[Watch] The Holidays - "Voices Drifting" (Official Video)

Videos are a great way to introduce you to a new band. That's a given. Most videos you first see from bands are performance videos and the like. For the lead single from The Holidays' second album, they took a more thought provoking and oxygen lacking route. Simon of the band had the following to say about it:

We shot the clip in an outdoor pool in the middle of winter, as we discovered the pool heater was broken. The idea was that I would perform the song underwater in one breath, but if I couldn't last the duration the concept kinda falls apart - so the pressure was on. I spent weeks practicing by slowing down my heart rate and singing the song with my head in a bucket of water. With the cold it was hard to calm myself, thankfully we had a crew of people warming me between takes and giving me eye drops for the chlorine. We shot about 15 aborted takes and it was getting very frustrating for everybody, in the end I resolved to stay under even if I ran out of breath, you might be able to see this happens at the end of the 2nd verse... it was extremely uncomfortable but I didn't drown, we got one full take and that's the clip!

As you can see from the end of the second verse it's almost as if the life is leaving him. If you've not heard of these guys before, this is the perfect introduction to their sun-tinged sound that will have you longing for Summer to stay around a little longer and the night to wait a little longer before arriving. The video just goes to add another layer of brilliance to them. Check it out.

[Watch] CHVRCHES - "The Mother We Share" (Official Video)

CHVRCHES have unveiled the video for their first US single, "The Mother We Share" which is set to feature on their highly anticipated debut full-length, The Bones of What You Believe. It's an interesting watch seeing a performance from the Glasgow based band spliced together with a woman in New York City. Check it out below.

The Bones of What You Believe is out on the 23rd of September in the UK via Virgin/Goodbye Records, and a day later on the 24th in North America via Glassnote.

[Watch] Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - "Stunner" (Official Video)

Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip are set to team up yet again to bring us the best in beats and rhymes. At the weekend I was lucky enough to see them debut this track for the very first time in a live setting during their set at Y Not Festival. More on that later in the week! On Scroob's birthday though (August 3rd), as has been tradition for the past 3 years, he let loose some brand new goodies. This year we get the first single to be taken from their forthcoming album, Repent Replenish Repeat, which is set for release on the 7th of October. Turn it up loud and peep the vid below.

[Album Stream] Check Out All 9 Tracks from Washed Out's Sophomore LP 'Paracosm'

Ernest Greene, aka Washed Out, had a clear goal with his new sophomore album Paracosm. He wanted to create an album that was "optimistic, very much a daytime-sounding album. I think the last record [2011's Within and Without] felt more nocturnal in some ways. This one I just imagined being outside, surrounded by a beautiful, natural environment."

Assisting this bright, natural sound were over 50 various instruments, recorded and sampled by Greene and producer Ben Allen in Athens and Atlanta, GA. The result is 9 songs of varying depth and layering, each with unique charm and flourish. Greene wants to share these with you one week before Paracosm hits stores. Head over to iTunes to stream the album in its entirety, and check out the video for "Don't Give Up" below.

Paracosm Tracklist:
01. Entrance
02. It All Feels Right
03. Don’t Give Up
04. Weightless
05. All I Know
06. Great Escape
07. Paracosm
08. Falling Back
09. All Over Now

[News] Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. Announce Sophomore Album, Due Out in October

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. have owned my headphones these past few months, as their Patterns EP is played, repeated, enjoyed, repeated again, etc., etc. Each of its four songs are outstanding in their own way. "If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)" is incredible fun, so upbeat and energetic, "Dark Water" revels in its odd tone and atmosphere, "Hiding" shines with anthemic harmonies and "Habits" is brimming with charm. Imagine my excitement when the duo announced another full-length album.

The Speed of Things is DEJJ's follow-up to their 2011 debut, It's A Corporate World. The Detroit hope, through the album's thirteen songs, to touch on a major aspect of modern culture: the Internet. They were heavily inspired by the Internet-focused nature of society, the obsessions that form around it and how that affects us.

It's a record that means a great deal to us, as it focuses on the size and speed of the world today. Everything is moving faster and faster as we are all much more connected by the global central nervous system that is the internet. Often it feels like when one realizes what they wish to do, it's impossible to know where to begin due to the scale of everything. We’re a generation of false starts."

The Speed of Things will be released on October 8th, and features two previously released tracks, "If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)" and "Hiding." Watch the video for the former below.

The Speed of Things Tracklist:
01. Beautiful Dream
02. Run
03. Knock Louder
04. If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)
05. I Can’t Help It
06. Hiding
07. Beautiful Dream (Reprise)
08. Mesopotamia
09. Dark Water
10. Don’t Tell Me
11. Gloria
12. A Haunting
13. War Zone

[News] The Field Announces New LP, 'Cupid's Head'

Minimal techno mastermind The Field (the moniker of Axel Willner) is back with a new album, his first since 2011's Looping State of Mind. If you haven't heard his stuff before, his three previous albums are really quite excellent. Each clocks in at about an hour, giving you plenty of minimal electronic to lose yourself in. This latest effort, titled Cupid's Head, will see the artist movig in a new direction (sort of), opting for live instrumentation throughout as opposed to his usual synthesized affair. It will also be a darker album tonally, hence the brooding gray artwork pictured above. Fitting, right? Willner spoke on the album, saying:

When I started to work on Cupid’s Head, it was quite awkward. I felt that I had nothing to put into a new album and I’m not the type to sit down and force something out in the studio. But then, after a few modest attempts, I got a first loop together and running which turned out (in a short time) to be ‘No.No…’. It was a revelation of sorts as making it felt new to me, and different, and that’s when it all came out. (This album) is about visions of the future, tiny actions and their consequences, about sentimentality and most certainly… about life."

Cupid's Head will be released on September 30th.

Cupid’s Head Tracklist:
01. They Won’t See Me
02. Black Sea
03. Cupid’s Head
04. A Guided Tour
05. No. No…
06. 20 Seconds Of Affection

[Listen] HAIM - "The Wire"

HAIM have previewed  brand new track called "The Wire" which was premiered earlier this week by Zane Lowe on BBC Radio One. People who've seen the band live may recognise it as it's been in their live set for a while but we now have the studio version to enjoy. See what you make of it below. 

The band have now finished work on their debut album and will release details on it soon. Watch this space.

[Listen] The Weeknd - "Love In The Sky"

The Weeknd is set to release is long-awaited and highly anticipated album Kiss Land on September 10th and so far we've only had a little taste of what's to come. There was also a bit of trouble regarding a Portishead sample, which wasn't actually a sample. Today though we have a little less drama in the shape of a track titled "Love in the Sky". Hit play below and check out a short visual for it too, and lookout for the album in September when it drops. 

You can also hear "Belong To The World" over here.