Lo-Fang: When We're Fire + Look Away

It can be an ungrateful job to be an opening act, but it can also prove to be a big career boost. Here's hoping Matthew Hesmerlein aka Lo-Fang gains many new fans during his upcoming concerts in March and April supporting New Zealand wunderkind Lorde on her U.S.tour.

The Baltimore native, L.A. based artist's debut full-length 'Blue Film' was released this week on UK label 4AD.  The twelve tracks were written and recorded in a farmhouse in Maryland, as well as hotels and studios in Cambodia, London, and Nashville, before being completed in the legendary Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.  Hesmerlein is classically trained in violin, cello, bass, piano and guitar, performing all the instruments on the album, including the banjo.

Two hypnotic videos accompany the stellar tracks "When We're Fire" and "Look Away"; both clips perfectly compliment his gorgeous vocals, so seamlessly weaved into a rich fabric of sounds.


http://www.songkick.com/artists/7640564-lofang/calendar?page=1

http://shopusa.4ad.com/featured-4ad-homepage/blue-film

www.facebook.com/LOFANG83

East India Youth: Dripping Down + Looking For Someone

Former frontman for defunct band Doyle and The Fourfathers, London based musical mad scientist William Doyle is now a one-man operation using the moniker East India Youth. An EP entitled 'Hostel' dropped last spring.  The 11-track debut full-length 'Total Strife Forever' released in the UK on January 13 (February 24 in other markets) showcases his gorgeous vocals and intoxicating soundscapes.  

Two relatively simple, yet outstanding videos accompany the tracks "Dripping Down' and "Looking for Someone".

Doyle has several dates lined up for March and April as well as a few summer festival gigs. He will also be performing at SXSW March 11-16.


https://www.facebook.com/eastindiayouth/app_123966167614127

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/total-strife-forever/id762575927

Quadron: Favorite Star

Yesterday Danish L.A. based duo Quadron published their new video in which the fab Miss Coco gets to dance and frolic with several doting Adonis like lads.

Coco and band (musical partner Robin Hannibal is rarely part of the live line up) are currently on tour in the U.S. opening for Mayer Hawthorne; there are still close to a dozen dates left.


https://www.facebook.com/quadronmusic/app_123966167614127

Studio Killers: Eros & Apollo

Goldie Foxx, Cherry, Dyna Mink

Danish/British/Finnish audio-visual collective Studio Killers released their self-titled debut album in 2013. A trippy, candy colored video accompanies the track "Eros and Apollo" and seems like the perfect clip to post for Valentine's Day.

 

AKUA: Gravity

28-year-old London, Ontario native, Montreal based singer-songwriter-producer and part-time mermaid Akua Carson aka AKUA [A-koo-ah] started singing when she was 10 years old, but it wasn't until the summer of 2013 that she realized her dream and released the excellent five-track debut EP 'One's Company' which includes the gorgeous track "Gravity". The artist herself co-stars in the equally gorgeous video which she co-produced with older brother Kofi Carson. The clip was shot in Florida and published last May.


https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/ones-company-ep/id648603274

http://akua.bandcamp.com/album/ones-company

https://soundcloud.com/soundslikeakua

https://www.facebook.com/followakua

St. Paul And The Broken Bones: Don't Mean A Thing + Everybody Knows (The River Song)

I'm often impressed, even thrilled when searching for bands/artists to blog about, but it's not every day that I'm blown away. Yet that's what exactly what happened when I first listened to Birmingham, Alabama band St. Paul and The Broken Bones. The three magic ingredients of front man Paul Janeway's powerhouse vocals, outstanding musicianship plus high caliber song material make up a sound so good it almost hurts.

The stellar 4-track EP 'Greetings from St. Paul and the Broken Bones' was released last year and their debut full-length 'Half The City' drops February 18.

Superb live performances are getting the band the buzz they deserve and there'll be plenty of opportunities for fans to bear witness in the coming months as they play across the U.S. The tour will include gigs at the SXSW Festival next month as well as at this year's Bonnaroo Festival in June. (see Songkick link below for concert date details.)

NOTE: Be sure to go to their Bandcamp page and listen to the track "Champagne Halloween" off of the debut EP:


http://stpaulandthebrokenbones.bandcamp.com/

www.facebook.com/St.PaulandTheBrokenBones

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/half-the-city/id795004346

http://www.songkick.com/artists/5470143-st-paul-and-the-broken-bones/calendar?page=1