Just Rolled In: Lowly - "Daydreamers" [noise pop / dream pop / shoegaze]

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Lowly is a band from Denmark consisting of five musicians who had their own solo projects before uniting to form this powerful pop band. Exploding on to the scene with their first single "Daydreamers", Lowly establishes themselves as a noisy dream pop band with a beautiful blend of celestial dual female vocals, powerful percussion, echoey guitars, booming bass, and soaring synths. If I had to place them, I'd put them somewhere between M83 and The Joy Formidable.

Listen to "Daydreamers" below and look out for Lowly's five-song EP coming soon.

Swell EP: Yuck - Southern Skies EP [indie rock / shoegaze / dream pop]

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Not many bands consider moving forward with their project or have the fans' support to do so after losing a lead singer, but London's "90s rock revival" quartet Yuck managed to bounce back with style and plenty of listeners after the departure of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Blumberg (currently recording as Hebronix) one year ago. Last September saw their strong Blumberg-less sophomore comeback Glow & Behold, with which the band managed to prove that putting guitarist Max Bloom behind the microphone full-time wouldn't change the nostalgic, fuzzy indie rock that makes them Yuck. Hell, Bloom actually had lead vocals on a couple of my favorite songs from their 2011 self-titled debut (see "Operation").

As if surprising fans and critics alike with a successful recovery wasn't enough, seven months later Yuck are back with a new release entitled Southern Skies EP. This record brings us four new Yuck songs, two of which don't really sound like anything explored on the previous two full-lengths. The soaring opening track "Athena" wouldn't have been out of place on Glow & Behold and the EP's most energetic song, "Another One", takes me all the way back to 2011's Yuck. The two remaining songs open up new sonic possibilities for the band. The second track "Set In Motion (Let's Say We Did)" is mostly foreign to the ear for Sebastian Fors's guest vocals and its twangy psych-pop feel, while the gorgeous title track hints at a dreamier, more subdued future for Yuck's infectious sound waves.

Stream the Southern Skies EP below and download your own copy now via iTunes.

Just Rolled In: Merchandise - "Figured Out" [post-punk / indie rock / shoegaze]

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photo by Sean Lewis at Primavera Sound 2013 (Barcelona)

Sharing my hometown of Tampa, Florida, post-punk rockers Merchandise are back from last year's excellent Totale Nite LP, which made #39 on holaOLA's Top 50 Albums of 2013 list, with new music, a proper drummer (pictured above), a horn/sax player, and a new record called After The End coming out on their new label 4AD. Their latest track "Figured Out" won't be released on the upcoming full-length; instead, it will be released by 540 Records as part of a three-way split 12" entitled USA '13 also featuring Milk Music and Destruction Unit as a document of the three's spring 2013 tour together.

If you've heard Merchandise's previous recordings, you may be surprised to hear an actual drum kit on "Figured Out" and a more traditional "pop" rock structure, although the band's nostalgic post-punk sound, resonating guitars, and singer Carson Cox's quavering baritone voice remain intact. The band says to expect a different sound on their forthcoming release so I'm assuming this track is a taste of what's to come.

Get your hands on one of the only 2,000 prints of USA '13 this Record Store Day (April 19) and look out for Merchandise's new album being released sometime soon. Stream "Figured Out" below followed by their first 4AD single "Begging For Your Life / In The City Light", and the single from their 2013 Totale Nite LP, "Anxiety's Door".

Artist Making Waves: Hibou [tropical pop / dream pop / shoegaze]

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Hibou is the solo project of former Craft Spells drummer and 19-year-old Seattle native, Peter Michel. Seeing as 'hibou' is French for 'owl', it is pronounced quite Frenchly—"eee-booo". Because one of my pet peeves is hearing mispronunciations of another French-based indie band name, Bon Iver, I figured I'd set the record straight so I won't have to cringe hearing things like "high-bow" or "hih-boo". Anyway, my instincts tell me that Michel named his project thus because he considers himself a 'night owl', or maybe he prefers to write, record, and hunt mice after the sun goes down. Either way, his upbeat music is definitely meant to soundtrack a beautiful, sunny day, but it wouldn't hurt to throw it on at your next dance party.

While borrowing the dream pop elements of his old band and mixing in his brand of vibrant surf-poppy guitar hooks and danceable tropical drum beats (see "Hollow") or progressive shoegaze drumming (see "Glow"), Michel produces Hibou—a perfect concoction of hazy beach pop that I would file next to bands like Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils, Diiv, and Kisses. Hell, just sign him to Captured Tracks already!

Hibou's Dunes EP is due out June 13 via Fat Cat Records so grab yourself a copy when it drops. In the meantime, you can listen to a handful of songs below and download them for free or in pay-what-you-want-style by clicking the "Download" or "Name your price" buttons on the players.

Just Rolled In: Hebronix (ex-Yuck) - "Unreal" [indie rock / slowcore]

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One week after hearing the upsetting news that London-based Yuck frontman Daniel Blumberg (sitting on the bike above) has decided to leave his outstanding 90s indie rock revival band "to focus on other things", our chins are lifted (or possibly left in the 'shoegazing' position) by the Yuck-y sounds of his new "thing", Hebronix.

Blumberg's new music sounds an awful lot like Yuck but with the slower tendencies of his piano-based solo project Oupa. While the remaining 3 members of Yuck are still set to record their second LP without Blumberg, ATP Recordings will release Hebronix's debut effort Unreal July 8, which is produced by Neil Hagerty (pictured with Blumberg above) of Royal Trux/Howling Hex fame. Appropriately, Hebronix and fellow slowcore indie rockers Low have hooked up to play a handful of shows around the UK for the rest of April.

Listen to the eponymous single from Hebronix's debut Unreal  below followed by a song by Blumberg's former band Yuck and his other solo project Oupa. Pre-order Unreal here.