[Listen] Mumford & Sons with Birdy - "Learn Me Right"

A new collaboration from Mumford & Sons and Birdy has hit the net in the shape of a track they put together for the new Pixar movie, Brave. We've been awaiting some new material from Mumford for quite some time so it's very nice to have anything from their camp. Birdy takes the lead on vocal duties with Mumford & Sons acting in beautiful harmony on backing vocals.

Marcus Mumford had spoken regarding the track previously stating:

It's quite fun doing a song for a movie rather than for an album. We liked the idea of having an orchestra in the background and having a girl like Birdy sing - it's been quite liberating.

See what you make of it below.

[News] The Black Keys Cameo On 'Workaholics'

In last night's episode of Workaholics (a show that if you've never watched before you should get on the bandwagon immediately), The Black Keys made an awesome cameo appearance. Appearing as "two dudes with bodacious ponytails" in a courtroom scene, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were easily a highlight of the episode. Head over to Comedy Central to stream parts of the episode for free, with the cameo kicking in at around the eight-minute mark.

[Listen] Cruiser - 'Cruiser' EP

While perusing Listen Before You Buy this morning, I came across a post introducing Cruiser, the solo project of twenty-sex year-old Andy States of Philadelphia. The post brought up an excellent point, in that as much as we as music bloggers want to listen to every music submission that comes through our inbox, it can be very difficult to keep up with that constant influx. But, as Cruiser shows, there are often some fantastic bands that sift through the mass of emails.

The moment I heard Cruiser's song "The Fritz," I was sold. It immediately reminded me of The Kooks, but after listening over and over again I found myself enjoying Cruiser much more than I ever did The Kooks. The catchiness of States' music is the result of eight years of hard work and demos, which eventually made their way into the hands of Jeremy Park, the man responsible for producing Youth Lagoon's fantastic debut LP The Year of Hibernation. The outcome of States and Park's work is the six-song Cruiser EP, a collection of tracks that are all to perfect for the summer ahead. Each song is full of depth that can be difficult to find even in bands with multiple members, but States pulls it off beautifully on his own. Melodic guitars build off one another, all the while carefree vocals drift along each catchy riff, making this the perfect beach-friendly soundtrack.

Cruiser's debut EP is available to download for the price of your choosing over at his Bandcamp page, and this comes highly recommended. Stream the EP below, and make sure to connect with Cruiser over on Facebook and Twitter.

[Watch and Listen] Alpaca Sports - "She'll Come Back For Indian Summer"

It's always great when you come across a band that is incredibly well suited to the season and the mood you're in, and when today is the first official day of summer and the sun is shining, that would seem too good to be true. That's where Swedish dream pop duo Alpaca Sports comes in. The cutesy duo's new single "She'll Come Back For Indian Summer" is catchy, upbeat, and nostalgic, all wrapped up in a bright, summery package. Although I have no idea what an "indian summer" is. Stream the track below, and watch it's accompanying video—which is equally as cheerful and nostalgic—above (via Listen Before You Buy).

Connect with the band over at Facebook and SoundCloud.

[Watch] Simian Mobile Disco - "Your Love Ain't Fair" (Official Video)

Simian Mobile Disco seem to have a deep passion for timing lights to the beat of their music, as some of their recent music videos—specifically "Pareidolia"—have shown, and their new visuals for "Your Love Ain't Fair" take this passion even further. Let's just say it has lights, lots and lots of lights.

[News] Animal Collective Unveil Artwork for 'Centipede Hz'

Animal Collective has unveiled the official artwork for their forthcoming tenth studio album Centipede Hz (pictured above), and given what John "Deakin" Dibb recently said about the album it seems entirely fitting.

Centipede Hz is out on September 4th via Domino Records, and give the band's recent non-album single "Honeycomb," as well as its b-side "Gotham," below.

[Watch] Bloc Party Debut Seven New Songs Live

Bloc Party played their first show in three years in Glasgow last night, where they performed a whopping seventeen-song set. Of the seventeen songs, seven were brand new cuts from their upcoming fourth studio LP Four. Some of the new tracks performed were "3 x 3," "Team A," "Day Four," and "Truth," and after the jump you can watch fan footage of both "3 x 3" and "Team A." As well, after the jump, you can take a look at Bloc Party's full setlist from last night as well as their massive 2012 tour schedule, which includes three nights at New York' Terminal 5.

Four is out on August 21st via Frenchkiss Records.

"3 x 3":

"Team A":

Bloc Party's setlist (via NME):
“3×3″
“So He Begins To Lie”
“Mercury”
“Hunting For Witches”
“Real Talk”
“Octopus”
“Song For Clay (Disappear Here)”
“Banquet”
“Day Four”
“Team A”
“One More Chance”
“This Modern Love”
“Helicopter”
“Truth”
“Ares”
“Like Eating Glass”
“Flux”

Bloc Party 2012 Tour Dates:
06/20 – Manchester, England @ The Ritz
06/21 – London, England @ Koko
06/24 – Tokyo, Japan @ Ebisu Garden Hall
06/29 – Borlange, Sweden @ Peace & Love Festival
07/04 – Gdynia, Poland @ Heineken Opener Festival
07/05 – Sesimbra, Portugal @ Super Bock Super Rock
07/06 – Gdynia, Poland @ Open’er Festival
07/08 – Turku, Finland @ Ruisrock Festival
07/12 – Bilbao, Spain @ BBK Live
07/13 – Ferropolis, Germany @ Melt Festival
07/20 – Charrues, France @ Festival Les Vieilles
07/21 – Nyon, Switzerland @ Paleo Fest
07/28 – Byron Bay, Australia @ Splendour in the Grass
07/30 – Honolulu, HI @ The Republik
08/03 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hard Festival
08/04 – Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
08/05 – Montreal, Quebec @ Osheaga Festival
08/07 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
08/08 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
08/09 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
08/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Pool at the Cosmopolitan
08/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Outside Lands
08/16 – St. Polten, Austria @ Frequency
08/17 – Biddinghuizen, Netherlands @ Lowlands
08/18 – St. Polten, Austria @ Frequency
08/24 – Saint-Cloud, France @ Rock en Seine
08/25 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Open Air Festival
09/04 – Mallorca, Spain @ Mallorca Rocks
09/05 – Ibiza, Spain @ Ibiza Rocks
11/03 – Nantes, France @ Le Stereolux
11/04 – Lyon, France @ Le Transbordeur
11/05 – Bordeaux, France @ Le Rocher de Palmer
11/07 – Toulouse, France @ Le Bikini
11/08 – Milan, Italy @ Acatrax
11/11 – Hamburg, Germany @ Docks
11/12 – Stuttgart, Germany @ Theatrehause
11/13 – Dresden, Germany @ Eventwerk
11/14 – Munich, Germany @ Tonhalle
11/18 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
11/19 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Munich Brewery
11/20 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockafeller

[Listen] Purity Ring - "Fineshrine"

Purity Ring has been making serious headway in recent months, with their tracks "Obedear" and "Belispeak" garnering a ton of attention. Today, you can hear a third cut from their upcoming debut LP Shrines, which is out on July 24th via 4AD. Stream "Fineshrine" below, and after the jump take a look at the full tracklisting for Shrines. 

Shrines Tracklist:
01. Crawlersout
02. Fineshrine
03. Ungirthed
04. Amenamy
05. Grandloves
06. Cartographist
07. Belispeak
08. Saltkin
09. Obedear
10. Lofticries
11. Shuck