New York – April was a strange month of extremes, and so naturally this mixtape is bound to be. Prepare for a winding road that features the joyful new Record Store Day release from The Julie Ruin, the wild careening of Greys, a deliciously ominous production from Son Lux featuring Lorde, heavy soul from Silent Lions, and some seriously chilled out golden vibes from Futurecop!, plus of lot of others in between. Press play and hold on tight.
After getting a lot of nice attention from “Adult Diversion” the past year, Toronto-based dream pop band Alvvays has announced that they’ve signed with Polyvinyl, and also released new track “Archie, Marry Me.”
Dum Dum Girls look great as cartoons in new video for “Rimbaud Eyes,” just dripping with gauzy awesomeness.
Brooklyn’s Dead Stars have a debut full length coming out this June, and “Someone Else” is the first taste of more solid garage pop from the trio.
Greys is a wildly fun punk band from Toronto, who have been largely compared to Fugazi after releasing a handful of EPs. Just a guess that those comparisons have lead to the first single off their debut full length If Anything on Carpark being titled “Guy Picciotto.” So the band has a sense of humor, and also apparently a crushingly intense live show.
Kathleen Hanna’s The Julie Ruin released a new single for Record Store Day, titled “Brightside,” and joyful it is.
NYC’s Walking Shapes have a band history the extends from the Balkan Mountains to the sound chambers in the depths of SoHo, which sounds a little wild, but makes more sense when you listen to them. It gets crazier though – the band recently played 24 show at 24 different venues in 24 hours…on April 24th. These guys sound nuts and I’m into it.
California dream pop duo The Honey Trees spent four years crafting their debut album, Bright Fire, and first single “Siren” is a reflection of the thoughtful, non-rushed time it took to create. This is the modern version of the classical compositions you can just sit back to, close your eyes, and let it ease your mind.
Manchester electronic duo Futurecop! Shared new track ““Lost Love (feat. DWNTWN)” off Fairytales of Summer Shoegazers, and it sounds like pure golden sun on your face. Very much like an updated Postal Service with a little bit of Stars.
Composer and producer Son Lux teamed up with Lorde for the creepy electronic track “Easy,” off new EP Alternate Worlds.
Colourmusic is a dream pop band from Oklahoma, but fresh track “Horse Race” has a great crunchy suspense to it that feels like it could also be a great track to wander the city to.
Oklahoma by way of Texas band Horse Thief makes great Midwestern rollin’ blues indie rock, and “Little Dust” is an exemplary offering off their recently released LP Fear In Bliss.
Silent Lions are a heavy soul duo from Toledo, OH, who make great dirged down, thick stoner rock. Their track “Runnin’ Me Down” just got a video treatment, off the six-song EP, The Compartments, that came out this past January.
Tom Iansek and Jo Syme make up Big Scary, the Melbourne, Australian pop project that started with acoustic guitars and egg shakers, and now have the moody and textured sound that can be heard on track “Invest.” They’ve also got a US tour going through May.
Tracklist
Alvvays – “Archie, Marry Me”
Dum Dum Girls – “Rimbaud Eyes”
Dead Stars – “Someone Else”
Greys – “Guy Picciotto”
The Julie Ruin – “Brightside”
Walking Shapes – “Whoa Tiger”
The Honey Trees – “Siren”
Futurecop! “Lost Love” feat. DWNTWN
Son Lux – “Easy (Switch Screens)” feat. Lorde
Colourmusic – “Horse Race”
Horse Thief – “Little Dust”
Silent Lion – “Runnin’ Me Down”
Big Scary – “Invest”
