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PREMIERE: Katie Kate - Houses
Seattle artist Katie Kate knows how to tack a mood on the wall. "Houses," a track with beautiful simplicity, rides a lethargic march with an airy beat and two-tone chords pinging around the mix. Her vocals provide more rhythm plus a sweet melody that will echo in your head after the song ends.
STREAM: YACHT - I'll Be Your Mirror (Velvet Underground Cover)
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(Photo: Alin Dragulin)
Surprising covers happen so often these days that, well, they aren't much of a surprise. But, after they took on Brigitte Fontaine and the Art Ensemble of Chicago, it would only make sense that YACHT covers the Velvet Underground. Right? Sure. It works as singer Claire L. Evans channels Nico while Jona Bechtolt transforms VU's spare jangles into stripped-down electronics.
STREAM: Daughn Gibson - Tiffany Lou
I won't even pretend to be unbiased on this one. The first time I heard Daughn Gibson's "Tiffany Lou," I was so transfixed that I listened to it about 30 times in a row. It's a haunting mixture of sparse electronics and country yearning that my head says shouldn't work but it comes across as an amazing world unto itself. His debut LP, All Hell, just might be my favorite debut album of the year so far.
DOWNLOAD: Future Of What - I Wait For You
Future Of What, a new band from Brooklyn, will release its debut EP, Moonstruck, on June 26. The EP, which was recorded with Daniel Schlett (Here We Go Magic, DIIV) in Brooklyn earlier this spring, is composed of keyboard-driven indie pop. “I Wait For You” is a dulcet, hypnotic track that teeters between electro-pop and an emotive rock ballad.
DOWNLOAD: How To Dress Well - Ocean Floor For Everything
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The name of How to Dress Well's latest track is evocative of its sound as a fluid sheen envelops songwriter and producer Tim Krell's misty vocals and lilting keys. The tune picks-up with a chant and focused rhythms, the titular floor flowing outward. "Ocean Floor For Everything" is included on Krell's second full-length, Total Loss, which arrives this fall from Acéphale.
DOWNLOAD: Crystal Fighters - I Love London (Is Tropical Broke Arp Mix)
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This shape-shifting remix of Crystal Fighters' "I Love London" by the mysterious Is Tropical starts in the arena, dives into hyperdrive lo-fi and then settles into a groove of hypnotic clipped sound. It feels international, clubby and tropical here, but the electronics remain gritty and fuzzy enough to appeal to fans of texture. The group has a new EP, P.S. We Love You, that's out May 22 on Kitsuné.
DOWNLOAD: John Maus - Mental Breakdown
Weirdo atmospheric pop master John Maus is following-up last year's most-excellent We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves with a rarities collection set for July 17 on Ribbon Music. The tracks span from 1999-2010, but they've all been remastered and remixed. Here's a little sample with "Mental Breakdown." The 2004 cut is rough and lo-fi but maintains the jarring vocals, bleeding synths and (most importantly) ear-warming melodic sense of his best work.
DOWNLOAD: Blood Orange - Forget It (Class Actress Remix)
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(Photo: Bek Anderson)
When Class Actress gets their icy romantic hands on a track, you know it's going to ooze wintery sexuality and '80s pop all over the place. That ethos fits really well with Blood Orange (aka Devonté Hynes) and the track "Forget It." "I am not your savior, baby girl," he sings as little clouds of synths and lasers float over a stacked beat. I wish I had accepted that invitation to DJ a prom last month. I would have totally played this one.
