Woods.

Woods are a indie/folk rock band from Brooklyn. Since forming in 2005, Woods have released 5 critically acclaimed albums but have received considerably little commercial success. Their recent effort "Bend Beyond" fits the woods mold by being a pleasantly chilled album perfect for a summer cruise. Although the guitar chord progression almost completely rips off an Oasis song, 'Cali In A Cup' is a gorgeous little tune.

David Byrne & St. Vincent

David Byrne has one of the most recognisable vocal styles in pop music. His melodic arrangements are always beyond interesting but in this recent collaboration, St. Vincent (Annie Erin Clark) shows up as the attention seeker with her fresh and fluttering voice over what is essentially a groovy jazz dub. The pair compliment each other's unique styles with moments of folk harmonies, and if you watch the clip - killer dance moves.

Kimbra.

Ok so Kimbra has a new video out. As she is without a doubt my celebrity crush and hopefully the mother of my many children, I am not even going to review it and just accept that she has created another masterpiece. This woman can do no wrong . . ever.

Chrome Sparks.

Jeremy Malvin is one of those impressively young wave makers. A postponed college degree and a few Roland synths seems to be the magic ingredient to some rad chillwave/synthpop. Under the name Chrome Sparks this 21 year old is grabbing the attention of indie movers and shakers so, if you're a hipster, pretend you've already heard of him.

KOAN Sound.

Okay so you want to hear some dubstep that isn't shitty? That's a bit hasty. . . we have nothing against dubstep here at tunemonkey. We just like it when it doesn't sound like tranformers having unprotected sex. Here is an example of some smooth, melodic dubstep that has a real jazzie vibe to it. And yes you can dance to it without looking like a sped.

Future Islands.

Sammuel T. Herring  has this voice that makes you think he was born in a different era . . . with different genes . . . and a different hairstyle. Mix this soulful timbre with a very contemporary and spacey backing group and you have an incredible audio cocktail. the Baltimore group have just released a song called 'Tomorrow' that doesn't happen to appear on their latest album but just had to get out there.

Jai Paul. 

Jai Paul is a bit of an enigma. The dude releases what he wants, when he wants; that's what makes his stuff soo tantalizing. I realize that this song has been floating around blogs for a few months now but it is a delicious follow up to the trip-hop/rhytm'n'blues smash 'BTSTU' and is well worthy of a mention. It's called 'Jasmine' and it is a sensual and funked out chillbeat treat reminiscent of Toro Y Moi's more romantic adventures.

Menomena.

Menomena have tried to dispell the myth that the band has been close to breaking up, but after losing a member in Brent Knopf, the Portland based duo have buried the hacthett and gone ahead and produced a killer concept album titled "Moms." The band's fifth full length release is really just ace, something about the combination of sax, piano and power chords. . .

 

The Presets.

Its been too long since we've had the pleasure of stomping our feat to some dirty preset beats. Its been 4 years since "Apocalypso" and there has been a sweaty void left in dance halls across the world. However the moody duo have delivered exactly what we would expect from them with "Pacifica" - a solid dance album full of dark melodies and thumping beats. Here is one now. . . it's called 'Ghosts.' However if you get a chance look up the song 'Push', it's even better!

Dan Deacon.

Dan Deacon is one of those sound engineering nerds that thought, 'fuck being in the dark depths of the production studio, give me some limelight', and aren't we glad he did because the fella can create sound-scapes reminiscent of 'Come With Us' era Chemical Brothers. Although his sound appears more disorganized and erratic, it is innovatively daring in that the abstract fuzz sounds Deacon weaves together creates a pleasingly melodic sound. His new album "America" has just been released so check it out and bask in the fuzz.