The Musty Codpiece

LAs Twin Oaks pair their atmospheric, expansive dream pop with a hypnotic beat and the result is an instant favorite. Play this immediately if the thought of Deaf Club melding with The xx gives you goosebumps.

Lxandra is some kind of Finnish prodigy (now based in Berlin). With such a beautiful expressive voice, (shades of Adele, for sure), we can only imagine the heights she will ascend. Hush Hush Baby is a solid pop ballad but as a showcase of her voice than anything, it’s time well-spent.

Siobhan Wilson is massively talented singer/songwriter out of Scotland. Here she steps out of acoustic folk with a surprising sound almost like a long-lost My Bloody Valentine track, all wobbly, distorted guitars. I dig it.

Bright, joyous new single from Salt Cathedral combines all their pop-smarts with Caribbean vibe. Recommended for dirty dancing in the kitchen by yourself, not that I would know personally.

There’s not much details out there (in English) about this Japanese outfit. But they’ve seemed to have distilled all the good bits of twee indie-pop into this one song. A beautiful dream pop breeze, perfect for us lonely lads heading out to the Slowdive listening party like it’s some critical juncture in Western civilization (this Friday, don’t forget).

It might be a subtle statement about our troubled times, but Ardyn’s latest track musically has such an exuberant vibe, it feels more joyous than earnest. Especially with that refrain that seems teleported from a gospel choir. Also the vibrato in Katy Pearson’s voice is possibly the most endearing thing ever. A bright, sparkly thing from one of our favorites.

So happy there’s something new from Madi Diaz’s solo project. Ever since her outstanding single, Tomorrow, we’ve been watching closely for another track to obsess over. Her latest comes pretty close. Taking apart a sticky relationship, Ms Diaz breaks it down into simple terms with this medium groove and her impeccable songcraft.

Hats off to Tove Styrke for not sticking to tired old pop formulas but giving us something delightfully refreshing yet fun and totally addictive. Let’s hope there’s more to come where that came from.

Claire - Drowning

Goldmyth just popped out of nowhere with the funtastic, instantly-addictive pop song with next level handclaps. 

Might be a tad obsessed with this track from Portland’s NAVVI. Love the way her aching voice languidly drapes over those frenetic electronic beats.

There is so much promise on display from Finnish singer Lxandra on her debut single. She possesses an amazing expressive voice with a passing resemblance to Adele. On this track, she shows she has an inventive, idiosyncratic approach to piano-driven pop song.

Claire hits the pop-perfection mark again. They’ve got a gift for putting together just the right ingredients into the pop format. After getting their gear stolen in London (and miraculously recovering it), they seem to be back with vengeance. 

At some point, a track gets played so often, it feels like an injustice not to blog about it. Golden Vessel is a young Brisbane producer garnering a bit of attention for his minimal, precise tracks with the right mix of restraint and flair. He’s put out great collaborations with Woodes and MTNS but it’s this stellar track with Lastlings we just can’t shake many weeks later.

Salt Cathedral never fail to be surprising and delightfully off-kilter. Never more so than with Fragments, a kind of pop ballad with singer Juli’s voice front-and-center walking a high-pitched tightrope with the beats and electronics flitting about in the background. Salt Cathedral splice together various genres and their musical influences with such audacity and superb execution, their debut LP later this year is definitely one to watch out for.

Day Wave’s Jackson Phillips isn’t shy about his influences. The first 40 seconds of Something Here so closely captures early New Order, it might even have Sumner scratching his chin. The charm of Something Here is the production’s grainy texture, the sonic equivalent of a Holger, and the harmonies.

Cajsa Siik seems to bounce around between folk and pop and all places in-between. Love the breezy vibe and tempo of her latest, Talk To Trees, that makes one want to skip along the sidewalk (at least, mentally) and see if you can stop yourself from singing along to the refrain.