Jared Braden » synthpop

New Music: Mansions on the Moon – “Full Moon”

Jared Braden — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 21:54:57 +0000

Los Angeles, CA based quartet Mansions On The Moon has released their stunning new EP, Full Moon. While the entire release is a fantastic sonic journey that everyone should experience, it’s the title track that really reached out and grabbed me.

Saturated in shimmering synths, “Full Moon” is the kind of song musical dreams are made of. Harmonious sounds bend, shimmer, swirl and echo off one another giving the song a delightful hazy feeling. The Mansions on the Moon and Sunny Norway produced song features a slow hypnotic beat and a fantastic vocal performance from lead-singer Ted Wendler that sounds almost like a whispering confessional. Over the course of four glorious minutes, the track quietly builds and transforms into a cresting wave of sonic euphoria. I can’t think of a single reason why anyone wouldn’t want this gem in their music library. It’s just so, so good. You can download the Full Moon EP over on Bandcamp.

★★★★★

Hurts Begin Work On New Album

Jared Braden — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 03:34:38 +0000

Manchester-based pop band Hurts have begun writing new songs for album number three!! In an interview with Gigwise, Hurts frontman Theo Hutchcraft says, “For us, it’s always really exciting because we never really know where we’re going. I guess we make pop music, but there are lots of different forms that it can take and we never really know where it’s going to until we start making music.”

Hutchcraft also says that they are keeping their options open in terms of the musical direction they are heading. “We’ve started writing songs, but there’s a variety of paths that we can go down. We always try to make an album that covers all points of interest and I think that we’re developing.”

Adding: “Doing these two records and pushing it to the extreme in a pop sense with a song like ‘Stay’ and then turning around and doing the opposite, we now know the boundaries in which we exist. It’s definitely not going to be a long a wait this time, we want to keep working.”

It also appears we won’t be waiting another 2+ years for their next record. “The gap between albums last time was two and a half years, which was because we got swept up in it and had no time, but now we’re constantly making music and new things for the next record.”

I adore their 2010 debut album, Happiness, but I was more than a little disappointed with the follow-up, Exile. I am holding out hope that they will return to the synthpop sound that fits them so well.

Download: Claire – “Games (Fear Of Tigers Remix)”

Jared Braden — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 20:39:14 +0000

I can’t think of a better way to start the week than downloading a brand new Fear of Tigers remix! This time, Benjamin Berry (Fear of Tigers) has remixed Munich-based synthpop quintet Claire’s new single “Games.” Grab it quickly though, the download is limited to the first 1,000 people! “Games” is taken from the Broken Promise Land EP, which is out now on iTunes.

Essential Download: Robots With Rayguns – “Love Is a Battlefield”

Jared Braden — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 17:35:31 +0000

With an endless stream of virtually unknown artists covering well-known songs, it’s easiest to simply look away without giving them a second thought. Unfortunately, in most cases, the songs are best left where they lie: the tomb of time. But every once in a while, one will catch my eye. That is what happened when I stumbled across Robots With Ray Guns take on Pat Benatar’s 1983 hit “Love Is a Battlefield.”

As I said yesterday, when an artist decides to cover a song, they have to find a way to make the song sound like an original. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. Robots With Ray Guns’ cover of “Love Is a Battlefield” works on every level. Shimmering synths that aren’t too shy to flirt with the original coupled with a wispy vocal performance by Patrick Baker, make this one of the best covers to emerge this year. It’s a wonderful tribute to Benatar’s version. Dare I say it, I might like it better than the original. Grab the free download below.