Liz is a 28-year-old songwriter from the UK. She first came to prominence in 2007 after winning the Glastonbury Emerging Talent Competition. She followed up winning that prize with the release of her first single “Bad Medicine” in 2008. O. Devotion! is Liz’s first full-length since then, which she recorded with Liam Watson. She also enlisted a New Orleans brass band to create the woozy, brassy arrangements that appear on the album.

Listen/download: Liz Green – “Hey Joe”

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Much like her music, the path that led Ane Brun to It All Starts With One was peaceful, unhurried and full of unexpected, subtle surprises. It’s taken her from her small Norwegian hometown of Molde, to Barcelona where she was a street performer, and across the US last year supporting Peter Gabriel and singing on his New Blood album. The adventures culminated with the making of her new album It All Starts with One, a platinum hit in Norway for which she just won their Grammy equivalent, the Spellemann award, for best female artist.

Lead single “Do You Remember” is a euphoric, almost tribal track characterized by three drummers and backing vocals from fellow Scandinavians First Aid Kit. Album closer “Undertow” is a widescreen epic that brings the album to a heart-wrenching climax. Ane Brun has created an album full of struggles and the strength it takes to move forward. It All Starts with One is a revelatory work by an uncompromising artist at the height of her powers.

Listen/download: Ane Brune – “Do You Remember”

Here’s another new one from Miike Snow taken from the upcoming new album, Happy To You — this track just premiered today on Pitchfork.

Listen: Miike Snow ft. Lykke Li – “Black Tin Box”

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“Proggy without being self-indulgent…folky without being boring. They’ve got enough pop chops to keep even the most casual music fan’s ears glued to the stereo.” – KUT Austin

“Punching into the Canadian band’s strolling folk rock are these warm, tall sips of guitar solos. They sound as if they’re conjured from the shag-carpet of an old 70′s studio — it’s palpable as shit.” – Consequence of Sound

“Clocking in at a lean three and a half minutes, ‘Lightshow’ is neither stripped-down or overblown — instead, it’s a perfect example of rock ‘n’ roll precision…that sort of big-time, anthemic rock song that says what it has to say in a half-dozen ways, and as hard as it may try, never goes out of style.” – MTV Hive

Plants and Animals are pleased to announce a North American tour this March and April in support of their new album, The End of That, out February 28 on Secret City. This is the band’s first tour as a four piece, having added a bassist to their live show.

The band will also release a 7” for ‘Lightshow’, the first single off of The End of That, which will be available in stores on the same day as the CD/LP. The 7” features a live cover of Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe in Anything” on the B-side. A digital version of the 7” is available now via iTunes and other online retailers.

The live cover comes from the band’s “Live at Breakglass” performance during the Pop Montreal Festival in September of last year. The renowned Montreal studio hosted a combined live recording / intimate concert event as part of the tenth anniversary of the festival. Plants and Animals celebrated the milestone by covering local Montreal acts in addition to performing their own material.

Listen/download: Plants and Animals – “Lightshow”

Tour Dates:

• Thu. Mar. 8 – Ottawa, ON @ Ritual
• Fri. Mar. 9 – Quebec, QC @ Le Cercle
• Sat. Mar. 10 – Montreal, QC @ Le Cabaret du Mile End
• Mar. 13-18 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
• Tue. Mar. 20 – Victoria, BC @ Lucky Bar
• Wed. Mar. 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
• Thu. Mar. 22 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
• Sat. Mar. 24 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
• Tue. Mar. 27 – Edmonton, AB @ Starlite Room
• Wed. Mar. 28 – Calgary, AB @ Republik
• Thu. Mar. 29 – Saskatoon, SK @ Amigo’s
• Fri. Mar. 30 – Winnipeg, AB @ West End Cultural Centre
• Sat. Mar. 31 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry
• Wed. Apr. 4 – Boston, MA @ TT The Bear’s
• Thu. Apr. 5 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
• Fri. Apr. 6 – Washington, DC @ The Red Palace
• Sat. Apr. 7 – Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506
• Sun. Apr. 8 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
• Wed. Apr. 11 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
• Fri. Apr. 13 – Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
• Sat. Apr. 14 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone Cafe
• Wed. Apr. 18 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
• Thu. Apr. 19 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place
• Sat. Apr. 21 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace

• Walk Off The Earth’s Youtube channel has over 60 million total upload views and counting
• Walk Off The Earth’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” is the most watched video globally on YouTube for the month of January.
• Their cover saw the highest Billboard debut since April 2011 blasting into the charts at #14.
• Hitting the iTunes charts internationally with singles and past albums, including #1 Canada/Sweden/Germany. Top ten in most major markets.
• Walk Off The Earth has gained social media support from Adele, Gotye, Russell Crowe, Coldplay, Mumford and Sons, Whiz Khalifa, Justin Timberlake and Ryan Seacrest just to name a few.

Album opener “Always on the Run,” sets the album’s underlying tone of chaos and movement grabbing you with a transfixing vocal melody that submerges you into the album. Tomethy Furse of The Horrors recently put his special touch on the song and you can download the “Always On the Run” (Tom Furse Remix) MP3 now!

Listen/download: Yuksek – “Always on the Run” (Tom Furse Remix)

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“…filled with synthy goodness, fuzzy guitars, and purty purty duets, making them a band worthy of your attention” – Three Imaginary Girls

“It’s My Bloody Valentine assaulting The Raveonettes with an antique synthesizer.” – The Devil Has The Best Tuna

The Seattle-based duo Lux has sewn a unique sleeve to wear its influences on. Inspired by some of  the most essential artists of the era of indie and underground music (Pavement, The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, The Magnetic Fields, The Jesus & Mary Chain, New Order, Blondie), this boy-girl duo offers its own take on these sounds with the debut album We Are Not The Same, set for release on April 3rd, 2012.

Lux was formed in early 2010 when David Chandler, a Seattle transplant from Los Angeles began looking for a girl to form a band with. At the same time, Leah Rosen, a Seattle native with a decade of songwriting experience was looking to team up with a male musician. With some luck (and Craigslist), the pair found each other.

The duo set up shop in Rosen’s basement and set about writing, playing and recording the first Lux songs with Rosen and Chandler trading off on vocals, guitars, synths and drum programming.  The tunes immediately found their way onto the internet in the form of the digital EP, Disorders, released just a scant five months later in July of 2010.

Lux is still contemplating how it will play live (they never have!) as both Rosen and Chandler are self-confessed control freaks susceptible to the unpredictable nature of the stage. “Really, we just haven’t got around to it yet,” says Chandler. “We were actually offered a tour of Europe, but decided to focus on recording the album instead.”

It’s a good thing that they did as our ears are better for it. Check out the single, “The Window” from their debut album, We Are Not The Same, due for release on April 3rd.

Listen/download: Lux – “The Window”

This is my favorite song from Justice’s lastest album, Audio, Video, Disco. Well, this one and “New Lands.” Justice is coming out with an EP, On’ N’ On, on Monday, January 30th, featuring remixes by Rick Rubin, Tiga, Brodinski, Erol Alkan, and Video Village. It’s available for pre-order on iTunes now by clicking here.

The other day I posted a brand new song and free download from new artist Ducky. Now here’s the video for you to check out, directed by Waverly Mandel.

AND here’s another song for ya, too!

Listen/download: Ducky - “Like Rain”

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Click image to go check out "Paddling Out" at Spin.com

Miike Snow is excited to announce the first string of tour dates throughout the US and Canada in support of their sophomore release, Happy To You.  The 11- date run, which includes performances at SXSW, Ultra Music Festival and Coachella, will offer Miike Snow fans the first glimpse of the dynamic new live stage show that has made Miike Snow infamous.  Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt, Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg relay their anthemic and haunting hybrid of pop, dance and electronic music into a transcendental live experience that drives audiences into dance-fueled overdrive. The upcoming tour will highlight the group’s evolving sound while delivering the same energy that fans repeatedly expect to experience from a Miike Snow show.

Happy To You will be available in stores and digitally on March 27th via Downtown Records / Universal Republic.

TOUR DATES:
Tue. 03-03-12          SXSW                                      Austin, TX
Fri. 03-23-12            Ultra Music Festival            Miami, FL
Tue. 04-10-12           Paramount Theatre             Seattle, WA
Wed. 04-11-12          Roseland Theater                 Portland, OR
Thu. 04-12-12          Fox Theater                            Oakland, CA
Sat. 04-14-12            Coachella                                Indio, CA
Sat. 04-21-12            Coachella                                Indio, CA
Tue. 04-24-12          Terminal 5                              New York, NY
Fri. 04-27-12            Electric Factory                     Philadelphia, PA
Sun. 04-29-12          House Of Blues                     Boston, MA
Tue. 05-01-12           Sound Academy                    Toronto, ON
Wed. 05-02-12         Metropolis Theatre              Montreal, QC