[Watch] Grouplove - "Itchin’ on a Photograph" Live on Conan

Earlier in the week Grouplove performed on the late night TV circuit. They visited Conan O'Brien to lay down a live version of "Itchin’ on a Photograph" which features on their latest release, Never Trust a Happy Song. If you missed it earlier in the week don't fret, you can re-watch the performance at the top of the page via The Audio Perv.

[News] Simian Mobile Disco Announce New EP: 'A Form of Change'

Following their third LP, Unpatterns, Simian Mobile Disco have now announced a brand new EP titled, A Form of Change. The EP will drop on the 2nd of October via Wichita Recordings. To go along with the announcement we have a 7 minute opus to listen to in the form of the title track. Check that out below along with the track-listing and get excited for the two piece new release in a few months.

A Form of Change EP Tracklist:
01. A Form Of Change
02. Unfixed
03. Breaking Time
04. Everyday

[Listen] Ellie Goulding - "Anything Can Happen"

Pretty much a month to the day we got to hear a cover of Active Child's "Hanging On" from Ellie Goulding which featured Tinie Tempah. Today we get to hear her first track from her highly anticipated sophomore album Halcyon which follows up 2010's, Lights. The track is entitled "Anything Can Happen" and it's an electronic pop number that sees Ellie back on form after quite some time spent touring her debut. Stream it below and look out for more coming our way prior to the album dropping on October the 8th. 

[Watch] Two Door Cinema Club - "Sleep Alone" (Official Video)

We loved Two Door Cinema Club's new single so much so that we put it on our latest Some Kind of Mixtape release last week. Today we get to watch the accompanying video which was directed by AB/CD/CD, they've previously worked with the likes of Kasabian and Lilly Allen. Of the video, lead singer Alex Trimble said it was inspired by his marijuana induced dreams that he had when coming off tour. See what you make of his lucid dreams in video form at the top.

Their new album Beacon is set to be released on September 3rd.

[Outside Lands 2012] Top Five High Energy Shows to Dance at Till You Drop

This Friday marks the beginning of this year's Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, the fifth edition of the cultural highlight. SKOA will be attending the festival this year, and each day leading up to the festival we will be dishing out a feature focused on the bands set to appear at Outside Lands. Today, our spotlight is focused on the top five high energy shows to dance at till your knees are trembling.

If you're willing to put the time, effort, and money into going to a show, then it is immediately worth it. One aspect that makes a show much more worth it, though, is if you show up and you're dancing from start to finish. When a band has a stage presence that is so energetic, and when the music is paced perfectly so that you don't stop moving for the entire set, that is when you know it was a good show. Take a look at the top five picks for the most danceable acts at this year's Outside Lands after the jump.

Justice: The moment Justice becomes a topic of conversation, the song "D.A.N.C.E." is almost always brought up. The French house duo has become iconic for their Parisian brand of electronic music, a brand that translates perfectly to the dance-hungry crowd. Whether you're playing Justice at a house party or seeing them live in concert, the dirty, sexy basslines and unwavering barrage of synthesizers plays perfectly into high energy, non-stop dance-a-thons. When it comes to dancing, Justice has you covered. Just make sure you have a full day afterwards to recover.

YACHT: This Portland outfit continiously impresses with their infectious electropop sounds, and in a live setting, it's impossible to prevent the onslaught of dancing crowds. Who wouldn't dance to "Dystopia (The Earth Is on Fire)" or "Shangri-La"? It's all just so damn catchy. YACHT knows how to do danceable, groovy beats right, so do yourself a favor and check them out.

MSTRKRFT: Jesse F. Keeler and Al-P know how to get a party started. Every song they release under the MSTRKRFT moniker is a party in itself, with pounding kick drums, ever-evolving synthesizers and altered voice samples. MSTRKRFT is the kind of thing you would play for a group of people on MDMA, and that's exactly why it's the perfect brand of music to dance until you drop.

Franz Ferdinand: Something about this Scottish quartet is so captivating, whether it's the music itself or their unrelenting and energetic stage presence. Each one of their three full-length albums are full of numerous catchy post-punk tracks, every one of which is perfectly suited for the live stage. If you've ever wanted to dance our heart out during an outdoor concert in the pouring rain, who better to do it to than Franz Ferdinand?

Passion Pit: If you've ever watched footage of Passion Pit performing live, there is no doubt that their catchy pop sounds are perfect for crowds of eager fans wanting to dance to their heart's content. Manners was packed with danceable song after danceable song, and Gossamer is no different. The Massachusetts outfit knows how to deliver a fulfilling pop song, and fans of the band know perfectly well how to dance to it. Seeing this band live is not something you should pass up.

[Contest] [NYC-Only] Win A Pair Of Tickets To See Big Black Delta Tomorrow Night (8/9) @ Pianos!

Big Black Delta is rolling through NYC tomorrow night in support of his remix EP for "IFUCKINGLOVEYOU" which is the first single on his newly formed/cleverly-titled label Masters of Bates. Additionally, this month the band will be releasing a digital-only tour EP on August 21st featuring three other tracks, "Betamax", "LeonardMcGeonardvsDrunkenCalculator" and "Put The Gun On The Floor" along with the current single.

If you are having one of "those" weeks, are in dire need of a show as badly as I do AND happen to live in the NYC area then shoot us an email before noon EDT tomorrow (8/9) for a chance to win a pair of tickets to catch BBD live at SKOA's favorite watering hole, Pianos. Obvs show is 21+ only, but you know we have to say it just in case. A winner will be selected at noon and notified shortly thereafter that they've won. To save time, please make sure you include your full name in the email so we can get you on the list ASAP.

If you haven't picked up the ifuckingloveyou remix EP yet, here's a sampling of what you're missing out on:

Although the show starts at 7pm, the SKOA NYC crew will be down their early sipping happy hour margaritas and feasting on some happy hour nachos. Did we mention they have a killer happy hour? Either way, if you see us, you should come say hi before/after the show.

If you don't live in NYC, make sure you catch him on tour supporting M83, Cursive and Jane's Addiction.

BIG BLACK DELTA LIVE DATES (headline dates in bold)
 
AUGUST
8th                         Central Park Summerstage, New York NY ^
9th                         Pianos, New York NY
10th                       DC9, Washington DC
11th                       Brooklyn Bowl, New York, NY
17th                       Pianos, New York NY
18th                       MGM Grand Theatre / Foxwoods, Mashantucket CT #
20th                       Artpark, Lewiston NY #
22nd                      Stage AE, Pittsburgh PA #
23rd                       Old National Centre - Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN #
24th                       Empty Bottle, Chicago IL  
25th                       Orpheum Theatre, Omaha NE #
26th                       Pikes Peak Centre, Colorado Springs CO #
27th                       Larimer Lounge, Denver CO
28th                       The Great SaltAir, Salt Lake City UT #
29th                       Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise ID #
31st                        Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Vancouver BC #
 
SEPTEMBER
4th                         Keller Auditorium, Portland OR
5th                         Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno NV
6th                         Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco CA
7th                         Bootleg Theater, Los Angeles CA  
 
%With Cursive
^With M83
#With Jane's Addiction

[News] Beck Confirms Details For 'Beck Hansen's Song Reader', Announces Suprise Show At Bimbo's On 8/9/2012

(mockup, not actual photo of the songbook

Today Beck fans around the world are both rejoicing and scratching their heads. In addition to springing a last minute surprise show at Bimbo's in San Fransico this Thursday (8/9) before setting foot on stage at Outside Lands Festival (which if you've been following along our very own Adrian will be attending), Beck has also confirmed details of what his website creepily(?) refers to as the "long-gestating" Beck Hansen's Song Reader, which will be released this December by book publisher McSweeney's.

"A book publisher?" you ask. Yes. Beck has decided to one up everyone releasing cassette tapes and is re-crowning himself as the King of Random by releasing an 108-page song booklet featuring 20 never before released or recorded songs with20 individual full-color song booklets-18 featuring original lyrics, and 2 instrumentals-with covers from more than a dozen different artists.

This is equal parts exciting and frustrating for someone like me, who's only musical abilities is playing an iPod, but as it was noted in the press release: "The songs here are as unfailingly exciting as you’d expect from their author, but if you want to hear “Do We? We Do,” or “Don’t Act Like Your Heart Isn’t Hard,” bringing them to life depends on you. Devoted fans have already created a Tumblr page in anticipation of the inevitable versions of the songs that will hit the internet shortly after the "album" is released.

Tickets for Thursday's show at Bimbo's go on sale at noon PDT today on Ticketmaster. To learn more about Song Reader head over to Beck's website. McSweeny also has more samples of some of the artwork as well.

If you're on Twitter and in need of a chuckle, have a look at tweets with the hashtag #BeckFutureAlbumIdeas courtesy of myself and other fellow Beck fans. Feel free to contribute your most creatively whacked out ideas if you'd like.

[Listen] Mumford & Sons - "I Will Wait"

So far, we've heard a great deal of Mumford & Sons' forthcoming sophomore LP, but that was just fan footage from numerous concerts and festivals. Now, though, you can stream the first studio quality song from Babel, a foot-stomping, banjo-heavy number titled "I Will Wait". Stream it below alongside the visual of endless black pavement.

Babel is out on September 25th via Island/Glassnote.