HYPE

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Digital Love (Algeronics Remix) - Daft Punk

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Cousins - Vampire Weekend

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Your Body Is A Machine - The Good Natured

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Quicksand (Alex Metric Remix) - La Roux

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When O' When - Is Tropical

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Fighter Plane - Ellie Goulding

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On The Road - We Are Eyesight

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Old School - We Are Eyesight

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Won't Go Quietly (Juan MacLean Remix) - Example

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Watch The Sun Come Up (Fred Falke Remix) - Example 

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Help I'm Alive (80kidz Remix) - Metric

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HYPE

I still can't make my mind up about Annie. There's no denying that Anthonio was amazing, and the Fred Falke remix made a nigh on perfect pop song even better, but I think as a whole her collected body of work is rather hit and miss.

Of course anything I think or feel about an artist is instantly reset when I see the words "Produced by Paul Epworth", a man I have almost as much respect for as the lead singer of the band he helped create the perfect album with. You know exactly what I'm talking about.

Anyway Epworth has co-produced with a bunch of other people that I couldn't care less about Annie's new album, Can't Stop. He took the reigns for one such track, All Night.

All Night is roughly about as poppy as it can get before I switch off and disregard it, but Annie has always had this widespread indie appeal, something impossibly hard to attain for a pop artist but invaluable once it's there. As immediate as her work is, she'll never be a Gaga or a Minogue.

Also, I'll include her upcoming single Songs Remind Me Of You. Stop me if i'm wrong but the instrumentals sound almost identical to New Order's Blue Monday, minus the earth shaking bass. Bit dodgy that.

All Night - Annie
Songs Remind Me Of You - Annie

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Now for something completely different, Cage The Elephant. An Indie-Rock band from Texas, their track; Ain't No Rest For The Wicked has this iconic blue-grassy quality that would sound perfect during the opening for the movie in your mind you've always planned on making. Truly an amazing song.

Ain't No Rest For The Wicked - Cage The Elephant

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LCD Soundsystem created this track; Big Ideas, for the card-counting casino heist film, 21. It's classic James Murphy, who clearly has the recipe for brewing and bottling triple distilled cool. This song is all rise.

Big Ideas - LCD Soundsystem

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Here's a track from Hey Today! called If I Was Wonderman. Recently Featured on the Bang Gang 12 Inches compilation. Reminds me of Daft Punk before they switched from space-disco-loving-party-throwing-future-robots to inevitable-machine-uprising-human-race-ending-psycho-robots. Robots that refuse to release any new material! Getting real sick of waiting.

Hopefully this will ease the pain.

If I Was Wonderman - Hey Today!

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Diminishing Returns is a new song by Ali Love, channeling 80's power ballad heartbreak induced love songs. Has a really smooth, laid back feel to it. Very cool.

Diminishing Returns (Extended Edit) - Ali Love

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Ra Ra Riot's album; The Rhumb Line, is hardly new. If you don't have it go out and get it. This track, Ghost Under Rocks, is probably the best I have heard from them so far. At times you can see how comparisons can be drawn to Vampire Weekend, but this song sounds so much more textured than the stripped down sound the other is known for. The strings that kick in near the end are a really great touch.

Ghost Under Rocks - Ra Ra Riot

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Buy the music that these people slave over. They don't do it for the love of it, they do it to get money, power and chicks, so help them out.

HYPE

Here's a few cool dancey numbers, all feature really interesting vocal aspects to them. The Aston Shuffle track may at first sound a bit middle of the road but the second half is the saving grace of the song; it changes up completely.


Take My Hand (Justin Faust Deep Mix) - Nightriders
Do You Want More - The Aston Shuffle (Feat. Danimal Kingdom)
Lies (Alex Metric Remix) - Fenech-Soler

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Some really quality covers have been released this year. Mystery Jets & Esser teamed up to cover The Cure's In Between Days and added a cool electronic backdrop over the relatively faithful vocal rendition. It's good that it remains pretty much very close to the path the original took because there's not a whole heap more you can do to this song to make it any better.

Fascination Street, which appeared on one of The Cure's most popular albums; Disintegration, has been basically warped into a completely different creature by Metronomy. Not only does this not sound like The Cure, it also sounds nothing like Metronomy. No, the closest comparison I could probably make is that it sounds like Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release-era Simian Mobile Disco. It's going to either be a song you love, or despise. I personally love it. Either way you have to admire the audacity associated with such a huge departure from the original sound.

Also, Sky Ferreira recently covered Miike Snow's massive blog-universe hit, Animal. Her version is a stripped down acoustic number, just her and her piano. It's got a completely different feel, but it's easily as good as the original. I also included another track of hers, Lolita. This girl is going to be HUGE very soon.


In Between Days - Mystery Jets & Esser
Fascination Street - Metronomy
Animal - Sky Ferreira
Lolita - Sky Ferreira


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Danimal Kingdom is the solo project from Dan The Carnivore, the former lead singer of now defunct band, Bolt Action Five. It doesn't sound like Bolt Action Five really, it's more like Lightspeed Champion than anything else I think. Interesting quasi-electronic indie pop gems.


Girl Boy Girl - Danimal Kingdom
Through The Ice - Danimal Kingdom


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HYPE

Just when I was about to ask "What ever happened to VHS Or Beta?".

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Feel It When You Know (LA Riots Remix) - VHS Or Beta
Ambling Alp - Yeasayer
Divine (Danger Remix) - Sébastien Tellier
aNYway - Duck Sauce

HYPE

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Post War Times are a band from the UK bearing more than just a passing resemblance to Foals with tinges of Friendly Fires. Of course too much of a good thing is still a good thing, and these guys have some really solid tracks on their recently released LP; The Greats And The Happenings. While Foals are the closest comparison I can make, that's not to say that the whole album sounds the same. Heaps of changes in tempo and style throughout and well worth a look.

Den - Post War Times
Whole World On Its Head - Post War Times
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From Mystery Jets' Making Dens US re-release; (renamed Zootime), Crosswords is a more dancey number than the rest of the album, and a few years on is still really rather unique against their body of work. I had a mixed copy of this song for so long that was only two minutes long and spent the better part of 2 years trying to track it down. I then gave up for a while, only to finally acquire it recently.

Crosswords - Mystery Jets
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Little Red have shifted their sound from an Indie Rock identity to a more 50's/60's Surf Rock sound. Think Beach Boys and you'll have an idea what to expect. This track is from their Coca Cola EP, which sports a striking bright red cover and the iconic Coke typography. Really cool.

It's Alright - Little Red
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Laura Marling is one of the closest sounds that i've found to that impossible quality that Kate Nash possesses. In fact, New Romantic could easily masquerade as one of Nash's songs due to the subject matter and sound. This one is from her My Manic And I EP.

New Romantic - Laura Marling
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Alphabeat have a new single, called The Spell. It's very 90's in sound; think of the poppy Dance music of the era and you'll know what to expect.

The Spell - Alphabeat
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From Metronomy's first album, a far cry from the band you may or may not know now, is an instrumental track called This Could Be Beautiful (It Is). I'll also throw in a new song of theirs, the title track from the Not Made For Love EP. Not Made For Love is vastly different from This Could Be Beautiful (It Is) so if instrumental songs aren't your thing don't let that stop you from grabbing this one, it's a tragic song about two people wanting very different things from each other.

This Could Be Beautiful (It Is) - Metronomy
Not Made For Love - Metronomy
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That's all folks.

HYPE

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Tegan And Sara are very close to the release of a new LP after their best album so far, The Con. The first single, Hell, sounds like it's a step in the right direction, with catchy electronic undertones and a bigger focus on a rocky direction than previous efforts from the duo.

First impressions in the opening riff of the song are dangerously close to a bad Paramore track, but give it a chance, it's a grower.

Hell - Tegan And Sara
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Los Feeling by Visitor is one of the more promising Electro-Pop releases I have heard in a while. Hyped ad nausem by most of the blog universe; i've taken my time with this one in order to decide whether it's worth posting or just a one off success from the band. My final conclusion is who cares; this track is the shit. Don't let the cheesy sound and the off-putting intro bring your opinion of the song down, because you'll have this song on repeat before long. And no, after all my investigations, it seems the real name of the song ISN'T "Lost Feeling", although it really seems like it should be.

Los Feeling - Visitor
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HORSE SHOES have that melodic Indie sound that is becoming increasingly popular as of late. Similar in sound to bands like Red Riders, Mercy Arms, The Drums etc. The Imperial School almost sounds a bit like Tokyo Police Club in parts, definitely worth checking out.

The Imperial School - HORSE SHOES
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Ultra Violence And Beethoven sounds like an incredibly distorted mix of MGMT and Passion Pit, with a far stronger electronic presence than both are known for. It's the first song I have heard from Baby Monster, so here's hoping the rest of their work shares the same amount of polish.

Ultraviolence And Beethoven - Baby Monster
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Speaking of bands that sound like Passion Pit, Tim And Jean take that sound and use it in the best way possible. The end result is a song that, while not as mindblowing as Sleepyhead; may just be indicative of a band that can use the same sound without writing about the same tired subject matter over and over. Colour me intrigued.

Come Around - Tim & Jean
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Bye Bye Bicycle are a strange band to place, they sound like an amalgamation of a whole bunch of different bands and sounds. I can tell you that if you like bands such as Sparkadia or New Order you'd probably like the sounds of Haby Bay.

Haby Bay - Bye Bye Bicycle
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So once you're done "sampling" this music, go buy it. Don't be a prick.

HYPE

Well I've finally found a band that sounds similar to Bloc Party. And no, contrary to popular belief, it's not every fucking band you can think of from England. I mean christ, I feel like Jason Segel's character from How I Met Your Mother when he is looking for the perfect burger and morons consistently suggest the most obvious places to look.

Undeserved animosity aside, We Are Tokyo, an Indie band from Bristol certainly sound a whole lot like Bloc Party's early stuff, mixed with the sounds from A Weekend In The City. They currently have a few EPs out at the moment, and unfortunately, no, they aren't anywhere near as talented as Kele and the gang, but hey, Bloc Party's pre-Silent Alarm releases were rough around the edges too.

Possibly not as exciting to anyone else as they are to me, but We Are Tokyo are definitely going on my "To Watch" list.

A Victory, I - We Are Tokyo
Perfect Hands - We Are Tokyo

MYSPACE

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Here's a pretty chill track from an artist called Baxter, if you're a fan of Anoraak then definitely check this out. Like all good songs, Proof is about the slow decline of a relationship into collapse, with silky smooth vocals and spacey synth-work. Very difficult to find information on this guy, so apologies for not being able to provide a link to his website.

Proof - Baxter

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Lo-Fi-Fnk are a Swedish Electro Duo who released an album; Boylife, in 2006 which was largely ignored by all but the most tenacious musical explorers. This is likely due to the lack of release in many countries, but don't let that stop you from ordering it online or searching yourself at any good record store. Considering the date of release, this stuff was pretty cutting edge back in 2006, these days Lo-Fi-Fnk will sound similar to a few bands kicking around at the moment, great Electro-Pop without a doubt.

Steppin' Out - Lo-Fi-Fnk
Change Channel - Lo-Fi-Fnk

MYSPACE

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Friendly Fires recently re-released their self-titled debut, and I would definitely recommend the purchase if you haven't already picked it up. For $19.99AUD I got the album, a CD of previously unreleased bonus songs and remixes and a DVD with four music videos and a live concert, Friendly Fires Live At The Forum. If you haven't heard Friendly Fires before, think of a mix between Klaxons and Metronomy; if you haven't heard Metronomy before; they are a combination of Friendly Fires and Klaxons. And if you haven't heard Klaxons before; kill yourself immediately.

Kiss Of Life - Friendly Fires
Bored Of Each Other - Friendly Fires

MYSPACE

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As always, go out and buy this music please, these songs are only for sample purposes, if you like what you hear, then buy the albums these artists slave over, if not, then delete them, the futile defence against music piracy begins with YOU!

HYPE

Here's a few tracks, new and not so new, to check out.

Gloves, the electronic solo project from (the now defunct) Damn Arms' Yama Indra, is finally delivering some original material for us all. Gloves has been very busy touring and remixing for a whole bunch of artists, including huge names such as Van She. Seems like Modular's recent acquisition of Bang Gang 12 Inches has really got the ball rolling for the artists involved, with both Ted & Francis and now Gloves releasing singles within a month of each other. Either way I'd be lying if i said I haven't been watching everything Indra has been doing since i first heard the Damn Arms' epic swan song, Destination, last year.

This track, Too Much To Dream, is the b-side from his new single PYX. If you liked Destination this song is very much in a similar vein, chill electronic with catchy vocals.

Too Much To Dream - Gloves

Here's a track from Lupe Fiasco's upcoming album, said to be due December this year. The album, titled Lasers, is reportedly part one of a 3 album project, and by the sounds of it, is going to carry on exactly where The Cool left off, lyricism focused Hip-Hop with a strong focus on great collaborations. As such, this song, Shining Down, features Matthew Santos, who is best known for his guest vocals in Fiasco's hit single from The Cool; Superstar. Fiasco seems to have gone the auto-tune route here, with parts of the song sounding uncannily like Kanye West's latest LP, 808s & Heartbreak.

Shining Down - Lupe Fiasco

Discovery is a collaboration between Ra Ra Riot's Wes Miles and Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend. Unlike both of their regular stuff, Discovery takes a very electronic, vocoded approach. I must admit I picked this album up without actually knowing any of this, having only heard their cover of the Jackson 5's I Want You Back. It was one of those times when the album cover and artwork really sold it to me, with the inside booklet featuring a really cool graphic direction, colourful pixel art and interesting typographic work.

This track is called Osaka Loop Line, from their debut album, LP, juxtaposes distorted beats with very delicate vocals. It's definitely an interesting sound.

Osaka Loop Line - Discovery

And finally, a song from Cut Copy's first EP, which, if memory serves, was back when it was just Dan Whitford. The EP, titled I Thought Of Numbers, is a pretty interesting indication of how far Cut Copy have come from those early days. The song is Rendezvous, definitely a stand out on the release.

Rendezvous - Cut Copy

More to come.

HYPE

Here's some recent and solid tracks that might interest you.

From Red Riders' recently released sophomore album, Drown In Colour. Which is damn good by the way.

Ordinary - Red Riders

A track by Indie-Electro outfit Hey Champ. Think somewhere between Van She and Digitalism and you have an idea of what to expect.

Cold Dust Girl - Hey Champ

Van She recently released a remix EP bundled with the re-release of last year's near perfect debut LP, V. Titled Ze Vemixes, it's basically Van She Tech completely reworking most of the tracks from the album to sound like heavy techno versions of themselves. This particular track, the last on the EP, takes a completely different route.

Virgin Suicide (Acoustic Mix) - Van She

Anoraak is a french electronic artist part of the Valerie Collective, for some of you that will be information enough. For the rest, think heartfelt and meaningful electro heavily inspired by everything 80's.

Never Ending Romance Disaster - Anoraak

Bombay Bicycle Club are a UK band taking everyone by storm at the moment, they've only just left school as well so it's even more impressive how confident they seem to be at such an early stage in the game.

What If - Bombay Bicycle Club

And finally a rather old track that was remixed in 2005 for Depeche Mode's Greatest Hits album. It's remixed by Digitalism but it sounds very much like Justice or Boys Noize. It's a really cool re-invention of the song actually.

Never Let Me Down Again (Digitalism Remix) - Depeche Mode

Remember to support these artists. Buy their albums and go see them live.