from IYES in 2015 and are happy to hear that conjecture realized on the pair’s sweetly-riotous self-affirming new track “No Wonder”, which we dig for its beautifully harmonic vocals, emotive conversation-like cheer-me-up songwriting dynamic and groovy boldly-punctuating perfectly-timed synth accents. Written, produced and mixed by IYES, ”No Wonder” is off the the duo’s recently-released Love By Mistake-rep’ed 4-song EP which includes the catchy a-side tune “So Crazy”. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

IYES england (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-29-15

Ambassadeurs – Looking At You (Villette Remix)

ambassadeurs

Go deep-surface with the upbeat indie-dance reveries of London-based Abkhazian DJ/producer Siné Buyuka, also known as Villette, on her spaced-out new atmospherics-enhanced remix of B3-featured C. Duncan-vocaled Ambassadeurs track “Looking At You”; which also recently saw a dance-centric boogie-funk-swaggered makeover from veteran beat-maker/producer Moods (also covered by B3). If you are into Villette’s low-key brightly-focused fix of “Looking At You” (like we are) stay tuned for more tracks from her upcoming debut EP out via Injazero Records this October. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Ambassadeurs england (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-29-15

NNECTARS – Cruise

nnectars

Lose yourself in the light and breezy synth-led subtlety, soulful beat-driven essence and pleasant natural-vibe percussive melange of “Cruise” the original beat-driven instrumental
career-debut-gem from rhythm-atmospheric electro producer NNECTARS, a new artist who is currently working on more chillout tunes to accompany you on that sublimely-grounding back-to-basics walk-in-the-woods. We dig it. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

NNECTARS (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-28-15

Leo Kalyan – Silver Linings

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Tune into the profoundly-adorning r&b songwriting, piano-led melody and quietly-laid sensibly-subtle beats on “Silver Linings” the delicately-voiced ultra-contemporary EP-namesake track from new B3-artist fave London-based organic-beat-maker and singer-songwriter Leo Kalyan. “Silver Linings” is Kalyan’s third track to drop in about a month off his new “Silver Linings” EP (which is out today). Gorgeous song! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Leo Kalyan (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-24-15

Ëlē – Sweet Love (Feat. William Bolton)

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We like the lyrically sumptuous, soft and sweet, straightforward indie-infused vocal style of r&b singer-songwriter William Bolton on his lavish new downtempo beat-infused collaboration “Sweet Love”; an outstanding joint between Bolton and San Diego-based veteran DJ and deep-house/d&b/hip-hop/funk Producer Ëlē. We are enthusiastic about this great double artist discovery! Stay tuned for more outstanding soulful music on the horizon from both vibrant new artists. Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Ëlē california (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-20-15

Transviolet – Girls Your Age

transviolet

We like the colorful-composition artistic weave of the lovely reverb’d main vocals, high-angelic-pitch accompanying background vocal melody and moody-sensational movingly-emotive melancholy undercurrent on “Girls Your Age” the new slow-mo-creative instrumentally-scenic debut track from NY-bred LA-based newcomer four-piece indie-pop band Transviolet; who say the track is about finding a balance between identity expectations and that free-spirited f-u artistic be-yourself vibe that is so important to foster in life (for young women especially). According to Transviolet regarding their vocals-led track, “It’s complicated- coming into your own. Especially for girls. The world wants you to fit a role- be smart OR be sexy OR be modest- they want you to fit into some tidy, little, one-size-fits-all box. The truth is, you are human, and you aren’t meant to be just one thing. You can be innocent, sexy, elegant, dirty, beautiful, and flawed all in the same instance, and you don’t have to let anyone flatten you out into some one dimensional caricature of yourself. Fuck that. You are multidimensional, and you are capable of being everything at once”. Empowering stuff. Transviolet plans to release more material this year so stay tuned! Reviewed by Erin Shay.

Transviolet california (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-17-15

Roy Wood$ – Drama (Feat. Drake)

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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)

reviewed by
07-16-15

Jack J – Thirstin’

jackj

The pleasantly subtle dreamily-voiced dance track “Thirstin'”, new from Canadian producer Jack J, showcases an amazing ultra-smooth funk guitar riff, bubbly marimba percussion, dub-reverb accents and vibrant jazz-style piano.. Stay tuned for the the vinyl b-side track called “Atmosphere”, which judging from the Soundcloud preview is also very good. Reviewed By Erin Shay.

Jack J (Label)

reviewed by
07-13-15

Ryan Egan – Restoration

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B3 recently covered the ingenious lavishly-spun Tei Shi-featuring LUCA solo-side-project first track “Best On” from Luca Buccellati; one half of Brooklyn-raised producer duo Yellerkin who also produces music for an array of emerging-talent artists. We’re knocked out by his latest collaboration, “Restoration” for its soulful, deeply-percolating ambiance, vibey drawn-out beats and divinely-gorgeous tender heart-felt vocals from a new-find singer-songwriter Ryan Egan who makes his career debut online with the track. We’re taken with Egan’s emotive beyond-excellent refreshingly-vulnerable falsetto vocal style and big-picture deeply thought-out lyrics. As Egan indicates, ”It’s a song about hitting the reset button, a rebirth. It’s something that will and should happen many times throughout our lives, artistic and otherwise. It’s good to acknowledge where we’ve gone wrong and not be afraid to expose our faults so that we can move forward and grow in a positive way. I think everyone can relate to that.” We whole-heatedly relate to that and very much look forward to hearing more from the superbly-talented little-known artist Egan who we think has incredible promise. Stay tuned for more from both artists who are surprisingly (in a sense) at the same fresh and enthusiastic place in launching their respective solo careers. Excellent collaboration. Reviewed by Erin Shay

Ryan Egan (Soundcloud)

reviewed by
07-13-15