Catching Up With Icona Pop!.

Top Rated by IconaPop
Manners by IconaPop
Still Don't Know by IconaPop

It was a dreary AM in New York City when I was finally able to connect with Icona Pop's power duo, Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo. Speaking to me via phone from Stockholm, Sweden (where the two hail from) both Hjelt and Jawo were fresh off a video shoot in London for their smash-hit song, "Manners."

It is safe to say this pair has been busy -- after a blitz of a visit to the US back in March where they partook in their boutique, US label, Neon Gold's infamous Pop Shop show (only their fifth live performance ever,) these jetseters shortly landed back in London for their video shoot (no release details revealed.) "Manners" is just one of three songs released in the states; the others include, "Top Rated" and "Still Don't Know" available above. "We recorded 'Manners' one and a half years ago...you think it is just you, your family and friends listening to your music. Then people started looking at our Facebook, YouTube...and we are just [like] wow," Hjelt said. People were and are paying attention as Myspace is how Neon Gold first discovered the two. This was only a taste into the truly humble and sweet world of these two electro-pop music creators.

Read more, with ICONA POP after the jump.

Hey Guys, Remember Justice?

[mp3] Justice: "Civilization (Demo)"

Pure X "Twisted Mirror"

[mp3] Pure X: "Twisted Mirror"
[mp3] Pure X: "Back Where I Began"

Pure X, formally Austin's Pure Ectasy, is dropping 'Pleasure' on July 5th. Usually we don't go for the real "blissed" Altered Zones "bangers" but we've been digging what we've heard from this Texas collective, as their singles have stood out among the other nameless bands of this genre. If the album can stand up to the press release billing which describes it as channeling: "the snarl and nonchalant bombast of the Jesus and Mary Chain, the wistful, lonesome croon of Hank Williams and the pure, lovesick melodies of 1960s soul" consider us 100% believers.

Wu Lyf

[mp3] Wu Lyf: "Heavy Pop"

We've only heard a few songs, and we're not sure where we stand. There's a lot to like here, and a lot to question as well. This Manchester band's recent rise to heavy buzz status centers around standoffish attitudes, clandestine identities, and wild live shows, sometimes in front of a giant cross(?) Wu Lyf's ascension doesn't seem too dissimilar from the rise of The Horrors all those years ago, yet with a more punk/rock mindset rather than 80s goth. "Dirt" above is a cool tune, and the video is great. Wu Lyf's full album Go Tell Fire To The Mountain, will be self-released in the US June 13th. They Play The Mercury Lounge in July. We'll see how the US responds to the album. Should be interesting.

New Dolly Parton - "Together You & I"

It's no "Jolene," "Gonna Hurry As Slow as I Can," "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right," "Baby I'm Burnin'," or about one thousand of her other hits. But, it is a new Dolly Parton song and out of pure respect to a legend, we bring it to you. Fuck our street cred. We know where we stand. Yeah, that's right, this is from Perez.

Sallie Ford and The Sound Outside

[mp3] Sallie Ford: "I Swear"

Stark favorite Partisan Records has been on a roll lately, from Paleo to Middle Brother/Deer Tick, to Sallie Ford and a hopefully soon-to-be-coming new record from Chris Denny, Partisan has honed their sound and their label brand. Sallie Ford's debut LP, 'Dirty Radio' dropped Monday. It's a quirky, but not kitschy affair, that is buoyed by Ford's unique vocal performances and compelling melodies. The above video for "I Swear" is equal in quirk and throwback charm to the excellent song. We always feel like "fun" is a cheap adjective when it comes to describing music, so we'll just say that this is a great early summer album.

White Demin: 'D' Out Now

[mp3] White Denim: "Anvil Everything"

White Demin have been focusing and refining their sound over the course of numerous albums over the past few years. While, we don't think they have quite made the "complete" album we've been waiting for, 'D' is as close as they have come and it's a damn fine effort, well worth your money. It lacks a coherence, but the fidelity of the sound, musicianship, and songwriting are what make this an excellent effort. These Texas kids can play. It's worth it almost for the drum tracks alone. As we wrote long ago "White Denim sounded like an inverted, crazy-ass, 2008-version of the Allman Brothers. Lead singer James Petralli captured a fantastic amalgamation of Greg Allman's southern-soul and growl all while sounding completely cutting edge and modern." We would say that holds true today. 'D' is out yesterday on Downtown.

Yeasayer Debut New Song on Conan!

Check out "The Devil and the Deed" new from Yeasayer, above!

Baby's Got a Blue Flame

[mp3] Bosco Delrey: "Baby's Got a Blue Flame"

His baby's got a blue flame, and Diplo/Mad Decent's got a new rock 'n roll kid. Bosco Delrey is being cast as a type of 2011 garage Elvis, which while sensationalized, is what got us to listen to him in the first place. While we get the classic rock comparisons, we're not really getting an Elvis vibe - BUT - the songs are good, and the production is cool as shit. There's a bit of a Peter Bjorn and John whistle going on in this track, but there are the appropriate levels of grungy fuzz and a solid distorted drum track to keep us all happy. What we've heard of the record so far is damn solid, and more than enough for us to keep a close eye on what happens with Bosco in the next few months. His record 'Everybody Wah' (Mad Decent) is in stores June 14 and out now digitally.

jj Unveils Two New Tracks

[MP3] jj - "No One Can Touch Us Tonight"

[MP3] jj - "Ice"

We are admittly a bit late on posting these, but we wanted to have them! Two new tracks have surfaced from Sweden's own, jj via their independant label Sincerly Yours. "No One Can Touch Us Tonight" and "Ice" are a clear return to form, reinforcing all the positive song elements that made us fawn over jj n° 2 back in 2009. A departure from jj's most recent mixtape, Kills which was heavy on the hip-hop samples, she circles back around to her roots...these tracks call for Summer; "Ice" is your late night jam, while "No One Can Touch Us Tonight" is your roof-party jam. We are happy about these.

Johan Agebjörn 'Casablanca Nights'

[mp3] Johan Agebjörn & Lovelock ft. Sally Shapiro – Casablanca Nights

This delectable pop-disco album from Sally Shapiro's key collaborator seemingly came from nowhere. With guest spots from CFCF, Wolfram, and the aforementioned Ms. Shapiro, Agebjorn's 'Casablanca Nights' (out now, Paperbag Records) is the perfect soundtrack to those sweet and humid summer dance parties.

Baby I Will Leave You in The Morning

[mp3] Marissa Nadler: "Baby I Will Leave You in The Morning"

The lead track from Marissa Nadler's beautiful new s/t album due June 14 on her own Box of Cedar Records.

New Memory Tapes: "Wait in the Dark"

[mp3] Memory Tapes: "Wait in the Dark"

Certainly late on this one in terms of the blog world's schedule, but really, when has that ever stopped us? The truly talented "buzz" artists, persevere and create new music that equals or surpasses the quality of the previous content that brought them such notoriety in the first place. Such is the case with Memory Tapes (Philadelphia's Dayve Hawk). While it would've been easy to fall by the wayside alongside of countless other buzz-band victims, Memory Tapes have delivered "Wait in the Dark" an excellent new track from their upcoming album 'Player Piano' due July 5. The track is imbued with everything we liked about Memory Tapes in the first place (rhythmic melodies, tastefully delivered vocal effects) yet, shows a maturity in not only sound fidelity, but in songwriting. Memory Tapes (if the whole record stands up) are poised to reward their early supporters for their patience, and to garner hordes of fans who never jumped on the bandwagon in the beginning. Mp3 Via.

Rai Knight - "New New" (MNDR Remix)

Rai Knight - New New (MNDR Remix) by sheenabeaston

Our good friend Rai Knight is back again with her killer track, "New New" this time, remixed by MNDR. Detroit-native Knight is said to be working on a new EP scheduled for release this summer -- if she continues to produce pop-gems like "New New," expect something big from her debut release, whatever it may be. MNDR is managing to stay of the scene after her highly buzzed about work with Mark Ronson on Bang Bang Bang and then after releasing her newest single, "Cut Me Out."

Catch the offical video for "New New" here. It has been awhile, but we are glad to see Knight back on the scene!

(VIA)

Unknown Mortal Orchestra

[mp3] Unknown Mortal Orchestra: "Ffunny Ffriends"

We've been thoroughly enjoying the recent EP from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, but have our real sights set on their upcoming Fat Possum s/t debut LP dropping June 21. They channel a mysterious and soulful groove punctuated by distorted vocals that serve almost as a lead instrument in themselves, melding with the effect-laden lead guitar melodies to form a hazy humid atmosphere. The solo on track "Ffunny Ffriends" above meanders with a surprising sense of purpose reminding you that this is actually a real rock band despite their mysterious and clandestine nature; a rock band that has some serious potential to make a splash this summer with the right touring and label support.

Tom Vek Leisure Seizure

Tom Vek's rager of a new track "A Chore" has blasted through this past week's musical malaise with clarity, passion, and outright quality. While we haven't yet consumed his new record Leisure Seizure long enough to drop a full judgment on it the strength of this track speaks for itself, and the video is great. Leisure Seizure drops June 7th via Downtown/Cooperative/Island Records. Can't wait.

Julianna Barwick "Envelop"

[mp3] Julianna Barwick: "Envelop"

Sort of a companion piece to the John Maus video below... Julianna Barwick's beautiful album The Magic Place is out now on Asthmatic Kitty.

Love Inks: E.S.P

[mp3] Love Inks: "Blackeye"

Not really sure how Love Inks' new record crept its way onto our iPhones and wormed its way into our psyche, but we're sure glad it did. E.S.P is short, punchy, memorable and hook-laden, yet delivered in a subtle well crafted manner. It's vocal heavy, and punctuated by basic beats and bright sunny melodies. We're not breaking a ton of ground here, but damn if this isn't a pleasant record.

John Maus "Believer"

[mp3] John Maus: "Believer"

Hey kids - just getting my head above water after a pretty trying first half of the week in the "real" world... back to the more pleasurable grind here at Stark HQ. Sometimes, it's just not clear whether we're distinctly "for" or "against" a new artist or tune. John Maus' much buzzed upcoming record We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves drops June 28. The focus track "Believer" is above. There's a lot to like here (80s melodies, risky vocal choices/effects), but also a lot to dislike (a little too Altered Zones cliche for us). At its heart though, there's something very intriguing and captivating about this tune. So for now, I'll just let you absorb the above, and if you see me at the bar, tell me what you think. I'm gonna let this one sink in a bit and get back to you. Maus is touring w/ the most excellent and underrated Puro Instinct. Dates after the jump.

Kitsune Maison Compilation 11 - The Indie Dance Issue

Most people on the indie-music scene want to be first to everything. First to champion the newest and coolest bands, first to say so-and-so will be the best album of year, etc...Ultimately, all of this egotistical waxing is to prove that yes, he, she or I, am "cool." That being said, we present to you, the Kitsune Masion Compilation 11 - The Indie Dance Issue releasing on May 16th. What ups the "cool" factor of this compilation is three fold: 1) Kitsune Maison is a French boutique label that doubles as a hip French clothing line 2) Most commoners will not know one artist represented on the album and 3) did we mention it is French? Foreign music sells.

You aren't missing quality here though -- this compilation, despite the above, could really blow, to use a parlance of our time. But Kitsune has managed to craft a seamless blend of fantastic, indie, dance-pop gems, one after the other working together in a purely four-on-the-floor, 'get ready for summer' musical sense. To the causal listener, the compilation may be two-dimensional or all sound the same, but to those with a well-tuned ear, there is some great music showcased. Frankly speaking, this album is for us. We like the Delorean's, Icona Pop's (featured on this album,) Naked & Famous' and Kids of 88's of the world. So, in the words of Stevie Wonder, do yourself a favor, educate your mind. Grab this compilation before the summer officially starts.