New Song by Mates of State, "Staring Contest" (New EP Out Today & NYC Tour Date July 10)

Since 1997, indie band Mates of State has embraced feel good harmonies and a sweetly positive outlook in punchy, hook filled tunes. The couple Kori Gardner (vocals/keyboard) and Jason Hammel (vocals/drums) clearly maintain the glow of musical compatibility in their self-produced EP You're Going to Make It, out today via Barsuk Records. As a fan and fellow suburban Connecticut parent, I interviewed Hammel for PopMatters in 2010 and caught them on tour in support of their last album, Mountaintops (2011). The wildly catchy single from that release, "Palamino," was an easy pick for my Fall 2011 New Music Playlist.

Family life has only strengthened the bond and it shows. The video even includes their tow-headed daughters. Magnolia as a dancer and June as a new student who launches a blow out party right in school. It is based on a true story of sorts as June once sang to a class instead of choosing to read a book as an introduction. Welcome back and sure, why not bring the whole family. Check out the video on YouTube or below and give a full listen to the five song EP -- although I warn, you it'll be over way too early. Mates of State will also be at Bowery Ballroom in NYC on July 10 as part of a summer tour.

A Song for Summer 2015, "The Future" by De Lux (New Album Out June 23)

Isaac Franco (left) & Sean Guerin of De Lux (Photo Courtesy Innovative Leisure Records)

It was love at first listen when I heard "Oh Man the Future," off the sophomore release Generation (via Innovative Leisure Records) by L.A. synth pop duo De Lux. It filled out a mathematical equation of fave bands LCD Soundsystem plus Talking Heads to equal the sound found in this fun, quirky song that just makes you want to get your groove on. Take a listen to my pick for the song of Summer 2015 on SoundCloud or below.

De Lux was founded in 2013 by multi-instrumentalists Sean Guerin (Lead Vocals/Guitar) and Isaac Franco (Backing Vocals/Bass) with a post-disco dance punk DIY aesthetic that presented itself in last year's debut album, Voyage. Their song "Moments" was featured on my Summer 2014 New Music Playlist and this new track will open this year's summer compilation after the album drops June 23.

New Song by Beirut, "No No No" (New Album Out September 11 & NYC Tour Date October 1)

Zach Condon (Photo Courtesy 4AD)

Just days after the title track "No No No" from Beirut's upcoming album was released, it's already getting steady airplay on my favorite online radio outlets KEXP and KCRW. At first listen you could tell right away it was Beirut back with new material, with the signature worldly approach of Santa Fe native Zach Condon. The song is more like a whimsical ditty, harboring a complexity that belies Condon's troubadour vocals. His main instruments are ukulele and flugelhorn, but has a command of many others - even adding in a conch shell on 2007's The Flying Club Cup.

No No No is the first release since The Rip Tide in 2011. Two tracks from that album, "Sante Fe" and "East Harlem," appeared on my Fall 2011 New Music Playlist at the time. But after extensive touring in support of the collection, Condon landed in an Australian hospital to treat exhaustion. When I caught the band at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Crossing Brooklyn Ferry festival in 2012, Condon seemed to have such a casual command of his musical powers. (Check out a video from the night of "The Elephant Song" below.) Of course, all this provided a deep source for creativity as these things generally do. After a full recovery, Condon is planning live dates with an expanded touring band this fall with a stop at Radio City Music Hall October 1.  Take a listen to the new song here or on YouTube and look for the new album September 11 via 4AD.

New Song by Oberhofer, "Memory Remains" (New Album Out August 21)

Brad Oberhofer (Photo via Grandstand Media)

NY-based musician Brad Oberhofer is ready to release a sophomore album this summer called Chronovision (Glassnote Records). The song "Heart" off his debut album Time Capsules II landed on both my Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist and Top 20 Tunes of 2012, and the band Oberhofer has since appeared on Letterman, at Lollapalooza, and toured with Sleigh Bells, Neon Indian and Matt & Kim. This prolific artist also composed countless piano pieces for family and friends while he was at it. His new collection contains twelve tracks that were whittled down from 106 demos, produced by himself and recorded in his hometown of Tacoma, Seattle, the Catskills, NYC (Strange Weather, Electric Lady) and L.A. (Sound City). He then mixed the songs in Atlanta with Ben Allen, who has worked with Animal Collective and Washed Out.

The psych-pop embedded in the single "Memory Remains" finds Oberhofer's unabashed approach to full on instrumentation, along with a no holds barred belting of the melodic chorus. It's both catchy and irresistibly giddy at first listen. Take one with the video here or on YouTube.

New Song by PHASES, "I'm in Love with My Life" (Album Out This Summer)

PHASES (Photo via Warner Bros. Records)

I love me a good dance tune. This one by L.A. band PHASES (formerly JJAMZ) fell into my inbox today when I spotted the name of Phantom Planet singer Alex Greenwald -- another fave band of mine like Doves of the last post, also cited as a band I'd love to be able to resurrect in the post "My Picks For Older Bands To Round Out the Music Collection (80s, 90s, 2000s) & Bands I Wish Were Still Here From Each Decade."  The band also includes Jason Boesel of Rilo Kiley/Bright Eyes, Michael Runion, and Z Berg of The Like. They describe their sound as a marriage of dance and electronic, creating songs based on some experimental solo recordings by Greenwald in his Laurel Canyon living room using an outdated version of GarageBand.

"We wanted the songs to be fun, danceable, and engaging," says Greenwald. "That's how the tracks started, and then in the studio the things we added had to maintain that level of excitement."

With a full length album due this summer, the group has debuted a video for the catchy single "I'm in Love with My Life."  The video was directed by award-winning film, TV, commercial and music video director Ethan Tobman. I have to agree with his assessment of a first listen...

"When I first heard 'I'm in Love with My Life,'" Tobman said, "it put me in such an unashamedly optimistic mood. I immediately thought of trying to do something in reverse. The idea was that PHASES would be moving forward, nonchalantly, while the world around them inverts complexity in a way that brings us joy."  As any worthy dance tune should -- take a listen on YouTube or here.

New Song by Black Rivers, "Voyager 1" (Debut Album Out September 2)

Andy (left) and Jez Williams (Photo: Twitter Account)

I was eager to give a listen to Black Rivers, a new band with two thirds of the U.K. band Doves, a fave of mine from the first decade of this century and my pick for a reboot. With frontman Jimi Goodwin busy with a solo project, brothers Andy and Jez Williams started creating music on their own. The result is Black Rivers, with the two sharing vocal duties for an overreaching sound that is wonderfully familiar.

“Some bands are rooted in the reality of the here and now,” says Jez. “I suppose we’ve always been about escapism: searching for something. That’s the link, but I wouldn’t want to think we sound too much like Doves. The exciting thing about Black Rivers is that we had the freedom to go wherever we wanted.”  A self-titled debut will be out in the U.S. this September, but listen to the single "Voyager 1" via the video below or on YouTube. The space adventure concept is written, designed, drawn, animated, edited and directed by Alden Volney -- complementing the musical journey of the song, already a pick for my next playlist.

New Song "All Your Love Is Gone" by Boxed In (Debut Album Out)

Boxed In (Photo: Wendy Lynch Redfern)

Another new fave song has caught my ear for the next playlist -- "All Your Love Is Gone" by Boxed In is getting plenty of airplay on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" so I tracked things down to learn more. This electropop tune is crafted by London singer/songwriter and producer Oli Bayton, taking a band moniker from a painting by Francis Bacon, Head VI (showing a bust of a man screaming while trapped within a glass box).  It is from a self-titled debut album that was released last month via Nettwork Productions.

The staccato piano intro reminds me fondly of LCD Soundsystem, as layers of synths and moody vocals appear before a fuzzy yet brazen guitar solo takes over. Check out the video here or over on YouTube and see what you think.