Escucharemos

Swedish/Norwegian trio Postiljonen, a staple as of always, returns with their latest single ‘Supreme’. Following up on their last release ‘How Will I Know/All That We Had Is Lost,’ they’ve continued to move away from the slow and brooding nature of some their earliest songs like ‘Vi var en gang’ and ‘Skyer’ in favor of bigger beats. I couldn’t be happier— Postiljonen take it one step closer to that sun-soaked, Air France/Southern Shores/Korallreven irresistibility with this latest jam. Look out for a lush debut album from this crew in the near future.

Good times on the rise.

Boston-based duo cry guy released their debut EP earlier this month. A soft blend of the sort of beats and bloops that characterize Cameron’s other project Little Spoon and his friend Virginia’s often-ethereal vocals, ‘tears of whatever’ houses five alluring, slow-burning pop tunes. I’m already looking forward to hearing what these two will conjure up next.

until then, big love from bosstown. 

photo by returnthesun

San Francisco-based dream-pop duo The Bilinda Butchers have emerged with their latest single ‘the lovers’ suicide’ which will debut march 5th with b-side ‘love so estranged’ as a 7” on BEKO and CD on Zoom Lens. The title track pulses with the sort of the jangly guitars riffs that I’ve come to expect from Michal and Adam alongside a driven drum base while ‘love so estranged’ offers something a bit different— a dreamy wash of synths and airy, vulnerable vocals that begins with birds chirping and builds throughout. This is not last time we’ll hear from these two this year— though they say that their “future plans are shrouded in mist,” they’re planning a tour for later this year and are working on their first full length, following up their two EPs goodbyes (2012) and regret, love, guilt, dreams (2011). 

Take me anywhere.

Victoria, Canada’s Tayler Thompson is producing some hypnotic tropical getaways under the name Floridas. Little drops of water drip down from the roof— the snow is starting to melt. I know these late-afternoon rays can often be deceptive but this feeling is pure. Spring feels closer than ever. Sunglasses on, I’m soaking it up with Floridas’ first two sun-drenched tracks. Keep an eye on the horizon & maybe we’ll see new things from this project when spring finally arrives.

“vill bara ooh fucka ur ooh” - nordpolen

nordpolen - oh oh

Sweden’s David Alexander is back with his latest single under his sun-soaked dream pop moniker Summer Heart. ‘Hit Me Up Again’ sways and pulses is all the right ways. It made me forget about all those little white flakes flickering outside my window— if only just for a moment. Check out Jonas Börjesson’s video for the track below. The single, which also includes the comparably blissful ‘Stockholm,’ is available over at David’s bandcamp. 

foto dei miei ricordi d’estate ☼ 

This weekend I made my way north— into a sea of grayness that wrapped itself around each snowcapped peak. I was there, watching snow roll down hillsides and settle in dark valleys, but if you took a close look into my eyes you’d have see the reflection of the soft streaks of some distant sunset. The Embassy’s 2005 album Tacking filled my ears and brought me to some distant horizon. I’ve long thought that nine-track release was the Gothenburg duo’s Sunday best, but they’ve now resurfaced in the midst of a swedish winter with yet another fabulously breezy pop tune.

‘Related Artist’, the first single off their forthcoming full-length Sweet Sensation, bobs to the smoothest disco bass and wonderfully jangly guitar. Fredrik Lindson’s vocals, airy and unfeigned, round out the track… alongside a couple of animals (definitely some chirping birds and I counted at least three monkey whoop-gobbles). Perfect. Sweet Sensation, the legendary duo’s first new full-length in eight years is due out the 26th of February on The Embassy’s new label International and it brims with all those memories of places that always seem just a dream away. 

[photo taken june 2012. praiano, italy]

Youth Lagoon returns with a new track— the first off his second album Wondrous Bughouse, which is set to drop March 5th on Fat Possum. ‘Dropla’ took me by surprise at first; its production, especially the beginning of the song’s percussion, feels much more full than the distant drum machines of some of his earlier tracks. It sheds much of the airy film of ethereal solitude that very much characterized his stunning debut The Year of Hibernation. This worried me at first, but I soon picked out so many warm familiarities. Trevor’s latest effort perhaps presents an expanded sound that somehow manages to salvage the intimacy and candor at the heart of the project. Trevor’s lyrics are as tangible as ever; lines like, “I reach my arm across the bed and hold your hand” rekindle a sense of congenial vulnerability into which, after about four minutes, the song soon softly recedes.

Damn, Chaz Bundick how are you so fly?

Toro Y Moi’s latest tune ‘So Many Details’, a single off his forthcoming LP Anything In Return, gets paired with some stunning visuals crafted by HARRYS; Chaz getting driven around by a rather sultry lady, struttin’ his stuff on the tarmac in slow-mo, and wearing a host of fine turtlenecks— I really don’t know what else I could ask for.

Hazy Mountains is the solo project of Julian Prott of the German dream pop fourpiece Shoreline Is and his latest effort takes the form of a wonderfully eased-out take on Rhye’s jam ‘The Fall.’ The Dortmund-based producer also recently self-released his debut full-length Breeze last month and you can get your hands on that over at his bandcamp page.