L.A.-based trio Wildcat! Wildcat! put on for the quiche loving set (W! W! tweet at us and we can talk quiche recipes) with it’s 8-o’clock-in-the-bedroom jam “Mr. Quiche”. Like on a tune for tune basis, this is one of the better pop melodies we’ve heard so far this year. So yr probably not going to want to miss out on “Mr. Quiche” now, before you hear it covered by Adam Levine on “The Voice” next week.
Wildcat! Wildcat! – Mr. QuicheWildcat! Wildcat! 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.5
By Trevor Meyer
Shimmering Stars come to us from Merritt, British Columbia. “Hold on Magnolia” is an ambient slow burner that manages to shine as a bright light amongst the modern, oversaturated shoegaze scene. Originally written by Jason Molina, this tune draws inspiration from some of the classic early 60’s artists such as Del Shannon and The Everly Brothers. Shimmering Stars’ “Hold on Magnolia” channels the inventiveness of the past greats and transforms into a melancholic, yet hopeful piece. A perfect supplement for relaxation and contemplation.
Shimmering Stars – Hold On MagnoliaShimmering Stars 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.1
Cults take on Commander Cohen’s latter day jam “Everybody Knows” for an upcoming cover LP Old Ideas With New Friends. The set also includes tracks from Bradford Cox and Cold War Kids. Cults choice to put an almost “Runaway” feel under the track (a cold rumbling guitar supporting one-the-ones single note piano stabs) ably maintains the original’s isolation and coolness while keeping Uncle Len’s tune up to date. Thumbs up.
Cults – Everbody Knows (Leonard Cohen)Cults 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
The title track from APTBS’ new EP, which is due out tomorrow, is a compact piece of dark (loud) pop. “Onwards To the Wall” sees the Strangers at a place in their progression as a band where the hooks are a bit more plentiful and up in the mix and the rhythms are a bit more syncopated. The band is still loud as hell (Early in their career, APTBS were sometimes touted as “The Loudest Band in New York”) but there’s more of a tune in this new track then in some of the band’s previous material. We’re definitely psyched to dig into the rest of the EP (which you can do on hypem).
A Place to Bury Strangers – Onwards To the WallA Place To Bury Strangers (Facebook)
Rating 8.2
Chicago collective Company of Thieves recently cut this stripped-down cover of Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down”. The band adds a sweet authentic touch to the classic which features a starlit vocal from lead singer Genevieve Schatz, helping give anyone a reason to stand their ground.
You can also take a look at a live performance of the song below with some additional tunes and interview coverage courtesy of the good peeps at Lightbox Sessions.
Company of Thieves – Won’t Back Down (Tom Petty Cover)Company of Thieves 
(Facebook) (iTunes)
Rating 8.2
Jhameel clearly isn’t afraid to tread in any ‘sacred’ territory of Pop music. His cover of Sir Paul’s “Blackbird” is a breathy and soulful adaptation that seems to share the same type of appreciation for The Beatles catalog as say, perhaps, a young MJ may have. Preview the song and watch his performance of it below.
Jhameel – Blackbird (Beatles Cover)Jhameel (Facebook)
The Beatles 
( iTunes)
Rating 8.2
“Big Jet Plane” is one of those songs that lends itself incredibly well to remixes. The simple, easily maleable melodic syncopations, it’s soulful/tuneful vocals, many of the right ingredients that make for the best indie pop remixes are here. That said, LA’s David Dann is certainly not the first producer to attempt to harness “Big Jet Plane”s extensive remix resources (a quick search of hypem brings up a shitload of “BJP” mixes). But just because the ingredients are great does not that A-level remix make. (again flip through that hypem search …if you dare) David Dann brings it here though with easily one of the best 2 or 3 remixes of this song we’ve heard. The hooks are big, the dynamics are great, and the tuneful-ness of the original is tastefully applied in the track. Thumbs up from us.
Angus & Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane (David Dann Remix)David Dann (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Contributed by Chris Gedos
Hey every band from the past thirty years! Josef K called! They’d like their royalty check now! How fitting that fellow Scots Franz Ferdinand would be indebted right down to a name similarly lifted from the dawn of modernism. It’s impossible to do Kafka justice, but Josef K sure gives it a good shot on their only album, The Only Fun In Town. “It’s Kinda Funny” was recorded, according to frontman Paul Haig, in the shadow of Ian Curtis’s death. It’s one of the few albums from the period which can go toe-to-toe with the Mancunians.
Josef K – It’s Kinda FunnyRating 8.85
Bands like Houndmouth are why rock and roll can never die. When there’s great songs involved, there will always be people that can pick up their guitars and channel the sounds that we’ve heard for decades in exciting ways. Keeping cuts like “Houston Train” and “Penitentiary” on repeat makes me want to dig back in my record collection to listen to some of the classic rock records that got me into music in the first place. With only three tunes to their name and a debut EP expected in early spring, Houndmouth are well worth the 10 minutes of press play that you see below.
Houndmouth 
(Soundcloud) (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
This A-level remix for “Sail Away” from electronic heavyweight champs Cut Copy joins remixes of the track from Aeroplane and Cosmic Kids on a new DFA release. Cut Copy takes an already “pretty good” song, one of their better tunes on In the Grace of Your Love, levels up all its the head ringin’ components and blasts it into some kind of heater stratosphere. That’s something you’re gonna want to be apart of. Hit that play button.
The Rapture – Sail Away (Cut Copy Remix)Cut Copy 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
By Chris Gedos
Testosterone was at max capax Tuesday night for Fidlar at The Smell, on Main St. between 2nd and 3rd in Downtown Los Angeles. Downtown LA, for those of you unfamiliar, is a sort of platform 9 ¾ where one can escape from the rigmarole Hollywood wheel of fortune. One can go to the Smell, soak up the grittiness and easily imagine themselves in Milwaukee, Cleveland, or Rochester, N.Y., discounting the January evening in the high-50’s.The graffiti-laden walls and sawdust floors provide ideal environs for Fidlar, who are first and foremost a punk band.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these guys each drank a couple cans of Monster before their set! To say they played with a fiery intensity would be an understatement. They play louder and more abrasive than on their EP, DIYDUI (great name). But they’re a punk band who can make serious inroads with the indie rock tastemakers. We can all get down with young punks who tip their caps to Iggy and The Stooges. And if you’re a real punk and stuck in suburbia, Fidlar might be a band to change your modus operandi. I can see these guys playing Coachella just as easily as Warped Tour, which is no easy accomplishment.
I nearly saw a fight break out in the mosh. The lead singer’s mic was stolen for thirty seconds. And Fidlar even covered Blink 182’s “Dammit”, a great song whatever your predilections. Vice was on hand to video all the debauchery. Just another night at The Smell for Fidlar.
FIDLAR – Max Can’t Surf
Rating: 8.444
Sam Sure & Giacomo are new electronic duo out of London that do beats-heavy atmospheric pop. We can dig that and we can dig the pair’s new track for “Dark Inside”. Not unlike the tune’s title, “Dark Inside” is dark & brooding at it’s core, but with enough punch in drums and lift in the vocal track not to totally bum you out.
Sam Sure & Giacomo – Dark InsideSam Sure & Giacomo 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.0
