While I didn’t catch the entirety of the three acts I saw perform at the Santa Monica Pier for All Hands on Deck, I thoroughly enjoyed this show as it was outdoors with the Pacific Ocean in the backdrop and I got to take an awesome chick to enjoy these upcoming acts with myself. Anyways here’s my review of Kisses, YACHT and Poolside at All Bands On Deck.
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Tags: All Bands On Deck, Kisses, Poolside, Santa Monica, Santa Monica Pier, Yacht

First off, I love The Knocks! Secondly, I’m increasingly becoming a big fan of St. Lucia the more I hear their music. Thirdly, I love this collaboration and if you don’t, maybe you don’t like dancing, which is understandable because if you don’t like dancing, that’s probably because you don’t think you know how to dance…. hey dum dum, everybody knows how to dance, just freaking move to the beat of the song!

Anyways, stream this infectious dance/electro pop track below, it’s quite the jam!

Previous: The Knocks – The Feeling Remixes EP

Tags: St. Lucia, The Knocks

Story of the Running Wolf is an electro duo based out of Los Angeles, CA. A little bit retro, a little bit future, they blend 80′s influences like Depeche Mode and Duran Duran with modern electro-dance elements, creating an infectious sound that’s all their own. After playing their first show at a rooftop party in early 2012, the band began developing a live show experience which has been described as a “John Hughes party on Neptune”, replete with neon lasers, make-up, fog and feathers. Their new self-titled EP is available for free download at www.sotrw.com.

They just dropped their first song/video from their debut EP, “Stratospheric”. Stream and download their EP below.

Watch the video to “Stratospheric” below. (more…)

Tags: debut EP, electro duo, Los Angeles, Story of the Running Wolf

If there’s two music acts indie pop acts I’m intrigued by and want to see live, it’s St. Lucia and Pacific Air. With this remix, you get the best of both worlds, combining both their upbeat fun indie electro pop vibes to create a fun indie dance remix.

Stream and download St. Lucia‘s “All Eyes On You” (Pacific Air remix) below.

Tags: Pacific Air, St. Lucia

Last Friday night I saw indie dance pop band Capital Cities perform their last LA show for a long time as they prepare to hit the studio to record their next album. It was a packed audience with lots of passionate fans who sang along to most of Capital Cities releases and while this was my 3rd time seeing them live, they continued to impress with a more upbeat slightly improved set list, more dancing on stage among the founding duo of the band with a uniform clothing style of all band members wearing gold/yellow jackets.

It felt almost magical seeing them live as most of the audience and I knew this would be Capital Cities last Los Angeles show for the year and maybe the next several months. I loved the show because it was the fans way of getting to celebrate Capital Cities recent signing under the Capital Records imprint.

Big things continue to happen for Capital Cities and if you haven’t seen them live, I suggest you try to do so soon before they start selling out arenas all over the world.

Here’s a great why you should see them live: “Safe & Sound”.

Tags: Capital Cities, Capital Records, Los Angeles, The Roxy, West Hollywood

I’m really proud to share Jhameel‘s new music video for “Shadow of a Man” with you.  The video captures Jhameel‘s raw emotionality as he watches a loved one crushed under the weight of an abusive relationship.  Shadow of a Man was directed, shot, conceptualized, and edited in-house by Jhameel and his team with no outside support or funding, making it a fully independent project.  The video was shot amidst the wrecked and abandoned buildings of Salton City, a desolate California ghost town left to decay by its inhabitants in the 1970′s.

Watch the official music video to “Shadow of a Man” below. (more…)

Tags: Jhameel

“The Answer” from up-and-coming indie electro pop act Avec Sans, is for fans of Icona Pop (who we love!), Purity Ring and Sleigh Bells. We fell in love with Avec Sans upon hearing their first original track, “Heartbreak Hi”  (featured on Best You Never Heard 7), which reminded us of DWNTWN. Their second original track, “The Answer”, displays the band’s harder edge and sees darker electronic-dance sensibilities coming to the fore.

Stream and download “The Answer” and it’s remix from Bill & Will.

Tags: Avec Sans, Bill & Will, indie electro-pop

(Pictured Above; Ghost Beach)

Last Thursday, I was blessed to see a great show at the Echoplex in Silverlake. Goldroom, Carousel and Ghost Beach absolutely rocked a packed house full of energetic hipsters. All three have a style each unique in it’s own way.

Originally apart of synth pop trio NightWaves, Goldroom of Los Angeles provided a laid-back disco feel similar to Poolside. It is perfect for the typical Southern California vibe and even though it is not summertime anymore, it sure felt like it when he was on stage. Below is my favorite track of his from the night.

Goldroom – “Morgan’s Bay”:

Brooklyn based electro-pop duo, Carousel will soon become house hold names in the music industry. Their catchy and genuine sound  got the crowd dancing their shoes off.This was the first time I have ever seen them live but certainly not the last. Check out my favorite track of theirs from the night that will surly be getting some radio time soon.

Carousel – “Open Road”:

By far the best performance of the night that I saw was that of Ghost Beach. Hailing from New York City, this tropical grit pop group provides an 80′s rock influence with a modern day alternative rock sound. They were featured on our Best You Never Heard 7: Summer Underdogs mixtape back in August. This group is going places and I look forward to seeing them perform live again. My favorite track of theirs from the night is below.

Ghost Beach – “Tear Us Apart”: 

As a whole, this show featured some great electro-pop up-and-comers that are worth taking a closer look. I cannot wait to see how they progress as artists.

Tags: Carousel, Echoplex, Ghost Beach, Goldroom, Silverlake

From “Head to Toe” to “Dry Hands” you will not find me pressing pause while listening to WRITER‘s new LP Brotherface. Hailing from Brooklyn, brothers James and Andy Ralph have a sort of fuzzy, psychedelic sound that is much more than your average two-guys-standing-on-stage-with-guitars. They are a unique combination of ghetto-tech meets garage-rock with remnants of Young Buffalo and Of Mice & Men.

All ten tracks on the LP bring something new to the table in order to keep you listening and keep you on your feet. The songs are briefer than most, but artfully so, as to not be too repetitious  like many bands unfortunately are these days.

The end of “Barefoot Art” features a shout chorus of just the boys with a tambourine which is the perfect example of their ness. Their layered sounds and defined structure will keep you hooked and leave you wanting more.

But for now, download their cover of Santigold‘s “Desperate Youth”, and when you are finished with that, stream the new album here courtesy of Spinner.

The band has also created a 28-minute visual stream, tailored to each individual track:

http://youtu.be/WF8G7ekSdlI?hd=1

Last Sunday on October 7, I attended the last day of Filter Magazine’s Culture Collide 2012 Festival. I saw many acts which included: Icona Pop, Colorfeels, Class Actress, The Royal Teeth, Niki & The Dove, Poolside, The Moog and Of Montreal. Read my full review of these acts below and shout out to Filter Magazine for giving me press access and distributing most of the pictures you see below. (more…)

Tags: Class Actress, Colorfeels, Culture Collide, Culture Collide 2012 Festival, Echo Park, Filter Magazine, Filter Magazine's Culture Collide 2012 Festival, Icona Pop, Los Angeles, Niki & The Dove, Of Montreal, Poolside, The Moog, The Royal Teeth