Swell Album: Macajey - Let's Go [electronic / folktronica / chillwave / beats]

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Estonia-based California native Jeremy Macachor, aka Macajey, has just released his latest record entitled Let's Go. The young solo musician/producer uses his experience as a guitarist and recording/mix engineer to bring us a full sound that is as much organic as it is electronic, tracking live drums, electric guitar, and original vocals (by Elle Leatham and sister, Ashley Macachor) throughout the complex array of digital sonics.

Macajey lists Bonobo, Four Tet, Slow Magic, and Gold Panda as influences, and it's evident in his music, throwing together Slow Magic's energy and danceability, Four Tet's use of organic sounds, the smooth jazziness of Bonobo, and the Gold Panda's glitchy production style. This concoction of musical tendencies allows him to generate a sound of his own that is just as likely to make you hit the dance floor as it is to make you plop down on the couch and trace the imaginary constellations on your ceiling with your eyes.

Stream Macajey's beautifully produced album Let's Go below and follow the link in the Bandcamp player to buy yourself a copy. You can also listen to and download (pay what you want) his two previous EPs here and here.

Just Rolled In: Denpasar - "Don't Know Why" [indie pop / indie rock / dream pop]

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Ben Fahey and Alex L'Estrange from Brisbane's Denpasar are back (with the help of Sam Cromack) with a new song called "Don't Know Why". This one's much more laid back than their previous singles and evidently, melody and charm are still a priority. Beyond Fahey's effortless vocals, the catchy guitar melodies, and smooth bass lines, lies a hazy blanket of dreamy, but subtle electronics, which gives the song kind of a Grandaddy feel.

Denpasar's track record may be pretty concise at the moment but it sure is looking good, and "Don't Know Why" further proves that they have range and a knack for good songwriting.

Stream "Don't Know Why" below and follow the link to listen to "Dumb Fun" and "Old Enough" from our first post about Denpasar. The new song is available for download on their Bandcamp on a pay-what-you-want basis.

Just Rolled In: Sans Parents - "Loose People" [indie rock / garage pop]

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Yet another new project rising from the ashes of the breakup of the beloved Australian indie pop band Hungry Kids of Hungary (see Rolls Bayce and Born Joy Dead), Sans Parents have just released  "Loose People", their second single as a band.  The four-piece is made up of two ex-Hungry Kids, Kane Mazlin (vocals/keys) and Ryan Strathie (drums), as well as former HKOH touring member Alex Bennison (lead vocals/guitar) and Babaganoüj/ex-Yves Klein Blue member Charles Sale (bass). They debuted their first single, "Coming Back To You", last November before Sale had joined. That 2-minute aggressive garage pop jam is followed by "Loose People", another short and catchy song that sounds kind of like the 90s indie rock equivalent to Paul Simon's "Kodachrome", filled to the brim with breezy guitar hooks and irresistible vocal melodies. Seeing as they're two for two so far, you can add Sans Parents to that list of up-and-coming Australian bands that churn out nothing but instantly appealing pop greatness.

Stream "Loose People" and "Coming Back To You" below.

Artist Making Waves: Waterstrider - "Nowhere Now" [indie rock / afropop / world]

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So far this year, Oakland, California's indie-rock five-piece Waterstrider has been featured on Hype Machine's weekly Most Blogged Artists list three times. That's saying a lot, considering they aren't a major label electro-pop band or remixing already popular songs. What they are doing is making danceable indie rock with afro-beat percussion, catchy guitar hooks, and energetic vocals, which certainly deserves all the hype it's getting.

In preparation for the release of their debut album Nowhere Now, Waterstrider has shared four beautiful singles, each one differing quite a bit from the last while sticking to the worldly instrumentation that sets them apart from the rest of the indie scene. With their most recent single, the title track "Nowhere Now", the band really embraces the upbeat guitars and percussion characteristic of afropop but the distorted bass and lead singer Nate Salman's frenzied falsetto and not-so-sunny lyrics provide a unique contrast, a slight contradiction that really makes Waterstrider interesting.

Stream Waterstrider's 2011 Constellation EP on Bandcamp (available for free download) and listen to the first four singles ("Nowhere Now", "White Light", "Redwood", and "Calliope") from the upcoming Nowhere Now LP below. You can pre-order the album on Bandcamp (and get 4 tracks now) or get your hands on one when it hits shelves April 6.

holaTUBE: Sylvan Esso - "Hey Mami" (live on Brooklyn rooftop) [electropop / indie pop / experimental]

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I just came across a really cool video of Durham, NC electropop duo Sylvan Esso performing their single "Hey Mami" (from their eponymous debut album, which made #46 on our 2014 end-of-the-year list) live on a rooftop on a sunny day in Brooklyn, as part of the "Noisey Acoustics" video series. The lack of electronics makes for a unique version of the song, a version that somehow doesn't stray far from the original thanks to the brass musicians and percussionists backing singer Amelia Meath for the video. She's got some pretty sweet dance moves (and platform shoes) too.

After the video, check out my favorite song from their debut, "Coffee".

Swell Album: The Migrant - Flood [indie rock / folk rock / psychedelic / blues] (FULL ALBUM STREAM)

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The Migrant is the moniker of Danish musician Bjarke Bendtsen, which, intrinsically, is what he is—a migrant. Although Bendtsen is from Copenhagen, he is also a sporadic resident of Austin, Texas, a place he says "has everything a Dane needs" and where he even has a second backing band (for US tours), the first being in his natal city. He has been performing as The Migrant for five years now and has four albums to show for it, the latest being Flood, which was released this past January.

Flood is essentially a guitar record, something that is, unfortunately, becoming more and more archaic in the constantly changing world of indie rock. Throughout the album, Bendtsen skillfully draws from his colorful palette of influences—rock, folk, blues, psychedelia—to produce captivating songs that range from soothing ("Flood", "Silence", and "Row Row") to rocking ("Belly of a Man", "Water", and "Tiger"), and ones that find a happy balance between the two ("The Climber" and "Give Up").

While listening to Flood, a couple of my favorite bands/musicians come to mind. Bendtsen's nimble fingerpicking and tender vocals alongside the driving percussion on "The Fixer" wouldn't sound out of place on a Dodos record, while his occasional quivering voice and falsetto tend to give off Thom Yorke vibes, which would make sense seeing as Radiohead is one of his main influences.

Similarities and influences aside, Flood is an excellent indie rock album from start to finish with equal doses of folk and psychedelia injected into it. The fact that The Migrant isn't already flooding the blogosphere with his new album is beyond me, but he's got the perfect chance to change that this upcoming weekend in Austin, where Bendtsen will not only be playing with his local backing band at SXSW, but he will have a handful of songs featured in an independent film called Limbo that will be showing tomorrow (March 18) at the festival.

Check out the tour dates on his website or Facebook page and stream the entire album for free below. To listen to his first three albums in full, head on over to The Migrant's BandCamp page.

Just Rolled In: Crepes - "Stages of Fear" [slacker pop / indie rock / jangle pop / psychedelic]

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The promising Melbourne-based slacker-pop band Crepes have just put out their second single, "Stages of Fear", which sticks to the psych-tinged jangle pop we were introduced to in "Ain't Horrible" but shows that they can do upbeat just as well as downbeat. This bouncy track along with its contrasting predecessor paint a pretty clear picture of the range of songs that you can expect on their debut EP being released in mid-April. In the meantime, boogie down with "Stages of Fear".

holaTUBE: Pepa Knight - "Coyote Choir" [world / indie pop] ***FREE EP STREAM***

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Previously featured on holaOLA twice in mid-2014 following the releases of his enrapturing singles "Rahh!" and "Clams", sitar-wielding Pepa Knight, from Central Coast, New South Wales (and of Jinfa Safari fame), is back with an official video for the vibrant third single, "Coyote Choir", from his six-song debut EP Hypnotized Vol. I, which was released this past November.

This psychedelic music video was shot on 8mm film over a period of two weeks in Australia and New Zealand by filmmaker Sam Kristofski, with extra footage recorded by Pepa Knight percussionist Jozef Oldfield and trippy watercolor animations provided by Daniel Foothead. After the video, stream the entire EP for free before buying it here.