Although you may not recognize every band on this week’s mixtape (yet), rest assured that most of these acts will be ubiquitous soon enough. Familiar faces (Kisses, Freelance Whales) and recognizable names (of Montreal, Voxtrot) aside, some are ‘90s bands gone solo (Admiral Hadley, Pete Francis) and others are breaking bands that deserve your attention (Quadron, Hooray!). Be sure to Right Click + Save As the following ten individually, or scroll down to the bottom to download the entire mix all at once.
1. Hooray! – “Bedroom Adventures” How do we know this band is going to be huge? The beginning of this track sounds almost like a spacier version of “No Surprises,” as rehearsed by The xx.
2. Kisses – “Bermuda (Active Child Remix)” Pat Grossi of Active Child enshrouds the glitzy dreaminess of Kisses’ original “Bermuda” in a mysteriously Balearic cloak. The choir boy-turned-synth lord manages to both octavize the vocals down a notch and add minor chord synths straight from pop’s dark side.
3. Janelle Monae – “Make the Bus (ft. of Montreal)” We feel but forgive Janelle Monae’s relative lack of presence on the newest single from The ArchAndroid, seeing as that’s probably due to the guest spot by a Kevin Barnes who’s apparently still basking in the Skeletal Lamping afterglow.
4. Quadron – “Pressure” Like the Supremes melting onto the Concretes, “Pressure” is driven by bouncing pianos and old-school girl-group harmonies that make your knees weak and your cheeks warm.
5. Pete Francis – “Glue” Better known for fronting ‘90s frat-folk outfit, Dispatch, Pete F. Heimbold skillfully fuses the fresh and the classic, the electronic and the folk on his third solo album, The Movie We Are In.
6. Voxtrot – “Whiskey and Water” Voxtrot’s end of something includes some kind words, a farewell tour, and four minutes of Ramesh Srivastava’s simple keys and erudite songwriting. This unreleased benefit song rocks like a Southern Belle & Sebastian.
7. The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – “Say No to Love” Following a short June tour with Surfer Blood, the fuzzy fourtet will unleash this delightful, shoegauzey single. Let’s just say the Pains definitely know how to stop in the name of love.
8. Regina – “Saanko Jäädä Yöksi?” Finnish electropop trio, Regina, have been making waves across the Atlantic Ocean of sound since ’05 but thankfully, their third, Puutarhatrilogia, is set to drop in the U.S. on June 22. This piano-happy ditty lovingly translates to “Can I Stay Overnight?”
9. Freelance Whales – “Killer Whales (The Antlers Remix)” Darby Cicci of the Antlers shows his labelbros, Freelance Whales, some love by masterfully mashing together three of them into a three minute dream pop sequence.
10. Admiral Radley – “I Heart California” This is exactly what you would expect the union of Grandaddy and Earlimart to sound like. Jason Lytle’s recognizable voice enunciating a list of Californian idiosyncrasies, we’re sold. There’s even a hilarious backstory to their name that, much to our chagrin, has nothing to do with Boo Radley.