New Music: Austra- Habitat

Austra have announced a new four song EP,  and "Habitat" is the title track and first single from the release. If you are a huge fan of the band you may recognize the song. The track is something they have been playing live for a couple of years now, but they never got around to releasing it. "Habitat" sounds like their darker, older material, and lacks the shine of the songs off of Olympia. That's okay, I prefer the icier, gloomy version of Austra. Listen below:

Habitat is out June 17th via Paper Bag.

New Music: Beta Frontiers- So Cold (featuring Carmen Elle)

If the voice on this track sounds familiar, you are probably a fan of synth pop band Diana, and their lead singer Carmen Elle. (also the singer for the under appreciated Toronto indie rock band Army Girls). Toronto producer Beta Frontiers (Michael Butler) has enlisted Elle for his newest track, " So Cold", and the singer has never sounded so smooth. The title may be "So Cold", but the music of the this song is anything but.

Check it out below and if you like it buy it from Buzz Records Bandcamp.

New Music: Papertwin- Alkaline

Some nice synth pop from Brooklyn band Papertwin. The band already have a couple of EPs under
their belt and are poised to release a third, Vox Humana, which will come out on June 17th. Listen to "Alkaline", the dreamy lead track from the new release.

New Music: Xeno & Oaklander- Interface

Check out the latest single from Xeno & Oaklander titled "Interface". The track has a sound that moves them further away from their cold wave beginnings and into more of a fresh synth pop direction. Kinda sounds like Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark.

The song is taken from their new album Par Avion, out June 24th via Ghostly.





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New Music: Ramona Lisa: Arcadia + Backwards And Upwards

Chairlift's Caroline Polachek has been slogging away making crazy good synth pop with her band for approximately ten years now, plus she has been collaborating on songs with everyone from Washed Out to Flosstradamus, so perhaps, maybe, it is time she goes out her own. Polachek has done exactly just that with her new solo project Ramona Lisa. She has released a new album titled Arcadia that she made in Italy last year, a record that was recorded on just her laptop.  Two of the songs from the new album, the creepy video for the title track and "Backward and Upwards", are featured below. Check them out:

Arcadia is out today (April 15th) via Terrible.

New Music: Weeknight- Dark Light + Wreckage

Weeknight are a Brooklyn synth pop duo whose music sides on the darker side of the genre. They will be releasing their new album Post-Everything on March 4th via Artificial Records. The excellent "Dark Light" and "Wreckage" are two tracks from the LP and you can listen to both tracks plus watch the eerie music video for "Dark Light" below:

New Music: Sleep Thieves- City Of Hearts

It's been a while since we've featured some really good 80's infused, Johnny Jewel-esque synth pop on the blog and in the middle of this cold, snowy winter it would be really nice if someone would come along to provide a bit of musical warmth. Well, Dublin band Sleep Thieves provides just the anecdote with their dreamy electro pop single "City of Hearts". Check it out below:

New Music: Trust- Are We Arc?

A slightly less gloomy new track from Toronto synth pop artist Trust. Although "Are We Arc?" is dark in texture it is actually pretty dreamy and really showcases the vocals of singer Robert Alfons. Listen below:

Trust's new LP Joyland is out March 4th via Arts & Crafts.

New Music: Woman's Hour- Her Ghost

Last September this blog helped introduce to the world new synth pop act Woman's Hour and their brilliant single "Darkest Place b/w Thunder." Indie record label Secretly Canadian must have been paying attention because they snatched them up and signed them to a new deal. The first single the band will release with the label is "Her Ghost", a song that is minimal in nature but possesses some stellar reverb guitar, deep dark synths and the beautiful voice of singer Fiona Burgess. Listen to the warm and moody track below:

"Her Ghost" is available now digitally and the 7" will come out on March 24th..

New Music: Doomsquad- Disremember/Dismemberment + Waka Waka

New sibling band Doomsquad are poised to be the next big indie act to emerge out of Toronto. The band like to mix it up and have a sound that drifts from synth pop to post punk to space rock, in other words very dark and experimental. Check out a couple of gloomy new songs from the band, "Disremember'Dismemberment" and "Waka Waka," + a bonus track they did in collaboration with Toronto synth pop artist Digits titled "Shake Your Body Down."

Doomsquad will release their forthcoming new album Kalaboogie on February 22nd via Hand Drawn Dracula/No Pain in Pop.

New Music: Keep Shelly In Athens- Old Time Glory

It was disheartening to hear today that Keep Shelly in Athens singer Sarah P. announced on the weekend that she has left the band. No reason was given, just a simple tweet stating " I'm letting you know that I'm no longer in Keep Shelly in Athens. Thank you for your support! Focus on new things, now! Much love! s." I really hope she stays in the music business because her talent is too good to waste.

A statement on Keep Shelly in Athens' Soundcloud reads that the band is still together and that will use a new singer and guest vocalists in the future and even stated that a new album will be coming later in the year. Their new song "Old Time Glory is an homage to Sara. Download the upbeat song below for free: 

New Music: Trust- Rescue, Mister

Toronto dark wave project Trust is back with one less member and one really good song. Robert Alfons is by himself now, but that has not hurt the music of Trust one little bit. "Rescue, Mister" is the first single from his new LP Joyland which will be available March 4th through Arts & Crafts. Overall, the track is more dance oriented than the tunes from his first record TRST, but it still maintains that gothic, industrial darkness. There is a hint of Some Great Reward era Depeche Mode in this song. Hear for yourself below:

New Music: Ghost Beach- Moon Over Japan

Not sure how I missed this great tune when it first came out last July. Blink in the music blogosphere and you always miss something, I guess. Anyhow, Ghost Beach have sort of reissued "Moon Over Japan" and have offered it as a free download on Soundcloud. The song is an anthemic, glistening, 80's synth pop jam that comes off like Kim and Jessie era M83 mixed with a hint of Tears for Fears (The bell sound on the track sounds almost exactly like the bell sound in "Shout") and Level 42. Grab it below:

New Music: Electric Youth- Innocence

More great eighties sounds from Toronto synth pop duo Electric Youth who are back with a brand new single titled "Innocence". You might know these guys from their excellent "The Best Thing" single which came out in the summer of last year, and you might also remember them from their collaborative track with College, "A Real Hero", for the Drive soundtrack. "Innocence"has that same synth pop iciness that made those other two tracks so fantastic. Listen below:

Electric Youth will release a still to be named new album sometime next year.

Five Star Songs: Kleerup - Until We Bleed (Ft. Lykke Li)

Just because I am in love with Lykke Li and think that everything song she sings is magical. "Until We Bleed" features Li's beautiful voice and is taken from Swedish producer Kleerup's eponymous 2008 album, an LP that also has songs featuring Swedish leading ladies Robyn and Neneh Cherry.

New Music: Woman's Hour- Darkest Place + Thunder

Woman's Hour are a four piece synth pop band heralding from London UK. Their music lies somewhere between The xx and Still Corners, which is to say a sound that employs the use of a female singer over minimalist synths and gentle guitar. Their newest single, "Darkest Hour" b/w "Thunder" will be available October 22nd via Luv Luv Luv Records. Listen to both tracks below:

New Music: Young Galaxy- Sea Drug + Talk To Her

Back from a two week hiatus of blog posting. Good to clear my head, relax and not worry about posting music. Perfect time to do it to, there hasn't been that much really good new music released over the last couple of weeks. There are some exceptions of course, including a couple of fresh tracks from Young Galaxy.

Young Galaxy continue their victory lap for releasing the fantastic Ultramarine, one of the best albums of the year. As a matter of fact the band are up for the Polaris Music Prize which is awarded tonight at The Carlu in Toronto (right across the street from where I live). YG are my personal favourite to win the prize which probably means that they won't win.

Last month it was reported that the band will come out with a deluxe edition of Ultramarine and they premiered a brand new song titled "Crying My Heart Out" which is one of the many extras on the new album. Now the group have shared another couple of bonus tracks from the LP which will be out tomorrow (September 24th) via Paper Bag. "Sea Drug" and Talk to Her" follow the same Swedish synth pop formula that made this such a successful year for the band. Listen below:

New Music: Keep Shelly in Athens- Flyway

By now, you can tell I am am big fan of Keep Shelly in Athens. "Flyway" is the fourth song I have posted this year and the third since July. Not much more I can say except I wish September 17th would hurry up and come so I can listen to their full debut album At Home. Meanwhile listen to their latest below:

At Home is out September 17th via Cascine.

New Music: Young Galaxy- Crying My Heart Out

Montreal synth pop band Young Galaxy last spring released Ultramarine, one of my favourite albums of the year, so far. The LP contains a collection of some of the best indie pop tracks of the year including what I believe is the song of the summer. Seriously, YG's "New Summer" is way better than "Blurred Lines" or that Daft Punk song everybody is into.

Now Young Galaxy are poised to release a deluxe edition of the LP on September 24th via Paper Bag. There will be a bunch of extras including this song “Crying My Heart Out”, a dance pop song that has New Order written all over it.

New Music: Color War- Obelisk

More dark music on the blog today, this time from synth pop Brooklyn duo Color War. The icy cold electro shoegaze of "Obelisk" may remind you of artists like Austra, M83 or  even The Knife. The pair will be releasing their debut album, It Could Only Be This Way, some time before the end of the year. Listen below: