Olympic Ayres - Episode III EP

It's finally here! Olympic Ayres just released their Episode III EP. Joking referred to as "Revenge of the Synth" Olympic Ayres is quickly becoming one of the top tier Indie Pop bands. We got a preview last month with "Magic" and now we get the other two amazing tracks from Episode III. In my previous post I mentioned how all of this great music is coming from Australia or Sweden, well, Olympic Ayres...Sydney. Point! You can purchase the EP HERE or you can download for free, but I strongly suggest supporting the band. The music is totally worth it.

San Cisco - Fred Astaire

It's only the 1st of the month and I think I already found my favorite track of the month. This is fun, upbeat, indie-pop at it's best. The vocals and lyrics are amazing, all of the instrumentation is spot on, and then they throw in some awesome synth work to put a cherry on top of this delicious indie sundae. This is the first time I've ever heard from the quartet but I wasn't surprised to find that they were Australian. It seems these days, if it's indie-pop and I love it, it's either from Australia or Sweden. "Fred Astaire" seems to be available on both their self-titled album and their Awkward EP, both of which came out last year. I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up buying both.

Sunni Colón - Crème De La Crème 神 Flowers

Back in June, I posted "Karma" from Sunni Colón and this month we get his first EP. Other than "Karma" of course, the standout track for me had to be "Crème De La Crème 神 Flowers". If I'm not mistaken, "Crème De La Crème" and "Flowers" are two separate songs that fit together too well not to link them together. At around the 3:24 mark, you'll get into "Flowers" and thats really where I knew I would be posting this song as the standout. The first track is great and definitely shows more of the RnB side of Sunni and then when you get to "Flowers" you're able to really see his versatility as an artist. With this EP, Sunni Colón lit the fuse, it's only a matter of time before he blows. You can DOWNLOAD The Els' Flowers EP for FREE HERE.

K.Flay - Rawks

New music from K.Flay is never a bad thing. The Cali resident recently dropped a single from her upcoming What If It Is EP due out on August 6th. Haven't heard anything else from the EP but if this is a sign of things to come, you can expect her to really be stepping out of her comfort zone production wise. She seems to be experimenting with a style that I've never heard from her music. Although, experimenting isn't really a surprise. Going back through her discography, no two releases sound the same. She has steadily and effectively evolved through each release and the end result has never been anything short of awesome. Can't wait to get a new EP from my favorite artist. Yeah, I said it, favorite.

Saint Motel - My Type

I literally jumped off of my couch and screamed "YEAH!!!" when I saw that Saint Motel had a new track. If you don't know Saint Motel, do yourself a favor and buy their debut album "Voyeur" from last year. Hands down the best album of 2012. "My Type" sees the return of the awesome LA band and they seem to only be getting better. Great production, great lyrics, and horns! I'm a sucker for horns. They're so awesome, they even made it a FREE DOWNLOAD but this is definitely the kind of music I'd gladly through my money at.

Kid Karate - Heart

Hearing this track on the same day as their EP was released was perfect timing. I didn't have to wait at all to hear more music from this incredible Dublin-duo. When the track first started up, I was actually expecting Kid CuDi to come out and start doing his WZRD thing. Instead, I was greeted with one of the best opening lines in, "If I had a heart, I would love you..." From there, I knew it was getting blogged. Kid Karate's "Lights Out EP" was released today on iTunes in North America so make sure to pick it up. And if you're too cheap to do that, they've made "Heart" a free download on their SoundCloud.

Postcards - Oh The Places We Will Go

Oh. Man. If indie-folk is your favorite genre, you're about to have a new favorite band. Beirut based band, Postcards, puts together the type of folk ballad that you'd see in an indie movie and upon leaving the theater you're not thinking about the movie, you're thinking "man, I have to find out what song that was." Seems like this is the only song from Postcards at the moment which is unfortunate but at least we get this much to enjoy. I would say to keep an eye out for Postcards but I'm sure they'll be blowing up very soon if they continue to make music this awesome.

CHVRCHES - Falling (Haim Cover - Live Lounge Late)

Just a few days after posting HAIM's "Falling", we get an awesome live cover of it by one my favorite bands, CHVRCHES. I think they did an amazing job and I have no idea how they would do this live. They really inject more of the electronic sound that we've all come to expect from them, into a track that was already pretty fantastic. Do I feel weird that when I'm showering I'll hear this song and two songs later I'll hear the original version? Nope. Now my showers are just going to take that much longer because I'll have to dance to this song twice.

TV Girl - Easier To Cry

Don't let the title fool you, this is actually a pretty happy sounding song about a very damaged woman. It's great. San Diego's TV Girl does a wonderful job of examining the life of the girl who "used" to have it all, but time hasn't been good to her. One of those songs you'd love to play for an ex-girlfriend in a pretty condescending way. "Easier to Cry" is on TV Girl's "Lonely Women EP" available now on their Bandcamp.

Haim - Falling

I feel like I'm late to the Haim party. After releasing an EP last year and garnering plenty of attention, Haim released this track about 5 months ago. I love how many influences this track seems to draw from. Kind of seems like Prince and Stevie Nicks made babies in the 80's and this is the music we get in 2013. My introduction to the trio of sisters (Este, Danielle, and Alana Haim) came from their track on Kid CuDi's "Red Eye" track from his most recent album, "Indicud". Thank god for that song because who knows how much longer my life would have been missing this music. Earlier this year they signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation Management and are slated to release their debut album this September.

American Authors - Believer (Kulkid Remix)

By now I'm sure you've heard of Brooklyn band, American Authors, but I'm sure you never heard them like this. French producer, Kulkid, tries his hand at remixing the bands biggest single, "Believer". The track takes about a minute to really get into the song but to compensate, Kulkid adds an awesome banjo. The track ends up being a awesome mix of indie-rock/electronic/pop all fused together and wonderfully mixed. I also love the fact that Kulkid took the opportunity to give the vocals a much cleaner mix-down which adds a very nice finished touch to the track. This tracks a great way to start any day.

Jaymes Young - Fragments

Brand new track from an artist that is quickly climbing the ranks of my favorite indie artists, Jaymes Young. Fragments is a bit more down-tempo than most of the music on TOTR but what it lacks in energy, it more than makes up for in sentiment. I think what makes Jaymes Young so compelling is that while he definitely has the makings of an artist that is going to be huge, he never sacrifices content for a hit. Every track bleeds of personality and heartfelt history but never feels inaccessible to a new listener. "Fragments" will appear on Young's self-titled mixtape, due out on August 20th.

The Colourist - Little Games (Yeasayer Remix)

After hearing this I had to go find out what the original track sounded like and it was awesome! I figured, I can save that post for another day and in the meantime give you guys this sweet Yeasayer remix of The Colourist's, "Little Games". While Yeasayer has been on my radar for a while, this was my first time hearing from The Colourist and after hearing just a couple of tracks from them, I am super stoked to hear more. The track is only 2:43 which is great because I love when bands keep it short and sweet, but at the same time, you won't want a track this great to end so soon. Indie-pop at it's finest

Smallpools - Smallpools EP

After dropping their awesome single, "Dreaming" last month, Smallpools just dropped their self-titled EP today! You can stream it below and pick it up on iTunes HERE. These guys did a great job on their 4 track debut and if this is a sign of things to come, these guys will be making a big splash soon.

Kings Dead - Revenge of the Beast (FreeLP)

Before my hiatus, The Dean's List was one of my favorite upcoming hip hop acts so when I got back to blogging, I was searching for anything new from them. As it turns out, the Boston natives also took a hiatus and decided to make their return as the new and improved, Kings Dead and released this awesome FreeLP, "Revenge of the Beast". There isn't a lot of hip hop right now to get excited about, but these guys are definitely one of the few groups that I will go out of my way for. Even the intro is super dope. Tracks like "My New Shit", "The Chase", "Shooting Star" are just a few of the tracks that I'm sure will end up on one of your playlists. Assisted by the lovely, Alexus Lee on several tracks, Kings Dead definitely show that they've really worked on their ability to craft good SONGS, something many hip hop artists seem to lack. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on these guys going forward and I'm sure after listening to this, you will as well.