Just Rolled In: Young Dreams - "Of The City" [psychedelic / orchestral pop / electronic / tropicalia]

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Bergen, Norway's Young Dreams has just released new material for the first time since their excellent 2012 debut album Between Places in the form of the fully imagined psych-pop single "Of The City". With production chops recalling the sleek expansiveness of Tame Impala's Currents, this upbeat single stays true to the psychedelic leanings of their debut and sports one hell of a string arrangement and bongo-heavy percussion section.

As the story goes, Young Dreams began work on their sophomore effort immediately after releasing their debut, but after three years of work on this "requiem for God", it was scrapped because the producer/composer/singer-songwriter behind it all, Matias Tellez, feared the album was "blasphemous and too conceptual" for anyone to like. However, the new track "Of The City" is actually a reincarnation of one of the songs from that discarded album, and boy, are we lucky that it made it to see the light of day! It just makes me wonder what the rest of that album would've sounded like. Nevertheless, Young Dreams has finished a different album that will be released in 2017, and if this song is any evidence, it's going to be amazing.

"Of The City" sees an official release August 26 via Blanca Records but can be streamed now on SoundCloud.

Just Rolled In: Jinja Safari - "Find My Way" [tropical pop / indie pop / afropop]

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Despite what your calendars and thermometers may say, summer's here! And if you happen to be in another part of the world where it's pretty cold right now, rejoice, because it just takes one quick (or repeated) listen(s) to the new single from Sydney, Australia's seminal indie pop band Jinja Safari to be teleported to a warmer, brighter, and happier place.

"Find My Way" comes to us in the wake of founding member Pepa Knight's recent solo effort Hypnotized Vol. 1 EP and serves as the preliminary taste of Jinja Safari's upcoming sophomore LP. Inspired by experiences while touring in the UK, "Find My Way" is a joyous celebration of life to say the least, and if you watch the official music video, which is composed of five years' worth of footage collected by vocalist Marcus Azon of the band's exploits, you can witness for yourself how much fun these guys have while traveling abroad together. Jinja Safari's usual afropop beats, island guitar, tropicalia flourishes, and other worldly influences come together beautifully with the soaring vocal harmonies on this buoyant track, which will certainly find its way to the top of many a summer playlist.

Stream "Find My Way" and/or watch the official music video below, and if you approve, you will definitely dig Pepa Knight, so stream his recent EP here.

Just Rolled In: Pepa Knight - "Clams" [world / indie pop / tropical]

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After making a big splash with his euphoric single "Rahh!" a few months ago, Central Coast, Australia's Pepa Knight is back with another catchy-as-hell single, "Clams", littered with his spirited lead vocals, tribal percussion and chants, Indian-influenced guitar/sitar plucking, and melodic backing vocals, which altogether, make it easy to understand why he describes his uplifting brand of worldly indie pop as 'tipi pop'.

If you're in Australia, you can catch Pepa Knight in concert August 1 in Sydney or August 7 in Melbourne. If not, enjoy the music on his SoundCloud until his debut Hypnotized is released later this year.

Swell Album: Abram Shook - Sun Marquee [indie pop / tropical / psychedelic / jazz / soul]

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As I listen to the new album Sun Marquee by Austin-based multi-instrumentalist Abram Shook I try to pick up some sort of consistency in his songs—as I do with all the music I write about—to be able to come up with genres it may fit into and to help me write a little something about it, but the only thing I've grasped so far is that no two songs are really alike. Shook's dreamy debut solo album is "all shook up" (har har har) in terms of musical direction. With one song you're grooving along to a soulful jazzy tune, then you're bouncing around to an upbeat indie pop jam, and the next one shoots you down a tunnel of syncopated psychedelia.

A spirited world traveler and apparently a big fan of Serge Gainsbourg, Shuggie Otis, fellow genre bender David Bowie, and Brazilian music, Abram Shook does a great job of drawing from his multitude of worldly influences to create a well-balanced eclectic record that hooks you upon first listen. If this great mixture of sunny pop songs has anything consistent about it, it's Shook's effortlessly cool vocals, groovy bass lines, an intricate rhythm section, and his beautiful guitar melodies all intertwined into a catchy record filled with lush production.

Enjoy the full album stream below and be sure to support Abram Shook by purchasing his album via his label Western Vinyl or by clicking the "Buy all on iTunes" link on the SoundCloud player below.

Swell EP: Painted Palms - Nothing Lasts Long EP [psych-pop / synth-pop]

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Painted Palms were "discovered" by Kevin Barnes (of Montreal ringleader) shortly after releasing their psychedelic surf pop debut Canopy EP back in 2011, which gave them much more exposure and the attention of Secretly Canadian Records, who re-released said EP later in the year. Much like that first EP, the San Francisco psych-pop duo's free EP Nothing Lasts Long is instantly likable and leaves you thirsty for more. Well, the two cousins Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme have actually been working on their debut Polyvinyl full length to help us quench our thirst for over a year now, but threw us a curveball with this mixtape-style free download while we wait.

Filled with danceable beats, psychedelic melodies, tropical synths, and energetic Panda Bear-stained vocals, Painted Palms' Nothing Lasts Long EP gives a us a taste of what's to come while giving them a break from the stress of releasing an official debut:

Making this EP was a bit of a release. It felt refreshing to make 6 songs with the intention of putting them out immediately. A whole album can seem monolithic and you can easily get lost in your head, so it was nice to write under different circumstances. —Impose Magazine interview

Download the EP for free at their Bandcamp page and enjoy the 6 new tracks below.

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.