Every chance that I get to post about rising R&B artist Mikky Ekko, I take it. This week he released the official music video for his hit, the Clams Casino-produced, Ryan Hemsworth-remixed “Pull Me Down”. Check it out above and feel free to stream it below if ya can’t get enough. Mikky is currently working on a full-length, so stay tuned.
Back in September of last year, we featured Scottish synth-pop group CHVRCHES and their irresistible hit “The Mother We Share”. Since then they’ve gained the attention of bigwigs like The Guardian, BBC Radio 1 and now finally, after selling out a number of North American tour dates, the U.S. media. Their latest single, the shimmery, sunny treat “Recover,” proves that the coming waves of praise are well-deserved. Check it out below and, if you’re not already along for the ride, hop on the bandwagon.
CHVRCHES will release their Recover EP on March 26th via Glassnote.
The original version of “The Hunter” by Los Angeles’ ON AN ON — which you can peep here — is an exuberant, explosive indie-electro song with a chorus that’s wild and bursts like some kind of sonic volcano. But in the hands of San Francisco producer/maestro Blackbird Blackbird, it mutates and becomes an entirely different beast. He only extracts choice sections of the original, looping and manipulating them before stringing and piecing them all together using a swirling, woozy electronic dance pattern. You can’t easily detect “The Hunter” in the remix, but that’s what makes it so damn good. It’s a complete reinvention from start to finish. Listen in below.
Last week, I braved one of winter’s most brutal weeks here in New York City to see Brooklyn’s indie rock band Ski Lodge and Sweden’s electro-pop outfit Urban Cone. Despite the frostbitten face and temporary use of my numbed out-limbs, the little trek to the Mercury Lounge was worth it. So kudos to all involved! It’s not everyday you get a quality bill at an early show during the middle of the week.
Ski Lodge opened the night with a handful of tracks off their self-titled EP, a collection of breezy lo-fi pop. These songs possess hints of afro-pop bounce, as well as just something that hints at jangly, old school guitar-driven surf rock; overall, absolutely nostalgic, fun and feel-good, especially on a night when all I craved was some warm vibes. Interspersed between their older material were some newer songs that the band’s been working on over the last few months. As much as I love their aforementioned EP, the new stuff sounds very promising. It’s a bit more intricate and unpredictable, in a good way, and the vocals are more pronounced and in focus. It doesn’t necessarily grab at you immediately hook-wise like their previous tunes, but that’s not a bad thing. It shows that the group is poking and prodding in different directions, trying out different arrangements and ways of basically building their songs — it’s a great sign. And, despite playing this new material, the group (who added a new drummer not too long ago) sounded tight and totally comfortable with the set. Now I’m anxiously awaiting their debut full-length…
That evening Urban Cone celebrated their NYC debut and their energy and aura throughout the entire set reflected that. I’m always amazed and so pleased when I witness a band just shamelessly enjoying performing. Live music is meant to be an experience, and a wholly unique one at that. It’s live; it’s not a record, it’s not Spotify, it’s not the radio. There should be a palpable feeling of gusto and enthusiasm during any performance. Urban Cone brought it all, pouring every emotion — joy, despair, nervousness, anxiety, exuberance — onto the stage. Their songs vary from perky synth-pop to more slick dance-y songs, but one thing remains constant: the total believability in each of their hooks. When the chorus approaches, the band takes full advantage of the build-up, running with it as long as they can as they pounce on their keyboards and trickle their fingers up and down their guitars. During the actual big moment choruses, you know it. Their songs are so well-built for these highly saccharine moments; they grip you and hold you there for a few blissful minutes, but really, the feeling stays with you even songs afterwards. They aren’t so much breaking new grounds in the electro-pop field in terms of sound, but their execution and, as I mentioned, general sincerity about it, could really separate them from their peers.
Dungeonesse is the new project of Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner and multi-instrumentalist Jon Ehrens. Along with news of their self-titled debut album, the duo have also released this fresh, fresh single called “Shucks”. It’s a velvety, addictive treat that features some Grade A genes from the electronica + soul + pop genres. As the track plays on, rocking side to side with an air of cool and confidence, and Wasner’s breathy, sensual vocals take charge — “I wanna hear your heartbeat, my love” — it’s really difficult not to want to put this on repeat for at least a few hours. I’m officially very excited for more material.
Dungeonesse’s self-titled debut album drops May 14th via Secretly Canadian.
Tame Impala get their trippy psych-rock track “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” reworked by experimental electronic artist Chrome Canyon. The result? A woozy, elusive, yet totally captivating “de-mix”. When colors start to swirl and blur around you, you know the song’s gotten to you. Enjoy it.
Rising 18-year-old NYC producer Jesse Taylor, aka YUME, just released a new track called “Admire”. After one spin, you’ll want to do just that and even more — I mean, I’m giddily fawning over here. The shapely pleaser of a single is fresh-faced, dreamy, and aglow during all the right curves and bends. But the best part is its appropriate use of hard-hitting hip-hop style beats. The awesome melding of wavy, chill transient moments and bouncy, throbbing trap-like flavor is something to behold here and will certainly please a wide ranger of listeners.
