member of Washed Out's live show. hazy shoegaze-pop with reverb, distortion, jangly rhythms, synth beats, hushed vocals.

play: 1, 2,3, 6, 7, 10, 11

riyl: My bloody valentine, jesus & mary chain, the drums

Music For Sleeping Children is an album by Boom Bip and Charlie White.  The concept here is a mix of spoken word with EDM and Electro Hop.  The spoken word portion is taken from five different interviews of teenage girls and the trials and tribulations they encounter in their lives.  The concept is an interesting one but the two mediums-music and spoken word doesn’t mesh that well and is distracting to listen to.  I don’t want to diminish from what these girls are trying  to say but there are many instances of “like, um, like, it’s like,um ya’ know”.  It’s an interesting concept but would possible sound better if the spoken word portions were cut up and remixed into the music rather than just delivered in its straight forward manner.  Unfortunately, it ends up falling short of what it could be.

Tracks: 1,4   FCC: 3

Enjoy is a single by Gigamesh.  The track is very upbeat Synth Dance/Disco.  The remix by Oliver is similar with the same charged up Disco Dance vibes as the original.

Tracks: All Good

The latest from The King Fu Divas is a remix single disc titled Tekk Me.  The lyrics are almost entirely a list of all of the Diva’s favorite bands with some cool and obscure artists named.  The music varies from straight up Dance to Downtempo Dance, EDM, and 8-bit.  The problem here is that the tracks that list these bands are also not FCC compliant so that’s a little frustrating.  However, this up and coming dance band has tons of potential and many other great tracks and the two compliant tracks are still super hot.

Tracks: 2,4   FCC: 1,3 (play anyway, their hot)

The second release from artist Ambulaunz is titled In Waves.  Similar to the debut, Vertical Mile, the music is Ambient but with a strong Dance edge to it.  The tracks are light and bubbly with the same dreaminess as before.   You feel like you’re floating in a glass of champagne, buoyed by the effervescence of the tracks which are fairly short keeping the music concise and potent.  The tracks have their own sound yet also contain enough similarities to each other to give the album a good flow while remaining fresh from start to finish.  An excellent follow up to Vertical Mile.

RIYD: Fetal Pulse, Carmen Rizzo

Tracks: All Good

'Gorilla Manor', Local Natives' debut album, was a summery collection of anthemic melodies and tribal rhythms. Not the case with 'Hummingbird'. Under new production and operating in the wake of the death of the lead singer's mother, Hummingbird is an intensely somber, reflective, quiet album, and is all the richer for it. This is still an alternative rock band, make no mistake, but they're smarter, wiser, and have real things to say now. The band's trademark harmonies from their first LP are almost entirely gone, making way for Taylor Rice's (gorgeous) voice to come to the forefront on almost every track. Opening track 'You & I' is a standout; it immediately establishes the darker tone that awaits listeners by lamenting a crumbling relationship while still maintaining the gorgeous, shimmering music that lies beneath. 'Ceilings' is the most popish track, and is also the track most in line with their youthful debut. Almost every track on this album is utterly fantastic; the production is sharper, heavier, and replaces the punching, lively rhythms of the first LP with quiet, haunting songs that stick with you far longer than anything found on their first album.  'Three Months' and 'Columbia' are the two best songs on the album; together they form a crushing pair of songs dealing with the death of Taylor Rice's mother. Local Natives have put themselves in a tough situation; 'Columbia' is one of the best songs of 2013 thus far, and anyone not thrown off by their sometimes-amateurish first album willing to give 'Hummingbird' a proper listen will find that it's one of the best albums of the year as well.

PLAY: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10

RIYL: The National, Grizzly Bear

FCC: Clean

Oklahoman folk-rock with nice, twangy vocals, strings, piano, slide guitar, soft drums. melancholic & romantic

play: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8

riyl: sharon van etten, thao & mirah