Stream: Philadelphia Babe - Flagship

Philadelphia Babe is the latest song from duo Flagship and it has sunken its teeth into me deep.

The new track from the forthcoming EP, The Ladder, Philadelphia Babe is a rousing indie anthem - the sort of thing I expect from Future Islands. The first time I heard it I put it on repeat for about half an hour, I literally listened to it ten times, it’s bluesy yet hopeful romantic energy capturing everything I was feeling at that point.

This is the kind of record about being found by love that you weren’t expecting. A bright shiny thing that lives inside you. A feeling you never realised you had until something found it and polished it up. And once you find it, there’s no putting it back - “I’m never coming down, never falling back to ground”.

Stream: Better With You - Michl

I’ve not covered anything from Mura Masa in a long time, but this is just wonderful.

Michl has previously toured with Mura Masa, Elohim and Bao (of Vampire Weekend), giving you some idea of the wonky pop music he specialises in.

A collaboration between LA based musician Michl and Mura Masa, Better With You is a surprising song that manages to be one part earnest ballad and one part future electro R&B joint. With heartfelt lyrics, simple piano keys and boatload of distorted bass this track is wonderfully all over the place.

I love the simplicity of the message of this track. In Michl’s own words:

"I tend to do overcomplicate everything. But sometimes there isn't much to mess up. When you love and are loved back, everything else becomes irrelevant."

dreaming in the daylight cause I know heaven is a world away ya we’re here sleeping on the floor but this hell feels better with you working through the midnight I know Heaven is a world away we’re here sweatin’ on the floor but this hell feels better better with you better with you better with you better with you this hell feels better with you better with you better with you better with you this hell feels better with you you’re in my veins you’re in my blood you stop the feeling of giving up oh I know we don’t have much still this hell feels better with you better with you been waitin’ here a long time maybe heaven ain’t on its way well if we’re stuck down here forever at least hell feels better better with you better with you better with you better with you this hell feels better with you better with you better with you better with you this hell feels better with you you’re in my veins you’re in my blood you stop the feeling of giving up oh I know we don’t have much still this hell feels better with you better with you

Stream: Early In The Morning - ELEL

I almost slept on this one, but I’m so bloody glad I didn’t. Because this is a hit of sunshine that presses every single one of my buttons.

Something of a comeback from the brink, Early In The Morning is a song that captures the chaotic feeling of a life in free fall. Last year ELEL frontman Ben Elkins went through a divorce with the person that had been the band’s namesake and in the wake of that split half the band walked away, as did the band’s label.

Following on from Be Yeah earlier this year, this is the sound of a band re-tooled and ready for something new. Working together with two founding members Tim Cook and Zach Tichenor, Ben Elkins has clearly found a route forwards.

Early In The Morning reminds me of Pheonix mixed with a little Passion Pit (hat tip here - it was a friend that pointed out the latter resemblance). It has that kind of dizzy, infectious energy. Elkins’ vocal breaks through waves of electronic energy and stuttering percussion as his sings his of his longing to just being closer to someone he loves. “Never see you in early in the morning” he calls with desire on the record’s chorus. It is hard not to know exactly how he feels, and that huge hook that carries the chorus in is exactly why I knew there was no way I couldn’t write about this beautiful song.

Sometimes life demands that you stop playing things safe. You should fight to see that person early in the morning. If we only get one spin on this planet then we had better ensure we play for keeps and make it count.

Describing the song, Elkins says:

“When everything falls apart, you stop being careful with your art. You get messy and go out of bounds. I wanted to see what we could make if we took away the rules. It became really exciting, I had to keep going.”

Tear up your rules. Go out of bounds. Time to go all in. But first, play this record loud.

New single from Nashville's ELEL

Stream: New Beat - LEIF

New Beat is the latest track from Norwegian musician LEIF, and it sets out to capture the feeling of Scandinavian melancholy.

This track bounces along with a thick, chunky beat and some raw, warm synths whilst the vocals capture a sense of need for something felt but never quite realised. LEIF himself describes this Scandinavian as:

“Scandinavian melancholy is the yearning for something you never had, the longing for that which never happened.”

The soundtrack to nights out the fail to materialise in the thing you want, there is a sort of neon heartbreak at play here… Long bright Scandinavian nights that only culminate in long journeys home alone. It’s the joy of the journey but the sense of mourning what never happened.

Check out New Beat below... It's a beautiful piece of electronic melancholy. A sad song for disco punks in pumps.

Written by LEIF, with valuable input and ideas from Johan Nord & Lasse Saurbrey Recorded by LEIF in Skippergata, Oslo and in a cold room in Berlin Guitars by Hans Jørgen Undelstvedt Mixed by Jonas Kroon at Saga Studio, Oslo Mastered by Chris Sansom, Propeller, Oslo Single from upcoming album Scandinavian Melancholy by LEIF Releasedate: March 16, 2018 on Popklubb

Stream: Snakebones - Lux NRM

The new project from musician Natalie Rachel Moss, Lux NRM, back after a musical hiatus that followed her time fronting Siamese Almeida.

Snakebones is the sound of Moss finding her groove as a pop songwriter and musician. Bringing an element of rawness to infectious pop music, Moss has taken a DIY approach to music making, basing herself in a garage/bedroom in Sydney’s Inner West when making her music.

Snakebones describes the kind of intense and frantic love that feels addictive, pleasurable and painful all at the same time. Love can be fragile - both wonderful and yet built on sand, something we know can’t last yet we convince ourselves it will anyway. I believe it can last.

Check out Snakebones below.

Snakebones is about that kind of heightened, frantic and additive love that is as much pain as it is pleasure. The snakebones represent the fragility of a love built on the lies we tell ourselves to convince ourselves that the it will last.