Django Django // Default

Is 2012 going to be Django Django's year? The BBC don't seem to think so given their recent Sound of 2012 long-list. We however, hope they're wrong.

The band's odd-pop shone at The Royal Albert Hall in support of Metronomy back in October, with Default taking the lead from their most prominent early release WOR, adding some DEVO jerkiness and embedding itself in your mind's ear.

Take a listen below, and if you like that, we'd also recommend Waveforms available through their Soundcloud.



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The Maccabees // Pelican

The Maccabees gear up for the release of their third album, Given To The Wild, next year in pretty much the same way they left us. Pelican has all the usual Maccabees hit-making features (earnest harmonies, repeated lyrics, surging new wave riffs and cloud bursting choruses), while building in some African rhythms and spectral production occasionally hinted at on Wall of Arms.

While it doesn't quite thrill me in the way No Kind Words did, the unfettered enthusiasm that spills from everything the band do is enough. See what you think below.



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Blouse // Videotapes

While the opening sounds of Videotapes recall a stretched cassette tape you just know is going to be trapped insight your stereo forevermore, 13 seconds in everything changes, as Portland trio Blouse, compliled of Charlie Hilton, Patrick Adams and UMO’s Jordan Portrait, open up a world of woozy 80s synths and troubled nostalgia. It's a confusing yet enigmatic experience, one they'll hopefully continue on their forthcoming debut, out in November on Captured Tracks. Listen and download below.

Blouse, "Videotapes" by The FADER

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Jessie Ware // Strangest Feeling

We've been in love with Jessie Ware for a long time thanks to her various collaborations, not least the beauteous Valentine with Sampha, and 2010's Nervous with SBTRKT. Strangest Feeling, released on limited edition 10" vinyl on November 28th via PMR Records, is the perfect showcase of her sensual, layered vocal over minimal beats, and a tasty teaser for the debut LP to come.



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Spectrals // Big Baby

In preparation for their presence at Field Day on Saturday, Spectrals have issued a taster of what to expect from their long awaited Witchita / Slumberland Records debut album Bad Penny.

We've been waiting for Bad Penny to drop for a long time and Big Baby, showcasing Spectrals' 60s influences and expertly wry lyricism, is a step closer towards what could be our favourite record of the year.


via RCRDLBL

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Get People // Away

We blogged about Get People a while back as some of our local faves, and the guys were back this week with this dreamily tropical cut from their forthcoming Rain Tears EP. A great track in itself and tailor made for remixes, Away shows a somewhat poppier side to Get People than previous tracks and one that promises much for the rest of the EP.

Away by GET PEOPLE

Yuck // Daughter

Doesn't that look a cosy place to be? Nestled in the moist warmth of Yuck's armpits and matted hair. Smells like contentment, feels like happiness.

Much the same effect applies when listening to their free-to-download new single Daughter, enveloping you as it does in furry guitar reverb, aiming as high as Postal Service and nigh on getting there. The ambition of Yuck is admirable, riding the wave of their former members' fleeting yet deserved notoriety with Cajun Dance Party to nail support slots with Japandroids most recently and Modest Mouse and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart most imminently. More shoe-gazing epics like Daughter, echoed by surging garage like early single Georgia, suggest much to come from the London-based foursome.

Their new EP Weakend is out on August 2nd. In the meantime, get your ears around Daughter from their blog, or listen to Weakend below.

Yu(c)k - Weakend from Yuck on Vimeo.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart // Say No To Love

If anyone was becoming unsure as to what 'indie' means as a genre any more, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart's new single is pretty much as close as you can get to a complete definition. Twee, guitar driven, upbeat pop twinned with a a subject matter of accepted, eloquent resignation.

"Something’s coming, but nothing ever does. Something’s coming, you better say no to love", the boys sing, as Peggy slacks around and sticks her head out of car windows in a manner that screams carefree. See this and other summery pursuits in full below and the real-life record is out on Slumberland now.

Vampire Weekend // Johnathan Low

Muse did it; Dead Weather did it; even Radiohead did it. Now Vampire Weekend are doing it too, offering up a brand new track for the forthcoming Twilight film.

Thankfully, it sounds pretty great. Not only do we get new material, the band have also dipped into their wardrobes and dressed up in Elizabethan garb for latest single Holiday, both of which you can enjoy below.

Vw by c87157

The Drums // Forever and Ever Amen

Ahead of the release of their debut full length on June 7th, The Drums are steadily maintaining the magnificently high quality of both song and video with Forever and Ever Amen.

Grainy and effete, as if lifted wholly from British 80s new wave, the video sees the band cruising around and climbing on tables looking chiseled while a couple of kids bash stuff up. Great! Plus, their site has a free download of It Will All End in Tears for further listening pleasure.

Mystery Jets // Flash a Hungry Smile

Long, long gone are the days when Mystery Jets were proggy oddities, recording whisks and dripping taps on Eel Pie Island with their Dad. Of late, however, they've done a pretty fine line in unnervingly excellent retro pop, and they're at it again on Flash a Hungry Smile, the lead single from their forthcoming third album Serotonin.

Perky riffs, synths and whistles are all present and correct, as the track remains sweet without becoming too sickly, while lyrics about STDs and girls on their knees suggest the Jets' minds are firmly below the belt. Soundtracking the summer near you soon, the track is free from the band's site.

Tokyo Police Club // Breakneck Speed

Hailed as the future of indie following the pick up of their debut EP A Lesson in Crime in 2007, the Canadians are currently tuning guitars and picking outfits to tour their second full length album Champ, out "in the Spring", whenever that was or is.

They'll be playing London's Scala on June 8th and, to tempt you into parting with your precious Sterling, lead single Breakneck Speed is on stream from their site and available to download for your very own.

The track marks a slight change of tack, sounding positively stadium friendly and not a little like recent Kings of Leon epics, while singer Dave Monk's vocal is as believably earnest as ever, not more so than when he declares it's "Good to be back, good to be back, super fun!".

Late of the Pier // Best in the Class

While many bands take time off in between albums to consider their options, court tabloid attention, perhaps indulge their other artistic leanings, or even move to America or India in search of musical nirvana, Late of the Pier seem to have done none of the above. 2007's self-released Zarcorp demos and the following year's album offered a refreshingly original tangent to their indie-electro peers and, somewhat re-assuringly, new double A side Best in the Class shows no signs of anything so passe as 'moving on'. It has been a live staple for some time of course, but has only now achieved official single status. No doubt coming to a Skins soundtrack near you soon, the single and accompanying video show the foursome at their unrestrained, unrepentant best.

Have a look see here.