Phantogram: “Black Out Days”

Phantogram arrived on scene fully formed with their excellent 2009 debut Eyelid Movies. Since then the duo has stayed busy collaborating with everyone from Big Boi to the Flaming Lips. Now it appears that a long-awaited follow-up is on the horizon and judging by their new single, “Black Out Days,” it will be well worth the wait. “Black Out Days,” is everything you would want from a Phantogram song: interlocking trip-hop beats, rhythmic vocal samples, and an impeccable vocal performance by Sarah Bethel.

Its ranks up there with past highlights, “Mouthful of Diamonds” and “When I’m Small.”

 

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Chvrches: Night Sky

The singles that CHVRCHES have released leading up to their highly anticipated debut, The Bones of What You Believe, have been pure synth-pop gold and “Night Sky” proves there are plenty of more gems to uncover. “Night Sky” isn’t as sugar coated as “The Mother We Share” but equally as infectious. Once they hit the triumphant chorus, you don’t doubt Lauren Mayberry when she sings, “I’m the night sky, I’m the fire in your eyes.”

 

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 Frankie Rose – Streets of Dreams

“Know Me,” off Frankie Rose’s debut Interstellar, was one of the strongest singles from an indie artist in 2012. Now it looks like she may top herself in 2013 with her latest single, “Street of Dreams.” This haunting post-punk chiller has just the right blend of ghostly overtones and new-wave pop sensibility. It’s a song that can get you pumped for a trip to a graveyard or a John Hughes movie marathon.

 

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Heavenly Beat “Complete”

Heavenly Beat, the side project of Beach Fossils’ John Pena, is giving his main gig a run for their money with his new single “Complete.” This sleek and seductive track sounds like Wild Nothing with an auxiliary world percussionist. The silky vocals and synths are complimented by contagious steel drums and groovy nylon guitars. It’s a sound that could land them a gig as the house band for a Caribbean cruise someday.

 

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Darkside: “Golden Arrow”

“Golden Arrow,” the latest release from Nicolas Jarr and David Harrington’s collaborative project Darkside, is not for those with short attention spans. However, those with the patience to go on this 11-minute long journey are greatly rewarded. This sprawling ambient-epic begins as a pile of atmospheric rumble, and through careful construction transforms into a dark hypnotic groove. If Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s slowing burning orchestration gave way to funk jams instead of apocalyptic crescendos it would sound something like this.