This week’s installment of the Flavorpill Mixtape showcases the union of Bat for Lashes and Beck and the reunion of Azure Ray. We’re also introducing you to some lesser-known names that will surely make it into your regular rotation (Yadi, Miniature Tigers, Everything Everything). Be sure to Right Click (Control + Click) + Save As after the jump for your next 10 replayables.
1. Young the Giant – “My Body” The combination of curb-stomping drum beats over Sameer Gadhia’s heart-stopping melodies is absolutely lethal. The Newport Beach-grown five-piece, which has already opened for Steel Train and Minus the Bear, will release their debut album later this year.
2. Bat for Lashes – “Let’s Get Lost (ft. Beck)” Natasha Khan ups the ante for the unsurprisingly stacked soundtrack to the newest installment of tween fantasy franchise Twilight. Though it doesn’t have the most inspiring lyrics, “Let’s Get Lost” features Beck’s lo-fi electronics and backing vocals cushioning Khan’s croon for a hauntingly (hopeless) romantic ditty.
3. Azure Ray – “Don’t Leave My Mind” After a five-plus-year side project-filled hiatus, Maria Taylor and Orenda Fink have at long last reconvened for our listening pleasure. Their voices create a harmonious unity, like a more insistent Au Revoir Simone or Wye Oak.
4. Yadi – “Guillotine” Much like our recently featured siren song from Rai Knight, the “Guillotine” drops with an inexplicably addictive chord progression that culminates in the most phantasmagorical breakdown. Hannah Yadi, the newest It Girl to grace our ears, is responsible for this new headrush a la La Roux and Marina and the Diamonds.
5. Beat Connection – “Silver Screen” Seattle’s Beat Connection craft sun-glazed numbers that sound a little like Delorean on an LCD Soundsystem trip in a drive-in theater. Their fittingly titled Surf Noir EP (which features breathtaking artwork) is available for free here.
6. Alex Winston – “Choice Notes” And yet, even more fresh material from one of the most talented young songstresses on the East Coast. Seriously, the star pupils emerging out of the School of Knocks wear halos instead of graduation caps, and (as usual) Ms. Winston’s cherubic vocals are irresistibly delightful.
7. Chappo – “Come Home” What starts off as a simple, layered guitar strum quickly breaks into a galloping stride that never lets up, all the way through to the unbridled guitar solo near the end. The New York duo comes off like My Morning Jacket meets the Flaming Lips.
8. Miniature Tigers – “Bullfighter Jacket” Discounting the last track we posted from Brooklyn’s Miniature Tigers, the remaining nine on their album, Fortress, were produced by the Morning Benders’ Chris Chu. The summery bounciness of his touch is apparent in this rollicking, Dodos-esque jam that allows for free flow of Charlie Brand’s stream of conscious.
9. Florence + the Machine – “Cosmic Love (Short Club Remix)” The seventh and last single from Florence Welch’s groundbreaking 2009 debut, Lungs , has already appeared in shows like The Vampire Diaries and Grey’s Anatomy, but fellow Londoners Short Club breathe new life into it with seven minutes of Balearic bliss. Hands down one of the best remixes of the summer.
10. Everything Everything – “Weights” On “Weights,” Jonathan Higgs’ voice flickers back and forth from falsetto, sounding just as original as it was the first time we heard the band. This time around, Manchester’s Everything Everything have beefed up their jerky guitars and quirky flourishes. Do you know how it all ends?
Download the mix all at once here.
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