NEON GOLD SXSW 2013.

SXSW is coming in hot this week, so let's do this. The 2013 installment of our annual official SX showcase is our biggest yet, as we take over the main stage at Empire Autos on Friday night. On the bill, we've got Lovelife, Ghost Beach and Sir Sly, before HAERTS, Foxes and St. Lucia close out the night in style. On the decks, captain Xaphoon Jones will be keeping the night alive in the late night slot alongside open bar cocktails from 12:30-1:30, courtesy of Western Spirits. It's all popping off at 7pm, Friday March 15th at Empire Autos, conveniently located on the corner of Red River and E 7th Street. Let's go, Austin.

08:00pm: Lovelife // DOWNLOAD: "Dying To Start Again"

08:45pm: Ghost Beach // STREAM: "Close Enough (Feat. Noosa)"

09:30pm: Sir Sly // STREAM: "Gold"

10:20pm: HAERTS // STREAM: "Wings"

11:10pm: Foxes // STREAM: "Warrior"

12:20am: St. Lucia // STREAM: "September"

01:10am: Xaphoon Jones // DL: "If You Love Me" (XJ + Grave Goods Remix)

ALL THINGS GOLD 012: GIGAMESH + FOXES

Our DC joint venture, All Things Gold, has been up and running like a charm, so we're very excited about our next one. This time, it's half American and half British for 100% pop glory. On the DJ front, we've got Gigamesh, master of all things summer, and London legends, Punks Jump Up, laying down the law. On the live front, we have UK princess of pop herself, Foxes, and Neon Gold alum Mr. Little Jeans providing all the lady love you'll ever need.

It's all going down tomorrow at U Street Music Hall from 9pm onwards, with tickets still available HERE. We've booked an entire Neon Gold bloc of live magic this week from Thursday to Saturday so if you can't make it to DC for the festivities, worry not. Mr. Little Jeans is opening for Alex Winston at Santos on Friday and Foxes will be playing our Popshop BK on Saturday. Come out, come out, wherever you are, your weekend just started.

STREAM: "Tongue Tied (Gigamesh Remix)" - Grouplove

STREAM:"Mr. Overtime" - Punks Jump Up

STREAM: "Let Go For Tonight" - Foxes

STREAM: "The Suburbs" - Mr. Little Jeans

POPSHOP BK 002: MNDR + FOXES

Our inaugural Popshop Brooklyn launch was nothing short of a raging success last month, and now we're back for round two. While our Manhattan chapter is on holiday, we've filled our second Popshop BK to the brim with some of the latest and greatest of the US and UK empires, taking over the early AND late Saturday night Brooklyn Bowl slots to make up for Popshop NYC's brief sabbatical last week.

Headlining we've got the inimitable MNDR, reclaiming her Popshop throne after shutting it down at the very first Popshop ever back in 2011, alongside our very own leading ladies, Foxes and Mr. Little Jeans. Rounding things out on the live section we've got HITS fresh off a sold out live debut at the Mercury Lounge, before Punks Jump Up and Starsmith take over the decks and keep things going into the early hours. It's all going down THIS Saturday at Brooklyn Bowl on July 14th, with doors at 8pm and $10 tickets available HERE.

STREAM: "#1 In Heaven" - MNDR

STREAM: "Warrior" - Foxes

STREAM: "Runaway" - Mr. Little Jeans

STREAM: "Madness" - HITS

GOLD035: FOXES

Foxes (our girl Loui Rose Allen) has been churning out effortless hits like butter for the better part of the last year, so it's with the great pleasure that we announce our next release with her, the three track Warrior EP. We've already hinted at the thunder-stealing AA-side's prime cuts in the empire-toppling "White Coats" and anthem-in-waiting demo "Let Go For Tonight", but it's EP title track "Warrior" leading the charge on the A-side.

With a lovesick power surge of Loui's larger-than-life vocals and enough riotous coming-of-age inertia to move mountains, "Warrior" is perhaps her biggest offering yet. This dovetails beautifully into "White Coats", an adrenaline rush of dystopian pop whose merits have already been preached from the mountaintops in these very pages. "Let Go For Tonight" rounds things out, a shining demo of boundless potential that has all the makings of a radio smash.

The Warrior 7" hits shops July 9th, but you may preorder the entire thing and get physical HERE. In the meantime, stream "Warrior" below and be sure to check out the digital EP (including two bonus tracks) on iTunes.

STREAM: "Warrior" - Foxes

TURN OFF THE LIGHTS.

Another week, another step on Foxes' inexorable march towards supernova pop stardom. "Youth" first dropped jaws late last year and was followed by the equally massive "White Coats" last month, but new demo "Let Go For Tonight" may well end up being the biggest single in her arsenal. Co-written by veteran London songsmith Kid Harpoon, whose fingerprints are all over the new Florence + the Machine record, "Let Go For Tonight" is Lou at her rawest and most visceral. As intertwining piano lines begin to take hold and the lights start to dim, Lou's voice pierces through the darkness like a heavensent beacon of hope. Even in early demo form, it resonates with the ferocious insatiability of a bloodthirsty gladiator, perhaps due to the fact that there's no one quite like her in the pop arena right now. The Warrior EP (on which this features) is out July 3rd, but don't miss Foxes make her long-awaited London debut at our Popshop UK launch tonight at Camp. LEGGO FOR TONIGHT.

MP3: "Let Go For Tonight" - Foxes

POPSHOP UK 001: ST. LUCIA + FOXES

After 18 months of living the dream in NYC, the time has come to take Popshop beyond the borders of our beloved city, and the debut of Popshop West in LA earlier this month was only the beginning. Next month, we spread our wings and take Popshop global as we head across the Atlantic to London and Paris for the first of what we hope to be many pop up Popshops around the world in the months to come. And better yet, we're sending our boy wonder St. Lucia overseas to headline both.

For now, we're here to talk about Popshop UK, as we team up with the infamous Black Cab Sessions to bring you some of the best new acts from both sides of the pond. First up, it's the brilliant Hannah Yadi setting the stage with her empowered brand of primal pop, followed by Savoir Adore making their triumphant return to the UK as they seek to win over the hearts and minds of every lovely creature in the room. Rounding out the night will be two of the hottest new tips for stardom in 2012 making their hotly-anticipated London live debuts, as our latest (neon) golden girl Foxes looks set to shine as the main support before our knight in shining armor, St. Lucia, shuts it down in the headline slot. It's all going down Thursday, May 17th, at CAMP, with £7 advance tix available HERE. Yes. Mate.

STREAM: "Closer Than This" - St. Lucia

STREAM: "Youth" - Foxes

STREAM: "Loveliest Creature" - Savoir Adore

STREAM: "Sahara Heart" - Yadi

NEON GOLD GREAT ESCAPE 2012.

 May is quickly shaping up to be one of the greatest months in Neon Gold Live history. After turning the heat up in NYC with another big Popshop and our special Cinco de Mayo fiesta, we're jetsetting across the pond to show our UK fam some love. It all kicks off in Brighton at The Great Escape, as we team up once again with our partners-in-crime, Chess Club, to bring you a massive Great Escape takeover on May 11 with some of the most talented new acts from both sides of the Atlantic.

First up, we have our resident dreamers Savoir Adore getting things started before Chess Club's latest batch of up and comers takes the reigns, as grunge-pop rapscallions Swim Deep, dream-folk quartet Pale Seas, and soul-charged crooner Chet Faker keep things moving in the early slots. Immediately following, we've got our new favorite ladies, HAIM and Foxes, with their own distinct brands of empowered female glory-pop, before our knight in shining armor, St. Lucia, closes out the night in style. It's all going down at Psychosocial (formerly Ocean Rooms) in Brighton starting at 6:30 sharp, so get involved and get fucking ready for another legendary night to remember down in Brighton.

STREAM: "Closer Than This" - St. Lucia


STREAM: "Home" - Foxes


STREAM: "Better Off" - HAIM


STREAM: "Terms and Conditions" - Chet Faker


STREAM: "Something or Nothing" - Pale Seas


STREAM: "King City" - Swim Deep


STREAM: "Dreamers" - Savoir Adore

CHASE DOWN THE WALLS AROUND US.

Foxes (neé Loui Rose Allen) has been riding high as the UK's next great hope for empowering female pop since the release of her triumphant debut anthem "Youth" this January, and it's with great pride that we now draw back the curtain on her much anticipated follow up, as we ready her debut EP, Warrior, for release this summer. "Warrior" is the lead track, but it's thunderstealing AA-side "White Coats" that shines as the sleeper hit here, a black and white tale of search and rescue set in a distant (or not so distant) dystopian future.

The dynamic production that made "Youth" so special remains a focal point here, as a dark tunnel of scrambled vocal loops set the scene in the intro, before Lou's honey-throated vocals light the way forward through an emotional progression of volatile chords. As our tragic heroine swells with hope towards the feverish chorus, it's the gravity of her unrequited qualms that keeps it all grounded in reality, before the weight of the world comes crashing down and the track erupts in the song's arena-sized finale. "White Coats" will feature alongside "Warrior" and new demo "Let Go For Tonight" as part of a special three-track 7" and digital EP out on Neon Gold in June, watch this space and get your exclusive first taste below.

DOWNLOAD: "White Coats" - Foxes [exclusive]

RUNNING WILD.

hav·oc noun \ˈha-vək, -vik\ - wide and general destruction : DEVASTATION

Yeah, that sounds about right. Adventure Club in the mix, reinventing melodies and toppling cities on this monolithic rework of Foxes' "Youth".

DOWNLOAD: "Youth" (Adventure Club Remix) - Foxes

CHANGING ALL THE TIME.

We've waxed poetic on our new leading lady, Foxes, so imagine our excitement when Italian remix extraordinaire Monsieur Adi bestowed upon us this Italo-dega Nights of a take on her debut single "Youth". As the twinkling sound of twilight ignites the affair, the deadpan drumline draws out the deception so the mischievously tribal backbone can dip and snap at the most stadium-pleasing moments. As soon as it gains racetrack momentum, Adi's volcanic eruption of garrulous synths rattles the very foundation holding Foxes down like a heavy tail, until all that's left is the ashy rubble of a youth of another life. Who's that with the neon gold medal neatly ribboned around her neck? Why, it's Foxes of course. Her Youth 7" is out this Monday on Neon Gold and available from the Neon Gold Shop now.

MP3: "Youth" (Monsieur Adi Remix) - Foxes

GOLD030: FOXES

A new year means an exciting new class of Neon Gold acts to introduce, and we're hitting the ground running with the lovely Foxes, whose AA-side debut single "Youth"/"Home" celebrates our 30th release and stands out as one of our absolute strongest to date. Carrying on the torch for empowered female pop from Neon Gold alums Marina & The Diamonds and Ellie Goulding, Foxes' debut 7" is a supercharged one-two punch with "Youth" leading the way and "Home" driving things home on the flip.

Loui Rose Allen (that's Foxes to you) has the piercing voice of an angel with an arrow lodged in her heart, and the rise and fall of the A-side's dynastic production mirrors our female lead's coming of age perfectly at the rapturous breakdown. On top of that, the ferocious drop results in a lingering afterglow that radiates with the emotional gravitas of a thousand dreams coming true. On the AA-side, "Home" has a certain Chairlift-ed charm about it, opening like an unassuming lullaby that skips the caterpillar stage altogether and goes from zero to butterfly in barely a minute. And it certainly doesn't hurt that the electronic flutters of this natural anthem have the same resonating impact as a lost (and now found) B-side from The Postal Service. Together they're the perfect way to launch the Neon Gold Class of 2012, and you better believe you'll be hearing a lot more out of Foxes' camp in the year to come. The official release date is January 16, but you can get your preorder on now from the Neon Gold Shop. Act now before it's too late, this one is a treasure.

DOWNLOAD: "Youth" - Foxes

STREAM: "Home" - Foxes

IT'S ONLY JUST BEGUN.

Word of our latest Neon Golden girl has been spreading like wildfire of late, so it's high time we introduce you to Loui Rose Allen, set to join our family tree with the release of her debut single in the new year. Known as Foxes on the streets, this 22-year old superstar in waiting writes leftfield pop anthems with the kind of infectious ambition that has desk-strapped A&Rs foaming at the checkbook. Nowhere is this more evident than on her uplifting debut single "Youth", an endlessly unique and massively anthemic debut offering that takes us back to the special days of Marina's "Obsessions". Vocally, we might call it a bittersweet fusion of Ellie Goulding and Clare Maguire if we weren't ourselves sick of the never-ending carousel of comparisons that befalls every new female vocalist these days, but the songwriting puts Foxes well and truly in a league of her own here.

Riding high on the wings of some of the most dynamic pop production we've heard in ages, Foxes delivers each verse like a tiny bombshell sliding down to explode silently in your chest and wreak havoc on your heartstrings. Grinding industrial percussion and resplendent synths cross paths before your very eyes, emotion flowing like sonic teardrops and mounting steadily to create a veritable waterfall of unrelenting pop brilliance. Things die down for a spell halfway through, but by the time the floodgates open and those soaring synths take to the skies in the bridge, it's game, set, and match - this round's gone to Foxes.

DOWNLOAD: "Youth" - Foxes [exclusive]