Citrus Clouds released an impressive album in 2016 called 'Imagination', a musical trait they have no shortage of. The dream pop trio from Phoenix, Arizona (comprised of Erick Pineda, Stacie Huttleston and Angelica Pedrego) are ready for their new EP, 'Ultra Sound', which will drop on September 22nd on Custom Made Music. They've just shared the first single 'Life Happens', a song about loss and our ability to move on; when something ends, you have to accept it and grow. Musically, the song is wrapped up in the band's melodic guitar and bass lines, a sample of a more mature work we are looking forward to. You can listen to 'Life Happens' and pre-order the EP below.
TV Sets formed in Toronto in 2014 when Angela and Joshua heard each other playing music through the walls of their apartment building. They eventually met and started working together. Their third member, also called Josh, joined after being the only person to respond to Angela and Josh's vague Craigslist ad in search of fans of experimental electronic music. After revealing the first single Fools Day a few months ago, on August 11th the Canadian bedroom-pop trio released their new EP 'Elsewhere', which features 6 tracks that harmoniously blend jangly guitars and atmospheric bass. The title track is about the contradicting will to change overnight while being attached to the past. The video was shot on Super 8 film and it follows the band through different local hang outs around their home town. Check out the video and stream/buy 'Elsewhere' below.
Coming from a very sunlit country, I have always been fascinated by the amount of "cheerful" indie pop music northern - typically thought as gloomy and cold - countries produce. It seems to me that good indie pop coming from Scandinavian bands has become the norm. And here's (another) proof. Verandan are the latest addition to Finnish label, Soliti's list of great bands. They were formed in late 2015 around songs written by Ville Hopponen (known from Cats on Fire and latterly The New Tigers). Aiding and abetting Ville on his new adventure are the magnificent players Aleksi Peltonen (Puunhalaaja) Aki Pohjankyrö (Black Twig, LOVE SPORT), Kaarlo Stauffer (Black Twig) and Sampo Seppänen (Sofa Pets, Kynnet). Their first single 'Gold In The Hills' was released earlier in June and they've just shared their second one, 'Short Dream', from their forthcoming EP. As the title suggests, the song takes us into a short dream. The harmonic jangle of the guitars is mixed with the softness of the synths, making us step into the vividness of a dream. It’s short lived, as the song takes off with a direct guitar lead right after the vocals: “I’m awake now, I’ll walk on but I know it’s different, from now on”. Ville expands: “The song is built around an old musical idea that was lying around gathering dust but knew deep down it would eventually be of use. It’s mostly about the contrast between a vivid dream (or some other profound experience) and the mundane and how the former sometimes can make the latter feel underwhelming. Like the fate of a tourist.” 'Short Dream' will be released digitally on August 14th. As the summer is slowly coming to an end, I urge you to dive into this dreamy tune, which - like all things happy - doesn't seem to last long enough!
