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I’m Asian, so I grew up with jade all around me. My parents loved collecting jade on their trips across the Pacific, and there are plenty of superstitions you can find regarding the mineral. This might not be the sort of jade that Ausmark is referring to on their balmy lush song Jade, but the single is something to be equally cherished with its slick muggy summer heat and its immersive deep house production. This Australian and Danish duo brings us an intoxicating combination of Cut Copy, Miami Horror, and Empire Of The Sun on their latest single. There’s even some M83 and a dab of Future Islands to be found in its cosmic glow and its deep seductive drawl. For more of Ausmark’s music, check out Crystallise and I Will Be There below. You can also stream new single Jade on Spotify, here.

L D R U - Me feat. BOI (Cover Art) [Ultra Music]

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Little Dragon- High Swedish indietronica band Little Dragon has returned with a new single "High" since the last release of their album "Nabuma Rubberband" in 2014. Little Dragon has also announced new tour dates! TOUR DATES: 4/13 Pioneertown, CA - Pappy & Harriets 4/14-16 Indio, CA - Coachella 4/16 San Diego, CA - Observatory North Park 4/18 Santa Ana, CA - The Observatory OC 4/21-23 Indio, CA - Coachella 4/22 Santa Barbara, CA - Santa Barbara Bowl 4/23 Phoenix, AZ - Livewire 4/25 Dallas,TX - Majestic Theatre 4/26 Austin, TX - Stubb's Waller Creek Theater 4/27 Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall 4/29 Lawrence, KS - Granda Theatre 4/30 St Louis, MO - The Pageant 5/02 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall 5/03 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre 5/04 Toronto, ONT - Danforth Music Hall 5/05-07 Atlanta, GA - Shaky Beats Festival 7/22 Squaw Valley, CA - Wanderlust 7/26 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks 7/29 Cooperstown, NY- Ommegang Brewery 7/31 Pittsburg, PA - Stage AE

There are no smoke and mirrors involved when it comes to the beautiful indie pop that stirs our souls off of Bora York’s music. In fact, there’s no smoke to be found anywhere despite the title of the husband wife duo’s latest single. Smoke is pristine and pure, clarion and silvery. And it takes us soaring sky high with its lifting choruses and balmy flittering Kygo-like electronic production. We leave the earth and all its burdensome troubles in the dust, rejuvenated with a renewed sense of vernal hope and boundless fervor. According to Bora York, Smoke is based on the idea of moving forward. Speaking of the track, Chris and Rebekah note: “There’s nothing like the feeling of being free like a road trip, and that’s the setting with this song. ‘No more anthems, and no more embers, no more questions, till we live surrendered' - this encompasses the idea of leaving the past, or worries, or regrets, behind. The good, the bad, the doubts - leaving it all behind for something new, something fresh.”   Alongside the single’s arrival comes news of an upcoming album from the Minneapolis project named Emotion Vertigo. We’ll be looking out for details. In the meantime, you can also stream and purchase Smoke, which is out via Anthem Falls Music, here.

We were quite fond of Los Angeles’ Wildcat! Wildcat! a few years ago, even hitting up their sets when they toured to San Francisco, including their headline show at Popscene and when they opened for Alt-J at Popscene. But the group has gone silent for a number of years now, and we couldn’t help but wonder what its members have been up to. As it turns out, bandmates Michael Wilson and Jesse Carmichael have embarked on a new endeavor named Kid Nobody, and their first single proves these fellows are no “nobodies” in the scene. ‘ms. stress’ is our first taste from Kid Nobody’s debut EP out in early 2020. On it, a glistening electronic backdrop swaddles sleek glossy vocals to intoxicating effect, like syrupy sonic molasses. Kid Noboy's Jesse Carmichael explains: “ms. stress is written from the perspective of a person stuck in an abusive relationship. There’s always a ‘should I stay or should I go’ nature but your inner dialogue gets more distorted the messier the relationship gets and the longer you're in it. Jealousy and trust issues are common causes and/or symptoms of toxic relationships ('oh my jealousy guy, I don't believe it, no I don't believe it') and have a history of leading to affairs or broken commitments…hence the song title (ms. stress = mistress)." You can grab the debut or stream via alternate digital services, here.

Apparently, I missed the memo on a new project named Royal Cinema last month despite the fact that I’m quite fond of the acts that its members are involved in aside from this new band. Sydney Wayser of CLARA-NOVA, Johanna Cranitch of White Prism, and Issac Carpenter of Awolnation have assembled to form Royal Cinema. CHA-CHING is their latest pulsing pop single, a funk ridden, dance-ready, bass feisty dazzler that sounds like SOFI TUKKER, Haiku Hands, Goldfrapp, and Yacht formed a supergroup. Royal Cinema made their debut last month on Were You Surprised (OMG), which was featured in fantasy thriller film Wish Upon, starring Ryan Phillippe. They followed it up with Rebels as their second single. Both tracks can be streamed below. On their latest, Royal Cinema states: “CHA-CHING is about owning your own ‘awesome’. We're living in a world ruled by social media and our own doubts and comparisons from those platforms. We wanted to write a song about feeling empowered to be ourselves. A song about ‘feeling like a million bucks’ in our skin as we are today; a bit messy, less than ‘perfect’ but f***ing cool because we're proud to be our own unique weird!” Royal Cinema oozes super cool confidence on all of their releases so far. A debut EP is in the forecast for early 2020.