On the Radar:

Kitten

Grunge-pop band Kitten is known for their electric live performances and youthful energy in their musicality. The band has yet to pull together a full LP, but that will all be a thing in the past when their self-titled album drops in a few months. Loose cannon and frontman Chloe Chaidez talks about their side project used to preoccupy Kitten's (and their fans) time before the album releases:

In the process of recording the Kitten album we kept coming up with really cool ideas/beats that didn't quite fit but  were really where I was at the moment.  Old Missy Elliot, Arca, Drake, Future, Yeezus, etc...I thought it might be a cool idea to release a few of the tracks. Just a way let loose and have a good time making music with different friends while waiting for the album to come out. Ariel stopped by for the video and we just shot us hanging out together. This video was directed by Kaitlin Christy. She's a student at NYU and a close friend. It was a shot at an old Hollywood motel for about $300 and we had a great time making it.

"Money," the newest track below, is one of their more risky and peculiar divergences. Spontaneously shot and overwhelmingly low budget--Chaidez and Ariel Pink (Girls) are filmed in a motel seemingly under the influence as Chaidez's barely audible lyrics whisper through the late night swims and chain smoking. Is this what is to come of Kitten's fast approaching LP?

Foster the People

Alternative-melodic rock band Foster the People have been teasing their new album for months and in January the unveiling of the title, Supermodel, was finally dropped. After the whirl-wind success of their debut album and a nearly three year wait, audiences around the world have been anxiously anticipating the March 18th sophomore LP date. Single number one (posted below) from Supermodel is upbeat "Coming of Age". It's chalk-full of all the pop and pizzaz fans of Foster adore and the rest of the album shares that infectious, positive vibe, according to a Rolling Stone interview with the band. Currently they are on a tour around North America with St. Lucia:

March 14: Austin, TX—Butler Park (SXSW)
March 21: Toronto, Canada—The Horseshoe Tavern
March 24: London, England—Troxy
March 28: Paris, France—Gaité Lyrique
April 8: Pomona, CA—Fox Theater
April 9: Solana Beach, CA—Belly Up Tavern
April 12: Indio, CA—Coachella
April 15: Tempe, AZ—Marquee Theatre
April 16: Tuscon, AZ—The Rialto Theatre
Apr 18: Las Vegas, NV—Boulevard Pool at The Cosmopolitan*
Apr 19: Indio, CA—Coachella
Apr 25: Nashville, TN—Ryman Auditorium*
April 25-27: Kingston, GA—CounterPoint Music Festival
Apr 28: Tulsa, OK—Cain’s Ballroom*
Apr 29: Dallas, TX—South Side Ballroom*
Apr 30: Houston, TX—Bayou Music Center*
May 2 - 4: Tampa, FL—Big Guava Music Festival
May 3: New Orleans, LA—New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
May 5: Charlotte, NC—The Fillmore Charlotte*
May 9: Boston, MA—House of Blues*
May 10: Columbia, MD—Sweetlife Festival
May 11: Camden, NJ—Susquehanna Bank Center
May 13: Toronto, ON—Massey Hall*
May 15: Detroit, MI—The Fillmore Detroit*
May 16: Chicago, IL—Riviera Theater*
May 21: Vancouver, BC—Queen Elizabeth Theatre*
May 22: Portland, OR—Roseland Theater*
May 23-25: Quincy, WA – Sasquatch Music Festival
June 6-8: New York, NY—Governors Ball Music Festival

Painted Palms

Psychedelic pop duo Painted Palms turns winter upside-down with summer-punched tracks (minus misplaced, jingle-belled "Here It Comes") from their latest album Forever. The group creates their unique sounds by utilizing nearly every abstract instrument in their grasp. They've been compared to acts like Panda Bear and Animal Collective with vocal inspiration from the Beach Boys. It's hard to imagine, but somehow all the mixed sounds seem to come together. If you're heading to Austin for SXSW be sure to catch them in their festival debut.

On the Radar:

Charli XCX

When the Brit-pop star isn't posting strung out, grunge pics on Instagram she's touring around the world  promoting her 2013 hard-hitter True Romance. Anxious to put out her third studio album, due sometime this summer, she's released a fast-paced, anti-ballad cleverly titled "Allergic to Love". The intensity of the guitars and Charli nearly screaming on the track mirrors her on stage persona. If this track is featured on her upcoming album we can expect a stronger rock theme, straying away from the pop that colored True Romance.

Youth Lagoon

Trevor Powers, or better known as Youth Lagoon, has never been afraid to venture into intricate themes of disorder and the metaphysical. With his new, psychedelic-pop track "Worms", presumably on his upcoming third album, he takes a step into space and the unknown. On his Facebook page he writes introducing the song:

FYI: although there's no real sound in the vacuum of space, it's possible to translate the electromagnetic radiation fluctuations and charged particles of these celestial bodies into conventional sound. So now that you're no better of a person at all for knowing that,
A collection of artists have come together to take audio recordings of planets that were gathered by the Voyager 1 & 2 space probes and manipulate these frequencies in music. This is my piece.

The collection named The Space Project features Beach House as well with other contributing artists composing pieces for various planets and other astronomical beings of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Space Project's release is scheduled for mid-April this year.



Beck

Beck has been known to mash genres together making every album an eclectic, stand-out creation . For the follow-up to his award winning Modern Guilt, he decided to get back to his Californian folky roots (and even reunited with musicians he worked with for his 2002 album Sea Change). His latest single, "Blue Moon" reflects that upbeat, acoustic strumming we haven't heard in years from the artist. Morning Phase, his twelfth album, is scheduled for release February 25th this year.

On the Radar:

Bombay Bicycle Club

Late 2013, London natives and indie folk group Bombay Bicycle Club released two singles from their 2014 February album So Long, See You Tomorrow. They also announced a headlining tour across the US and Europe starting in early Spring. Taking a step towards catchy-pop jives with the help of singer Rae Morris--the layered percussion weaves through jubilant verses cluttered of what seems like newfound love, compared to the eccentric jerks of "Carry Me". Bombay Bicycle Club's new album proves to dabble in many different experimental sounds bringing in the new year in strong creating the perfect soundtrack of 2014.




Lily Allen

British pop star Lily Allen took a hiatus from the music world and returned in late 2013 with a new, hard-hitting, girl power jam titled "Hard Out Here." Of course she received a great amount of media slander for featuring only women of color in her twerk-filled video, in what critics took as hypocrisy to Allen's attempt at outing society's double standard for women. Allen took to twitter, and responded to the backlash of her video and stood her ground against sexism and racism that was meant to be satirically portrayed in "Hard Out Here". 

Then earlier today Lily Allen released yet another track to be featured on her upcoming album. "Air Balloon"--the pop infused, mocking verses familiar to Lily Allen fans made a bold appearance all across social media. The song name drops infamous artists Kurt Cobain and Elvis Presley while giving modern day society the middle finger as she takes flight to a place where she is less "bored" and maybe shattering that looming glass ceiling along the way. Though the song lacks creative depth and and leans towards a watered-down take on feminism, the essence of all Allen hates in this world still stands true and her outspoken, catchy lyrics spark revolution as they always have.

Sidenote: for all the fans of HBO hit "GIRLS" keep your ears open for another new track from Allen this season.

"Air Balloon"

"Hard Out Here"

On the Radar:

Barely two weeks into the new year and artists are dropping singles for their 2014 albums, what seems like, daily. Groups we haven't heard new music from in years and hard-hitting breakout stars alike stream their new jams via Soundcloud and YouTube for fans worldwide awaiting their highly-anticipated LP's.

Common

Last year, rapper Common teased that his 10th LP "Nobody Smiling" will be released sometime in 2014. The rapper collaborated with producer and longtime friend No I. D. in what seems to be a politically driven battle-cry, based off the artist's newly released single "War." On Twitter, Common posted a link for the first single off his upcoming album, where he speaks out against the violence that plagues his hometown Chicago.

"We came up with this concept; Nobody's Smiling was really a thought that came about because of all the violence that was going on in Chicago. It happens in Chicago, but it's happening around the world in many ways. It may not be to the numbers that's happening in Chicago, but it's happening in the inner-cities all over America. It's really a call to action." Common speaks during an interview segment towards the song's closing.

Chromeo and Toro Y Moi

The grooves and bops created by the Canadian duo Chromeo have collided with the funk that is Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi--giving a disco-inspired, toe-tapping hit to kick us out of our frozen January. "Come Alive" is Chromeo's newest single from their upcoming album "White Women", dropping sometime this year. In conjunction with the single, Chromeo also announced a North America spring tour:

01-09 Miami, FL – Holy Ship (DJ Set)
03-21-22 New Orleans, LA - BUKU Music + Art Project
04-06 Houston, TX – House of Blues #
04-07 Austin, TX – Stubbs #
04-08 Dallas, TX – House of Blues #
04-12 San Francisco, CA – Independent #
04-14 Portland, OR – Roseland #
04-15 Vancouver, British Columbia – Commodore #
04-16 Seattle, WA – Showbox Market #
04-19 Phoenix, AZ – Marquee #
04-30 Boston, MA – House of Blues *
05-01 Montreal, Quebec – Corona *
05-02 Toronto, Ontario – Danforth Music Hall *
05-05 Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall *
05-06 Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue *
05-07 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant *
05-09 Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Music Hall *
05-12 Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse *
05-13 Richmond, VA – The National *
05-14 Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer *
05-16 New York, NY – Terminal 5 *
06-03 Paris, France – La Cigale
06-04 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
06-06 London, England – Roundhouse

# with Tokimonsta
* with Oliver