New York – We missed Heems. He put out two excellent mixtapes, Nehru Jackets and Wild Water Kingdom, in 2012, just before the official dissolution of his group Das Racist that December. Until Eat Pray Thug, his only musical endeavor since the breakup was a collaborative EP with London rapper Riz MC under the moniker
Los Angeles – While she may dabble in theater and modeling, French “triple threat” SoKo has been most busy focusing her energy on a music career, and My Dreams Dictate My Reality has the promise and star-power to allow her to cross over to American audiences. 2012 saw her release a debut full-length, I Thought
New York – San Franciscan six-piece band, Nicki Bluhm and The Gramblers, have just given fans a first taste of their upcoming sophomore record. “High Neck Lace,” a soulfully country-tinged, down tempo track, is the first song from the band’s forthcoming album, Love Wild Lost, due out April 21 from Little Sur Records. (Those familiar with the band
Los Angeles – The dream pop group Yumi Zouma is the formation of three friends Charlie Ryder, Josh Burgess, and Kim Pflaum. Each individually live in different places (New York, Paris, and Christchurch, New Zealand). Last year Lorde brought fellow New Zealanders Yumi Zouma on tour with her for select dates. The band features the
New York – MisterWives, an insatiably effervescent indie pop act out of New York, has rocketed to the limelight at full tilt since their debut EP one year ago. Now, the whirlwind continues with the release of the band’s first full-length endeavor, Our Own House, just out via Republic Records. The album is positively elastic,
Nashville – Delightful, danceable, and uniquely rhythmic, O Shudder (via Memphis Industries), the newest LP just out from UK-based band Dutch Uncles, is an energetic collection of songs that ends all too soon. Fast-paced but thoroughly enjoyable, this release demonstrates just how skilled the band is at balancing familiar 80s-throwback sounds with an entirely different
New York – Last year, electronic pop iconoclast Grimes released a track called “Go” that she had written for Rihanna. It was a weird moment that showed how all perceived boundaries between seemingly incompatible musical worlds are artificial. Here was a somewhat accidental star, just a few years removed from tiny DIY basement shows, pitching
Los Angeles – With EarthEE, their second full-length release on Sub Pop Records, the ladies of THEESatisfaction have expanded and improved upon the spacey and socially conscious style of R&B that was heard on their debut. Formed in 2008, rapper Stasia “Stas” Irons and singer Catherine “Cat” Harris-White met while attending college at the University
Los Angeles – Poor Colleen Green – she tries so hard to become a more mature, responsible and secure person. The title of her second record for Hardly Art, I Want To Grow Up, says it all. But even by the 15-minute mark, it is clear that Green still has a long way to go
New York – Future Brown is a production collective that was formed, Voltron-like, by dance music duo Nguzunguzu’s Asma Maroof and Daniel Pineda, artist and musician Fatima al Qadiri, and Lit City Trax label owner and promoter J-Cush. Their self-titled debut album is a melting pot of dance music, taking sounds and beats from drum-fueled,