Local Natives – “I Saw You Close Your Eyes”
Indie rockers Local Natives are out with the new and brooding “I Saw You Close Your Eyes.” They released the single on CloseYourEyes.net, with instructions to turn off the lights and listen with your eyes closed. The site goes as far to ask you to allow your camera to read that your eyes are in fact closed before playing the song. Try it out…or watch the easy way here (lights on or off, you’ll enjoy it).
Samantha Crain – “Antiseptic Greeting”
Oklahoma singer-songwriter Samantha Crain’s sparse vocals and upbeat folk-rock is highlighted in her new album You Had Me At Goodbye, “recorded in a blaze of analog glory” at Tiny Telephone Oakland. Check out “Antiseptic Greeting,” which Crain likens to “‘Mr. Sandman’ but maybe if somebody took some psychedelics before they wrote that song,” and punky-pop “Dear Louis.”
Milky Chance – “Blossom”
Folktronica darlings Milky Chance broke out in 2013 with the single “Stolen Dance” (and you might have caught them playing Outside Lands in 2015). Since then we’ve been impatiently waiting for the follow-up album to Sadnecessary from the German duo – and our request has finally been answered with Blossom. Check out the title track here.
Benjamin Booker – “Witness”
Mavis Staples lends her iconic vocals to Benjamin Booker’s latest single, “Witness.” The blues, rock, and soul artist veers towards gospel in this socially aware title track. Booker writes eloquently about self-discovery on a trip to Mexico, and the subsequent evolution of his music towards expressing a larger message in this candid and captivating blog post.
Cold War Kids feat. Bishop Briggs – “So Tied Up”
“So Tied Up” is the latest from Cold War Kids’ forthcoming LA Divine, out April 5th. There’s a really nice acoustic version, with an alternative arrangement string quartet and more from the featured artist, electro-indie-pop musician Bishop Briggs, on vocals. “Her voice is perfection; the voice of a woman twice her age, so raw and sophisticated,” frontman Nathan Willett shared in a statement. “I sorta laid in the cut and watched her explode.”