Secret Mountains #3 - High Horse

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Last week I got myself reacquainted with Secret Mountains after a two year absence so it only feels fair that like London buses they feature twice within a few weeks here. Especially when it's with a track as bewitching as this...

"High Horse" is Secret Mountain's most beautiful yet, purposely slow and bare, the unfussy arrangements build hauntingly, blissfully with soft, entrancing instrumentation and lullaby comforting vocals. Today's order is to spare yourself five minutes, stop whatever you are doing, grab yourself some decent speakers/headphones (not your crappy, tinny PC ones) and immerse yourself fully in this - just gorgeous.

Rainer, Secret Mountains debut LP is due February 26th via Friends Records limited to just 500 copies.
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Le Page - Ileana / Closure

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An email came into my inbox before Christmas, I discovered it late last night. How very silly of me, consider this blog my long overdue apology...

Le Page are from Greece and currently reside in Athens and Paris, the minimalist dream-pop of their latest digital single "Ileana" highlights a beautiful, psychedelic, 60s film-noiry sound with soft, airy vocals and cinematic soundscapes much akin to Still Corners. It's one I have instantly fallen in love with and no doubt, if you are still reading this, you will too. "Ileana" is slightly sinister yet wholly gorgeous, a mixture of sweetly sung breathy vocals and intoxicating melody, with spooky organ swirls and rat-a-tat drum machine beats keeping you on the edge of your seat.

"Closure" is slower and more purposeful, recalling 80's synth-pop's darker moments with a ghostly key melody leading dual, suspenseful vocals. Atmospheric for sure and equally impressive too.

Download the single for free via Sonic Playground now.

Tristen #2 - No One's Gonna Know

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Tristen featured two years ago with an Introducing post but in truth her debut full-length 2011's Charlatans At The Garden Gate should definitely have been mentioned here more (iTunes tells me I last listened to her in June of the same year - a mistake).

Tristen seemingly missed the ears of pretty much every journo this side of the Atlantic too, it's strange because Tristen has all the attributes that could easily have placed her on a similar level to fellow Nashville resident (and friend - they've featured and written with each other too I believe) Caitlin Rose. A beautiful, clean voice with crisp, country-pop songs which shine lyrically. Rich with atmosphere and with a touch of twang, "Easy for your Love" and "Baby Drugs" are a perfect fit for UK radio.

My memory got well and truly jogged with an email about Tristen's second record Caves. Well more to the point, a Kickstarter project to raise the funds to release it. It came with a link to "No One's Gonna Know" (see below), a wonderful track which could well be her best track to date, something of a new approach with the addition of synthesizers and drum machine beats to her guitar and string flourishes. With polished production and her gorgeous voice, Tristen shouldn't be left ignored by the UK press for long, not if I can help it anyway.

You can pledge to CAVES via Kickstarter now and pick up her earlier work here.

Chalk and Numbers #4 - Boy

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The utterly charming Chalk and Numbers are back with "Boy", the first track to be taken from their forthcoming EP Parade (due March 12th). I've been a fan of the duo's easy on your ears, sunny day pop music for a while now but if you're new to the Brooklyn act, I promise you, your Monday morning is about to get infinitely better. Especially if you stayed up half the night watching men run around a field...

"Boy" is deliciously upbeat, a guaranteed mood-enhancing track about finding love which is both nostalgic and warm, as I listen to it, it fills me with a fuzzy feeling and I find myself hitting the repeat button again and again. Completely irresistible, Chalk and Numbers again prove themselves able of making pop tunes of the very finest order.

If you haven't already, make sure you have the wonderful seven track debut EP He Knew too, free via bandcamp.

Wolf Alice #3 - White Leather

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After "Leaving You" and more recently "Fluffy" I thought (wrongly) that Wolf Alice had morphed into a grunge-rock band and left their folkier roots behind them. With "Fluffy" especially the very definition of the word monster, big, pummelling beats and ballsy riffs which it left little to the imagination...

Now though we've been treated (and I do mean treated) to the single's flip-Side "White Leather", which recalls the London bands earlier material, a tender, love-lorn ballad with Ellie's soft vocals resonating beautifully over languid beats and surf guitars.

Incredible to think it's just a B-Side? Gorgeous stuff. Pre-order on 7" via Rough Trade.

Bird #4 - Ophelia

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Bird were one of my favourite discoveries (or you could almost say re-discovery after I originally posted about the band under an almost completely different line-up back in July 2011) of the second half of 2012. A couple of stunning live performances and a magical, otherworldly EP Shadows propelled the Liverpool trio into my 'Tips for 2013' lists. Now with a new EP, Ophelia, due for release on February 14th via Jack to Phono Records (and a two week long UK tour starting the day after - full dates) they've already started filling columns in publications a bit more lofty than this - check out this weeks NME if you don't believe me....

To preview the EP we've been treated to its title track "Ophelia", Bird's most ambitious (and perhaps best) track to date, starting with a deep bass line and psychedelic guitar patterns it highlights a different side to the bands previous recorded output, one I've previously encountered in their live show, a hypnotic and sprawling groove that hooks you in even before the 'signature' Bird sound enters, soon enough though Adele and Sian's majestic harmonies flutter siren-like with grace and beauty to send you to heavenly plains.

I'm away on the London date on March 2nd, come back soon please. I'll add an EP pre-order link here when I find one - digital pre-order via iTunes.