Sam Flax - Child Of Glass

As if Selebrities’ ‘Night Heat’ wasn’t doing enough of a deed in lifting me up from my spinny-chair and taking me to 80s discos with shootouts and dance-offs, Sam Flax’s ‘Age Waves’ does the same job to an even grander extent. Dark wave/ Disco wave/ Lust wave/ whatever you want to call it, ‘Child of Glass’ contains every fruitful element that the best 80s pop tracks could boast: muted guitar lines, synthetic handclaps and a gigantic chorus. Even if you’re the most pathetic of dancers, it nigh on forces you to “bust some moves”. 

Falcon Lake - Shores & The House Falls Down

A rare week or so of regular sleeping patterns, lack of coffee, not too much beer, has left me feeling strangely balanced. I no longer drift off into a sleep-like state when on public transport. No longer can a song like ‘Shores’ sent me into that sort of trance. All the same, it works brilliantly as a first-thing-in-the-morning glow, an incentive to get outside and explore. Leon Piers’ most recent efforts drift gorgeously between downcast slumber and upbeat, popping excitement; like my past week, they’re strangely balanced numbers. 

Beat Culture - Belong (ft. Steffaloo)

At 17 years old, Sunik Kim has gained the respect - no, adoration - of almost every aspiring producer who bases their work on Soundcloud. If ever you needed evidence of the Platform’s benefits and its ability to break an artist and help build a steady career for them, this is it. Steffaloo features on virtually every relevant producer’s work but on ‘Belong’ she sounds fresh, new to these ears: Completely enthused to be featuring on ‘Belong’. If the ‘Goldenback Weaver’ record felt like a breakthrough, this tops the triumph. An elated, potentially seminal example of the producer’s early years. Quite phenomenally, he can go even further than this, if he chooses.

[Taken from the LYFSTYL compilation, ‘Dreams’]

sends - Terminal

A rare weekend post indeed, but Andrew Fusca has constructed a musical cocktail worthy of curing every heavy head on this frosty Sunday afternoon. ‘Terminal’, taken from a forthcoming, yet to be titled EP, combines ice-cold house beats with breathless vocals and a shimmering guitar backdrop. The track conjures up a vivid image of glistening disco balls and enraptured crowds; so in many ways it’s perfectly suited to this - and any other - weekend. 

TOPS - Turn Your Love Around

Sometimes I worry about just how many superb full-lengths pass the average music fan/blogger/critic/whatever by. I hadn’t heard of TOPS until today (despite the Pitchfork, No Fear of Pop recommendations) but it turns out in just under two weeks, they’ll be bringing out an entire record’s worth of Twin Sister-esque soft rock, on February 28th. ‘Tender Opposites’ would appeal to virtually every Twin Sister fan going, just like 95% of Bon Iver fans would fall head over heels in love with Flights. A minor music blog is unlikely to be to push in the right direction that TOPS deserve, but here’s to hoping, because this track is gorgeous. 

Chen and the Hoax - Flagg Staff

A few years back when I was in my early teens, I was planning on saving up good money for a quality microphone. This was to go towards the recording of my world-class Franz Ferdinand cover album (which unfortunately never surfaced). Had I known that the USB mic that my Mum brought back one day from the Pound shop (or to our American readers, the 1 dollar (?) store) would have sufficed, I’d have taken up my chillwave project there and then. Chen and the Hoax make delightful music, with ‘Flagg Staff’ of a particularly willing nature, showing off shifting guitar structures that gradually evolve as the track progresses. The vocals, however, must have been recorded on a minimal budget. Yet it remains a fine specimen. A lesson to all fledging musicians: Keep the cash firmly in your pockets.