We say this a lot, sure, but we think you'll agree when we tell you that this next Popshop is quite possibly the best bill we've ever had. On any show. Ever. No hyperbole, just cold hard fact. We've got The Royal Concept all the way from Sweden starting things off early. Australian upstarts Atlas Genius stealing hearts up second. Our beloved Neon Gold alums Wolf Gang headlining live. And as if that wasn't already jaw-dropping enough, we've got arguably the best remixer in the game, Alex Metric, shutting things down in the DJ headline slot and keeping the midnight oil burning at full blast. Seriously, we can barely believe we're even typing these words, but this is real, people. We repeat, this is not a drill. It's all going down November 1st at - where else? - Santos Party House, with $10 advance tickets available HERE. Don't delay New York, this one's gonna go fassssst.
STREAM: "Dancing With The Devil" - Wolf Gang
STREAM: "September (Alex Metric Remix)" - St. Lucia
Swim Deep are a new Birmingham trio injecting a heavy dose of acid-bleached grunge into the UK pop scene. Though debut single "King City" lacks most of the hallmarks of our usual taste, there's a magnetic quality to the songwriting and melodies that's had it stuck on repeat around Neon Gold HQ for months now. With an expansive instrumental that recalls the more uplifiting moments of Arcade Fire's Funeral (SEE: the driving guitars of "Rebellion" or the addictive oohs of "Haiti"), the original is one of the more impressive debuts of the year.
Out May 14th on Chess Club, the single comes with an impressive remix package in tow, with London's newest remixers du jour, II Figures, lending their royal treatment to "King City" on one of their best mixes yet. Keeping the blueprint of the original largely intact, Figures gently drape it in a tapestry of tessellating synths spread neatly across thin gasps of air. Heavenly electronic bodies twinkle high above cold-blooded Wolf Gang piano stabs and gentle Coldplay guitars, before the chorus finally puffs its chest, swoops down, and delivers the coup de grace.
This is the new year, and if you don't feel any different, we've got a brand new band to soundtrack your first weekday of 2012. Midi Matilda, a duo from San Francisco, are the party responsible for "Day Dreams", a silver lining pop song that combines the very best parts of Wolf Gang and Foster The People. Without a moment to spare, you're swept away by the colossal piano progression and reverb-blessed vocals, which pave the way for schizophrenic guitars and elegiac oohs to fly on by. As Midi Matilda effortlessly flip the falsetto switch that lights up the chandelier in the sky, it's the golden trumpet refrain that re-awakens latent feelings and allows you to fully escape into that everlasting reverie where your dreams are just that much more tangible.
As if one masterful Wolf Gang remix wasn't enough, Baby Monster further demonstrate just how much creative heat they're packing by adeptly pitching strike two in the cage. The Wolf Gang original already killed it, but Baby Monster legitimately raise the dead with reverbing incantations and electronic boomerangs swooping in and out of the afterlife on this one. It's a spellbinding reimagining that transcends time and space to flip on the lightswitch in your head and broadcast your live excitement through widened eyes. Every iteration of "The King And All of His Men" has basically been a musical Game of Thrones, but as umpires in the pop game, we've got to give credit where credit's due on this crowning achievement for the Baby Monster gentlemen.
So Monday night was a fucking blast, but if you missed out on the fun worry not, as we'll be going harder, better, faster, stronger Friday night in Brighton at our official Great Escape showcase with Walk The Moon, Post War Years and Wolf Gang at The Loft in central Brighton. Together with our bros-in-arms Chess Club, we'll be bringing you three of the best bands the festival has to offer late night from 11pm to 3am, plus DJ sets from our beloved ANR running things on the decks the first half of the night and the brilliant and beautiful Icona Pop girls killing it into the early hours. Set times and streams ahoy, see y'all in Brighton.
We've been patiently waiting for a Wolf Gang full length since like forever (seriously dudes where's our advance promo), and while we're all going to have to wait just a little bit longer (until June 27th), here's a little something that's helping us pass the time. "Something Unusual" is a brand new tropical day dream from the London outfit and provides an exciting taste of things to come on their forthcoming debut longplayer. This one takes a page from the Peter Gabriel big beats 'n rad wind chimes school of pop that Wolf Gang often find themselves channeling, and if you ask us it's pretty hard to go wrong there. The track starts out simply enough with frontman Max McElligott's soon-to-be iconic voice carrying the load before the guitar kicks in, your pulse quickens and things kick into high gear. It's the kind of song that'll whisk your soul away to a utopian paradise if you let it, and if you haven't mentally checked out from the harsh realities of the real world by the time that first chorus drops then there really might be something wrong with you. Seriously, you should get that checked out.
Unfortunately we don't have clearance from The Powers That Be to share an mp3 of that new Wolf Gang freshness, but we have been given the green light to share the brilliant E. Russell remix of their current single "Dancing With The Devil", which we've been crushing on for a long minute now. Maybe it's because we heard it before the original, but we actually prefer it to the single version. There's just something about the moody darkness E. Russell brings to the track that suits the lyrics and subject matter beautifully, and we'll definitely be keeping an ear to the ground to hear what kind of magic E. Russell has in store for us on remixes in the future.
Also anyone who stayed super late night at Popshop last night - first of all, props - got treated to an amazing supergroup of Wolf Gang, Walk The Moon and Lunar Youth (joined by our own Miss Gold USA) performing Weezer covers at 3am. And that, friends, is why you always stay late night. Lesson learned y'all.
Wolf Gang are some of our nearest and dearest Neon Gold alumni and the lovely Kyla La Grange is one of our favorite tips for 2011, so we were thrilled to find them joining forces on this acoustic version of Wolf Gang's latest single, "Dancing With The Devil". The vocal interplay between Wolf Gang frontman Max McElligott and La Grange is perfect, and the track is yet another step in the right direction towards what we fully expect to be one of the year's finest full-length debuts when Wolf Gang's album drops this summer. Both Wolf Gang and Kyla will be playing SXSW this year, with the latter making a stop off in NYC beforehand at Communion's special pre-SXSW show this Sunday and Wolf Gang taking the stage at our unofficial day party blowout on the Saturday in Austin. More details on our day party to come by week's end, but for now feast your ears and eyes on an exclusive video of Max and Kyla's "Dancing With The Devil" duet above and The Shoes' official remix (featuring the brilliant Cocknbullkid) of the single below.
We've been hearing insane amounts of buzz out of the UK about Dry The River, so the fact that we failed to investigate for ourselves until this week is really not something we're proud of. Because fuck, these guys are GREAT. Sounding like the logical heirs to the Mumfords' arena-folk throne, their tracks bring to mind the perfect nexus of the Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire at their most anthemic, and - if reports are to be believed - they've actually got the live show to back up such comparisons. Their debut offering comes in the form of "New Ceremony", which more than anything reminds us of what we've heard thus far off Mumford's second album, with a hint of more pop-based fare like Wolf Gang and Sam's Town-era Killers thrown in for good measure. Expect big things.
For a while now we've been making a strong case for Wolf Gang as the most underrated band in the UK, but with considerablelove starting to come in from Pitchfork and his debut single proper slated for release on Atlantic next month, it's looking like that's starting to change. The single in question is the brilliant "Lions In Cages", a song we've been head over heels for since creative mastermind Max McElligott first sent us the demo over a year ago. The finished version is nigh-on perfect, a galloping technicolor epic Max recorded with the legendary Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT) that comes off like Arcade Fire covering "Viva La Vida", all ringing church bells and breathtaking strings arrangements. He's come along way since releasing his self-produced debut 7" with us back in 2009, and with his debut album finally within reach and penciled in for an early 2011 release, we couldn't be more excited for a band that's been fully deserving of rampant widespread praise for a longgg minute now.
And what better way to celebrate than with the band's first ever NYC shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn next week? First up next Wednesday we'll be putting them on downstairs at Santos Party House with support from Emil & Friends live and The Knocks on the 1's and 2's (not to mention a special live guest opening things up), before they head across the river to our friends at Bridge Club playing Glasslands on Thursday night. But not only is our Wednesday night show one of the more exciting lineups of the fall, it's also COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY FREE. That's right. $0. Free. No cost. Whatsoever. You have quite literally no excuse not to attend. Doors are at 7pm with the first band on shortly thereafter, and all you have to do to ensure your entry is RSVP at rsvp@neongoldrecords.com so you don't get turned away on the night if it reaches capacity. Come out, have a drink, have a dance, and join us in celebrating one of the best young games in the band right now.
Things have really been coming together for our Neon Gold homeboy Wolf Gang since we first posted his outrageously beautiful new semi-single "Back To Back" last month. Pitchfork has jumped on the bandwagon and showered him with some recent Forkcast love, and now we've got an oven fresh remix from Los Angeles synth darling Active Child. We've been vibing on the recent Transparent signing since our dudes Jack and Sahil first turned us on to the wonderful ways of "When Your Love Is Safe", and he continues to impress on his remix of "Back To Back", bathing the original in an ocean of shimmering synths and the soulful electronic pop sounds he's come to be known for.
Big Stereo just debuted this wonderful new Wolf Gang track today, and as it was we who first brought their sounds into the realm of the consumer, we feel it our paternal duty to continue to spread their gospel far and wide across these sprawling internet plains. "Back To Back" isn't a proper new single per se, rather it's more of a holdover until their next formal offering hits shelves this spring, but that's not to say it's not totally amazing. Like the perfect middle ground between the band's biggest pop moments and their more indie sensibilities, "Back To Back" not only showcases the strides main man Max McElligott has made as a songwriter, but as a bedroom producer as well. It also kind of reminds us of "Sexual Healing" in a way, which is NEVER a bad thing.
We say this a lot, sure, but we think you'll agree when we tell you that this next Popshop is quite possibly the best bill we've ever had. On any show. Ever. No hyperbole, just cold hard fact. We've got The Royal Concept all the way from Sweden starting things off early. Australian upstarts Atlas Genius stealing hearts up second. Our beloved Neon Gold alums Wolf Gang headlining live. And as if that wasn't already jaw-dropping enough, we've got arguably the best remixer in the game, Alex Metric, shutting things down in the DJ headline slot and keeping the midnight oil burning at full blast. Seriously, we can barely believe we're even typing these words, but this is real, people. We repeat, this is not a drill. It's all going down November 1st at - where else? - Santos Party House, with $10 advance tickets available HERE. Don't delay New York, this one's gonna go fassssst.
