Just Rolled In: Local Natives - "Coins" [indie rock]

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"Coins" is the latest cut from Local Natives' highly anticipated third album Sunlit Youth, hitting stores September 9 via Loma Vista Recordings. What starts out as a subtle bluesy track quickly unfolds into a lustrous, impassioned affair, replete with airy synths and velvety vocal harmonies, fitting in nicely alongside the arsenal of strong singles recently released in support of the new album.

Listen to all four singles below and preorder Sunlit Youth here.

Swell Album: Triptides - Azur [psychedelic rock / indie pop / surf]

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Los Angeles's new residents Triptides have come a long way from the bedrooms of founding members (and primary songwriters) Glenn Brigman and Josh Menashe in Bloomington, Indiana. They have since transformed into a four-piece and have been steadily pushing out recordings for almost five years now. The psychedelic guitar pop band's most recent LP and followup to last year's Colors EP is Azur, which came out July 10 via Requiem Pour Un Twister.

As you may have gathered from the band's name and album art, Azur is a very warm, summery listening experience, but it shouldn't be limited to that. Although Triptides' intricate guitars and overall breezy vibe may recall current bands like Real Estate at times, it's their effortless ability to fuse 60s-influenced psychedelic, surf, and pop melodies together into fresh, memorable songs that makes them irreplaceable.

Considering the balance that the guys of Triptides have crafted between upbeat guitar pop songs and more relaxed psychedelic tunes on Azur, it's clear that they are more than just a one-trick pony hoping to get one of their sunny tracks lost amongst the uniformity of someone's Summer '15 playlist. Azur is an impressive album front to back and deserves to be listened to in full, no matter the season.

Grab yourself a copy of Azur here and check out the excellent singles "Wake", "Dark Side", "Hideout", and "Where You Are" below!

Artist Making Waves: Cannons [electronic / dream pop / r&b]

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Cannons is a blossoming three-piece electronic outfit based in Los Angeles that draws from funk, R&B, and darkwave to brew up their own futuristic brand of electropop that's equal parts groovy, sexy, and dreamy, so I can see why they've decided just to go with "future boogie".

South Florida native Michelle Joy is front and center on the keys, drawing the listener in with her chilled-out hypnotic vocals while bandmates Ryan Clapham and Paul Davis lay down the funky guitar riffs, ominous melodies, danceable beats, and slick electronic production. The fact that it all comes together so beautifully and that they've been pushing out singles every month or so for over a year goes to show that Cannons know what they're doing and that they're here to stay, and more importantly, to make you dance.

Cannons' debut four-song Up All Night EP can be download on iTunes or BandCamp for just a few dollars. Check out the recent tracks "Evening Star", "Night Verses", and "Spells" plus two of my favorites from the EP and hop on over to their SoundCloud page to hear a bunch more!

Swell Album: Jordan Ruiz - The Mountain [indie folk / singer-songwriter]

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Screenshot from Jordan Ruiz's live video for "The Mountain" on YouTube

I get music entries from time to time here at holaOLA, but the music usually doesn't fit into what I like to write about on the blog or I don't really dig it in the first place. That's why Los Angeles singer-songwriter Jordan Ruiz has caught me completely off guard. He sends me a link to his new album The Mountain and after clicking 'play', as I would do with any entry, I am actually impressed by the opening bars; in this case, it's the artful acoustic guitar picking of the opening title track. Shortly after, his soothing voice floats in, taking on a loose resemblance to Iron & Wine, but before long, the song picks up into something genuinely beautiful, something that makes me think of Bon Iver. Horns come flying in with a pitter-patter drumbeat that escalates into an explosive chorus of uplifting heys, aahs and oohs (yes, in that order) to leave me truly inspired (...to hike up a mountain, maybe?). The only problem is that the song hardly makes it past two and a half minutes. Luckily for me, the remaining 35 minutes of the record help me maintain my newfound state of elation with nine more beautifully crafted ambient folk tunes that have so much heart that they also deserve comparisons to singer-songwriters James Vincent McMorrow and Ben Howard.

After listening, I'm left with the baffling question: With a voice this outstanding and an expertly-produced record, how hasn't Jordan Ruiz blown up yet? Well, I guess that's the nature of self-released albums on the Internet; we just have to give it time. In the meantime, take a listen to Jordan Ruiz's The Mountain below, share it with your friends, and buy a copy!

NoiseTrade is offering The Mountain and its five-song predecessor Sundial Heart, which is also great by the way, on a tip-what-you-think-it-deserves basis, or you can get the former on Jordan Ruiz's BandCamp page.

Artist Making Waves: RY X // The Howling // The Acid [indie folk / electronic]

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First things first: Yes, this is a triple post. Why? Well, you may have guessed that it has something to do with that bearded character up there, and you're right. His name is Ry Cuming.

Ry Cuming is an Australian-born surfer and musician who relocated to Los Angeles some years back, got noticed (for his music), recorded a major label pop record under his real name, toured with Maroon 5, and then decided to 'go indie', which has resulted in the lovely music I present to you today.

Cuming performs/records under the stage name RY X and shares his beautifully fragile pipes and solid guitar work in the electronic projects The Howling and The Acid. Each time I switch between EPs my favorite project of his changes so it would be rather difficult to write this post recommending only one.

The three projects feature Cuming's unmistakable sultry vocals and a haunting ambience. His solo work recalls Bon Iver thanks to his crooning falsetto, melancholic tone, stripped instrumentation, and overall alone-in-a-cabin-in-the-woods feel, while it boasts crisper production and trades in Justin Vernon's folky chords for more intricate melodies lined with arpeggios. The Howling is delivered in the same vein as RY X (both projects have a version of "Shortline", for example), but is spruced up with the subtle, yet expansive electronic production of German electronic musician Frank Wiedemann. Whereas RY X and The Howling share the same downcast tone and bare-bones structure, The Acid changes up the formula. This mysterious trio constructs a much more complex (and electronic) sonic environment that has brought on comparisons to James Blake, Animal Collective, m83, and Radiohead, but it still has that ominous fog creeping through it.

Go ahead and dive into Ry Cuming's three projects below to see for yourself which one you like best. I wouldn't be surprised if you found it hard to decide as well.

Artist Making Waves: Ghost Loft [electronic / dream pop / R&B]

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Los Angeles producer Danny Choi, aka Ghost Loft, has been causing serious waves in the "blogosphere" this past year for his smooth electronic blend of dream pop and R&B accompanied by his own euphoric voice and other airy vocal samples. He has released  4 original tracks and has remixed tracks by The Neighbourhood, jj, and Icky Blossoms to name a few. In fact, Jesse Rutherford of The Neighbourhood just recently remixed his first hit single "Seconds". Considering the beautiful, intimate tracks that Choi has released in the past year, his upcoming debut EP, and that his music is already getting the remix treatment from some of today's leading producers, Ghost Loft is an artist that will be hard to ignore in 2013.

Listen to Ghost Loft's most recent single "So High" along with "Seconds" and three other excellent original tracks below. Check out his SoundCloud for some great remixes and keep an eye out for his debut EP dropping later this year.

Just Rolled In: Kisses - "The Hardest Part" [indie pop / electronic / disco pop]

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Kisses is a duo/couple based in Los Angeles consisting of Jesse Kivel (who also plays in the indie pop band Princeton with his twin brother Matt) on vocals and Zinzi Edmundson on keyboards. In preparation for their sophomore release, Kids in LA, due out this May, Kisses have released their first single "The Hardest Part", which hints that this album may be a little less sunny than their 2010 debut, The Heart of the Nightlife. Led by a crooning voice similar to that of Jens Lekman and with music reminiscent of New Order, the LA duo's single is a fast-paced, melancholic, and incredibly danceable track meant to be played loud at a dance party or just driving around late at night with the windows down.

Below, you can check out "The Hardest Part" and 2012's non-album single "Funny Heartbeat", which is more representative of their debut's sound. Listen to that debut here and pick up a copy of Kids in LA when it drops May 14 via Cascine Records.