A MILLION MILES FROM YOUR DESPERATE DAYS.

Here at Neon Gold, we're no stranger to Kyla La Grange's feminine wiles. Her latest single "Heavy Stone" picks up where the endless promise of early singles "Walk Through Walls" and "Been Better" left off, but it's the sterling AA-side "Lambs" we're here to talk about today. The perfect example of Kyla's illustrious brand of orchestral pop, "Lambs" comes complete with the production luster of a chart hit coupled with the blistering emotion of a love letter, all haunted atmospherics bundled in a tightly knit blanket of uplifting keys and drums. Consider this yet another checkmate for our UK brethren Chess Club Records, with whom La Grange will be putting out "Heavy Stone"/"Lamb" on October 17th.

MP3: "Lambs" - Kyla La Grange [exclusive]

WHEN THE SKY WAS RED.

There's no denying it, Kyla La Grange is here to stay. Don't let her manic pixie dream charm fool you, her songs pack serious emotional heat; visceral knockouts with no pulled punches in sight. "Been Better" is her latest offering, coming off like a statement of intent from La Grange and an exciting preview of what we can expect on her forthcoming debut album, all British folk-rock peppered with a little Americana that tastes like a surprisingly delicious combo of Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith. The track steamrolls along relentlessly as it's supercharged by Kyla's cathartic self-assurance, which literally pours out of her in the song's epic conclusion. And of course it doesn't hurt that her endearingly smoky pipes reek of Natasha Khan with the fierce bite of Cat Power. If you're into living a life without regrets and happen to be in London on July 12, you should probably find your way to the Lexington to do it up large with our friends at Chess Club for the "Been Better" single release party, big styyyyle.

MP3: "Been Better" - Kyla La Grange [exclusive]

CMJ 2010 // NEW SHAPES 2.0

It's that time again, as we make our way towards mid-October and the collective gaze of the music industry falls upon CMJ and all the beautiful chaos that comes with it. Last year we brought you the first annual New Shapes party, which saw everyone from Theophilus London and Darwin Deez to Chief and Local Natives grace the stage at Santos Party House. This year we're going even bigger with it, moving to the wide open spaces of Brooklyn and the multiple stages of Public Assembly, and it's finally time to bring the curtain back on what's easily the biggest event we've ever been a part of.

Chess Club are once again our partners in promotional crime for this event, and we've also teamed up with the UK's Plugged In PR to help us bring you one of the best and brightest line ups on offer at CMJ this year. It's all going down at Public Assembly on Thursday the 21st of October, from 3pm to 3am, with two stages and over 20 amazing new bands playing over the course of the evening. Below you'll find the full line up and schedule for the night, complete with mp3s so you can sample the artists on the menu for the evening. Tickets are currently on sale via the event page HERE, and at only $12 a pop that's a hell of a bang for your buck so you'd do well to move quickly and reserve your ticket today. And as this is an official CMJ event, we will also be opening the door to a limited number of CMJ badge holders, but as space is limited you'd be wise to arrive early to ensure entry.

NEON GOLD ROOM
04:00pm: The Good Natured (London) // MP3: "Your Body Is A Machine"
05:00pm: Body Language (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Huffy Ten Speed"
06:00pm: Samuel (Manhattan) // MP3: "I Heart NY" (Remix ft. Joell Ortiz)
07:00pm: Spark (London) // MP3: "Shut Out The Moon" (Monsieur Adi Remix)
08:00pm: Emil & Friends (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Sleepyhead"
09:00pm: Brahms (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Subtext Is Deadly"
10:00pm: Fenech-Soler (London) // MP3: "Lies"
11:00pm: The Sound of Arrows (Stockholm) // MP3: "M.A.G.I.C."
12:00am: Penguin Prison (Harlem) // MP3: "Worse It Gets" (Starsmith Remix)
01:00am: The Knocks (Manhattan) // MP3: "Make It Better"

CHESS CLUB ROOM
03:30pm: Santah (Chicago) // MP3: "No Other Women"
04:30pm: Savoir Adore (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Bodies"
05:30pm: Alex Winston (Detroit) // MP3: "Medicine"
06:30pm: Ava Luna (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Clips"
07:30pm: Oberhofer (Brooklyn) // MP3: "Away Frm U"
08:30pm: Devin Therriault (Brooklyn) // MP3: "I Don't Think I"
09:30pm: 1, 2, 3 (Pittsburgh) // MP3: "Confetti"
10:30pm: Grouplove (Los Angeles) // MP3: "Colours"
11:30pm: The Postelles (Manhattan) // MP3: "123 Stop"

Once again tickets are $12 (BARGAIN) and available online HERE. There's also a Facebook event page up over here, and you can stay up to date on all further updates via our official Neon Gold Records twitter feed here, which to be honest you should have probably already been following anyway.