Troop Groop is BACK with Nuclear Betty Ford

Troop Groop has always been a bit of a quirky, "do-it-yourself" sort of band, who made novelty pop songs out of everything from Casio keyboards to home recordings of a barking dog, which, incidentally, came long before Casio ever added a barking dog sample to one of their sampling keyboards in the 1980's.  The band bubbled in the underground of college scene in Connecticut for about five years before disbanding in 1991, or at least so we thought.  As of last week they are back with a new, idiosyncratic single entitled Nuclear Betty Ford, an homage to the late and great First Lady, and is also a bit of a send-up to their signature style.  It's MUCH more polished than any of their previous work, though it's not pop perfection by any means, it's fun.  There has been no formal statement from the band about any new material, i.e. a forthcoming album or EP, but we hope this is a sign that we have more to look forward to from Troop Groop.

Grum: Something About You

Grum, a.k.a. Graeme Shepherd, is an electronic musician and producer, who hails from Edinburgh, Scotland.  He debuted in 2010 with the release of his album Heartbeats, which earned him several accolades, including a number one spot on the US iTunes dance chart, and being named Best Electronic Artist of the year byn iTunes UK.  With so many electronic artists out there, vying for your attention (and quite possibly, a couple of your dollars), searching for good music can be like searching for a needle in an enormous digital haystack.  Of course, there are critics everywhere, and so much really boils down to personal taste.  Well, in the case of Grum, the awards are justified, and his tunes out there on Beatport and SoundCloud, are well worth it.  His compositions are smooth, lush, and futuristic.  Imagine if Vangelis and Kraftwerk got together and some sort of love child.  All hail Deadmaau5, but he'd better watch out for Grum.

Grum's follow-up album, Human Touch, has been forever and a day in getting here.  His latest single, Something About You, has been out on Beatport for only two days, and it's already gotten over 1000 listens.  It's got a wonderfully light, rich, futuristic sound.  It's easy on the ears but makes you want to get right up and dance.  If you've not heard of this guy, do check him out and explore his back catalog.

Check out Grum's new single, Something About You, on Beatport below.

Introducing.... Grapefruit Sound Lab!!

Introducing Robert Cotnoir, Shawn Muldoon, Andrew Deitch, and Philip Caporaso Jr.  Together they are Grapefruit Sound Lab!

There is something about discovering new music, and there's something even more wonderful when other people discover it for themselves.  We stumbled across Grapefruit Sound Lab back in 2013 when they held their record release party for their first album, 1031 during SpookyBear Weekend in Provincetown, MA.  The guys of Grapefruit Sound Lab were there to promote their new disk, and they were warm, fun, and exuded talent.  Their music was electrifying, refreshing, and adventurous.  They lit up the Wave Video Bar with the sound of their Halloween-themed epic, and accompanying full-length video.  It was pretty clear that these guys wanted you to dance, and they meant business. 

At some point while the boys were working on their follow-up release, 21st Century Man, various Grapefruit Sound Lab dance remixes suddenly began popping up on DJ turntables across the east coast.  Case and point, on a return trip to Provincetown in early 2015 for a weekend getaway, I was happily surprised to hear a remix to Horseman in the middle of a late night dance party.   The Paramount Nightclub resident DJ, Chris Racine, mixed the song into his set flawlessly, and the guys just ate it up.  It's so exciting to hear your favorite music out at the club, and with these guys I could have guessed that it was just a matter of time.

Anyhow, after many months of waiting, Grapefruit Sound Lab finally put out a collection of these remixes, called, Fruits of Sound (The Remixes), which arrived just in time for summer.  Included in this set are two remixes for each of these great songs:  Horseman, TrumpStomper, and Pazuzu.  And as if this wasn't enough, when the Supreme Court ruling on Marriage Equality came through in June, Grapefruit Sound Lab wasted no time in giving us Love Is Love: the President's historic remarks on the occasion set to dance music, in only the way that these guys can give it to us.

Bottom line:  Grapefruit Sound Lab are going places and they want to take you with them.  Do check them out on Soundcloud, and if you like them, go out to iTunes and buy a few tracks to support them.  Visit their website here.

Duke Dumont: Ocean Drive

Duke Dumont has been around for a while as a producer and remixer, but he finally broke thru in 2012 with his first solo EP releases.  Since 2013, he has been tearing up the dance floor on both sides of the Atlantic with smashes like Need U (100%) and I Got U.  Coming up on October 2, his next EP, Blasé Boys Club Part 1, will be available for digital download and can be pre-ordered from his website.  To whet your appetite, Dumont released the first single, Ocean Drive on July 30th.  It's a bit of a departure from his house-oriented work, but it's fresh, airy, and definitely danceable.  Give it a listen on Soundcloud:

New Politics: Vikings!!

We just love New Politics.  They have a fun, young, party sound that makes you want to get up and dance.  New Politics is what you get when you add one part electronic pop,  one part punk, and one part something else.  However you slice it, they are fun, fierce, and they have their eyes set on conquering America.  You probably know them best for their hit songs Harlem and Tonight You're Perfect.  Last year they toured their second album, A Bad Girl In Harlem, with their first headlining tour in early 2014; afterwards they opened for Paramore and Fall Out Boy (which Frankly, we think they stole the show).   They recently released their third album, Vikings, on August 14th, with two singles being released well in advance.  Their first single off Vikings was Everywhere I Go (Kings & Queens), which was released nearly a year ago on September 2, 2014.  The second single, West End Kids, was released on May 15th of this year.  Get their new album NOW on their website (in digital and CD).   Sample their new songs and past hits below.  If you want to hear them live, they are touring North America right now!!

West End Kids:

Everywhere I Go (Kings & Queens):

Tonight You're Perfect:

Harlem:

Seven More Days Until Paper Gods

Any Duranie knows the long march towards a new Duran album can be long and grueling, but thankfully the time it took to make Duran's 14th studio album, Paper Gods, was only two years, which means the boys might have finally moved off of "Duran Time" and got their disco booties in gear for this one.  This time around they are back with super-producer Mark Ronson, who produced 2010's All You Need Is Now, which was met with both critical and commercial success for the band.  Also on board for this latest chapter is disco legend Nile Rogers and fellow Brummie, Mr. Hudson.  The band released their first single, Pressure Off , on June 19th, and have previewed several other songs on the internet, and its pretty clear that Duran Duran have modernized their sound with breathtaking results.  Paper Gods will be issued digitally and physically on vinyl and cd, and will feature different bonus tracks on various editions.

You can pre-order your deluxe copy of Paper Gods directly from Warner Brothers Records, and get all sorts of freebies including stickers, a t-shirt, and a paper fortune teller.  Target also has a special edition with bonus tracks not found on the Warner deluxe edition.  Or download it when it comes out on September 11th.

Here are all the tracks that have been released or previewed to date.  While we can't say much for the accompanying visuals, we're quite pleased with what we're hearing.  Now that Duran Duran are with Warner, maybe they'll have a budget for a few glossy videos??

Paper Gods:

Last Night In The City:

Pressure Off:

You Kill Me With Silence:

What Are The Chances:

CHVRCHES - Every Eye Open

If you haven't heard of Chvrches, if you love synthpop, then you need to give them a listen.  Or better yet, watch them on Youtube.  Their sound is smooth, large, and clean.  In a short amount of time, they've risen to a level of prominence that is not only enviable but well deserved.  They formed in 2011, and launched their first EP, aptly named Recover EP, in early 2013.  Their debut album, The Bones of What you Believe, debuted at Number 1 on the UK Albums chart in September 2013, and launched a string of singles.

Their followup album, Every Eye Open, is greatly anticipated and will be out on September 25th in various formats, including digital, vinyl, and CD.  This album was written and recorded rather quickly, in just about six months.  The new album's first single, Leave A Trace, was released July 17.  The second single, Neverending Circles, came shortly thereafter on August 12.  You can preorder the album right now from their website.

Even though their music is for the most part electronic, Chvrches do present their material live and have toured quite extensively.  Their upcoming North American Tour was recently announced by Pitchfork dot com.  They will arrive in the states in Boston on the day of the release of Every Eye Open and will tour through November before wrapping up in Europe.  Until then, catch up on their best visual and sonic offerings here:

Leave A Trace:

Lies:

Under The Tide:

Recover: