disco naïveté

stream: Young Hunting - Baby's First Steps / Wrecking Ball

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:25:47 +0200

Young Hunting are one of the bands we’ve kept our eyes on since the early days of DN that are yet to release a proper album. Three years in the making, the LA quintet have finished it (“it” is titled Hazel), and as the saying goes: it was worth the wait. You’ll have to wait a little longer to hear it in full (perks of being a blogger), but combine these two new songs Baby’s First Steps and Wrecking Ball with all of this and you’ve basically heard the album (kind of). Soothing, dreamy indie rock, think early Grizzly Bear or Fleet Foxes. Hazel is out on June 11 via Gold Robot.

stream: Clare Maguire - Changing Faces (demo)

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:46:00 +0200

Clare Maguire is taking a step back from her big-sounding, bombastic pop on Light After Dark (honestly one of the most underestimated pop records of the past few years) on this new demo Changing Faces. Her powerful voice did stay the same (perhaps even better in this minimalistic setting), both in emotion and range, a thing we’re thankful for as she’s got quite the voice. Combine this with the cover of Joni Mitchell’s The Last Time I Saw Richard she put up a few weeks back and you’ll be sobbing before you know it.

stream: Freddie Dickson - Shut Us Down

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:09:02 +0200

“Is this the end of our love?” asks Freddie Dickson in The End - no dear Freddie, this is just the beginning. He made us fall in love with him grace to Shut Us Down, his Lana Del Rey-reminding stunning debut single. His 4-track debut EP Shut Us Down counts more of the flat beat’ed, mystified love songs we crave for. We’d be shocked if this guy didn’t go places. Shut Us Down is out now via Heart Throb and streaming in full below.

stream: London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years (Kids of the Apocalypse remix)

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:15:00 +0200

Enigmatic outfit Kids of the Apocalypse have been tucked away in the studio, figuring out a way how to end the world and remixing DN darlings London Grammar. Wasting My Young Years becomes somewhat of an anti-thesis to the song itself in this buzzing (literally) remix, with singer Hannah sounding like she’s about to get wasted instead of wasting. KOTA bring chaos and to the delicate piano tune: doomsday has never sounded this much fun.

video: Sinead Harnett - Got Me

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:13:40 +0200

Sinead Harnett is matched by purple and green tints in the video for her future club closer Got Me, the first proper single of the London-vocalist and Disclosure/Rudimental/…-collaborator. Produced by the duo compromised of Eats Everything & Lukas, Got Me drifts right between pop and club, with this radio/video edit working as an appetiser for the proper 6 minute version.

video: London Grammar - Wasting My Young Years

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:21:00 +0200

Just like any of their music, the first video of London trio London Grammar is something of pure beauty. It’s a shake black & white affair for Wasting My Young Years featuring the band and a bunch of corpses floating around in various spaces - the more intense the music, the more corpses around.

introducing: MOVEMENT

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:49:00 +0200

MOVEMENT are three boys from Sydney, who have been hard at work these past few years and recently signed to Modular (hard work always pays off). Feel Real is the first single of the three-piece, which reminds us of The xx, but rather a version of that three-piece without Romy and with Jamie going crazy on the steel drums (you could also exchange Oliver for Sampha, actually). You could dance to it, but you could also just jam to it in your bedroom - balearic yet romantic, meet your new favorite band.

stream: MØ - Waste of Time

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:13:00 +0200

MØ still blowing everyone else out of the water with her badass mix of pop and hip-hop, new single Waste of Time being everything but that. The basic beat in this new song is clean but sick and with MØ’s vocals as a topping, you know it’s going to be a lovely mess. Waste of Time is also the first single of her forthcoming debut full-length, which is set for a release on RCA Victor/Chess Club “when it’s done.” Hear the song below, which comes with a little video in true MØ style.

video: Moko - Hand On Heart

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:49:00 +0200

Moko goes all the way in a barber shop, waving her locks from left to right wilst doing a sultry dance in the midst of curious men in the video for her new song Hand On Heart. We’d find it very hard to sit still (as our hairdresser always kindly asks) with a tune like that playing in the back and a talent like that performing it right there in the mirror. Isn’t she amazing?

PREMIERE - stream: The Slow Revolt - Doldrums

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:38:37 +0200

The Slow Revolt making good use of the guitar + electronics combo once more, yet with a more present guitar this time around. Doldrums is taken of the second part of the rising star’s This Dark Matter EP, yet attracts you more into his wonderful world. It’s all in the details, with the backing vocals, the twitches of the guitar during the chorus and so much more. This is a song to explore and love more with every play.

video: Josef Salvat - Hustler

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:32:48 +0200

Josef Salvat’s video for Hustler is everything but him hustling: pretty women making out, adoring him, him taking a bath - he’s kind of living the lif e, isn’t he? Mixed with kaleidoscopic things to pretty up the video even more, Oliver Kember did a great job at directing the hustling life of a pop star in the making.

stream: Solange - Looks Good With Trouble (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:19:00 +0200

Less than a year ago, Dev Hynes sent a vibey instrumental to Solange, an instrumental over which she penned Looks Good With Trouble as a prelude to her cover of the former’s Bad Girls off her True EP. An extended version was always something we dreamt of, but not even in our baddest dreams we dared to imagine it would have Kendrick Lamar featuring on it.

video: Say Lou Lou - Julian

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:47:00 +0200

Our favorite twin sisters in the game Say Lou Lou continue to make our heart skip multiple beats; after gorgeous b-side Fool Of Me, the duo have unveiled the video for the stunning Julian. Teaming up with partner in crime Philippe Tempelman once more, the sisters star in the beautiful video next to a fellow 20-something in danger (even though “danger” is relative at a party).

stream: Banks - Warm Water

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:06:00 +0200

Banks follows up a currently perfect streak of music with yet another delicious slice of infectious electronic pop in form of Warm Water. Less heavy than previous efforts, Warm Water is a spacious production courtesy of Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs that matches beautifully with Banks’ soft yet fierce voice.

video: Lorde - Royals

Mon, 13 May 2013 10:37:00 +0200

Youngest pop star in the making Lorde has unveiled her first visuals with the Joel Kefali-directed video for Royals. Shot in NZ, the video tells the story of short-haired friends that enjoy boxing and hanging around quite a bit. Yes, she is going to be huge.

PREMIERE - MS MR - Salty Sweet (Myspace session)

Fri, 10 May 2013 20:59:00 +0200

DN and MS MR go way back (literally, way back). Max and Lizzy did a three-track session for Myspace, hosted at Manhattan’s famous The Log Cabin (who have Missy Elliot, Jay-Z and more among their guests) and played Hurricane, Dark Doo Wop and Salty Sweet. The first two are already streaming over at Myspace and them + MS MR hooked us up with the exclusive premiere of the latter.

Salty Sweet is one of our favorite tracks on the duo’s debut record Secondhand Rapture (which is streaming at a couple of places and out worldwide next week - and very amazing) and sounds like a perfect pop song should sound anno 2013. Handclaps, fun lyrics like “just another pop confession” and “damned if I do, bored if I don’t”, a backdrop of synths and that right dose of jolly good fun. All of this translates like a dream in this performance for Myspace of Salty Sweet, basically a must-watch.

Girl Crisis - Walk Like An Egyptian (The Bangles cover)

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:44:00 +0200

Girl Crisis are at it again with their “let’s cover a classic jam a capella and shot it on Super 8” thing (which we love) and cover Walk Like An Egyptian, the ‘86 classic by The Bangles. Gets really rich towards the end, truly beautiful (as always).

video: Lana Del Rey - Young and Beautiful

Fri, 10 May 2013 09:34:35 +0200

Lana Del Rey is the opera star backed by an orchestra in the video for Young and Beautiful, her contribution to the OST for The Great Gatsby. The shots of the orchestra are really impressive with these shadows set to dramatic lightning. Lana herself is gorgeous (obviously) and comes in a Deluxe-version with those added diamonds on her cheek. Directed by Chris Sweeney.

introducing: Suvi

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:15:00 +0200

Just a matter of time before Sweden offered their very own response to the high-energetic pop of MØ, MS MR and the likes (alright, there’s Tove Lo and Kate Boy, but can there ever be enough brilliant pop? - no). It comes in the form of Suvi, who offers quite the pop tune with Bleeding For Your Love, shimmering synths and dramatic drums included. Previous single Clovers is more of a “pretty” pop song and doesn’t hit as hard, but shows she’s capable of more than just obvious pop songs. Working with the producer-duo Robin Rocks & Rubio (who previously worked with Miike Snow ~~and Loreen (let’s just ignore that)~~), this girl may become your favorite new pop starlet.

video: I will, I swear - Long Days

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:46:00 +0200

With footage taken from ∞ (Indefinitely), a shortfilm by Shanah Noynaert, Belgian duo I will, I swear visualize their debut single Long Days (backed with the equally stunning Sleep). The band call this the perfect match, and they are absolutely right: both the song and video tell the story of a relationship that feels right yet doesn’t. It may be the setting or the boy-girl combo, but we’re getting strong Moonrise Kingdom vibes from this one.