Need a break from the electro-pop sugar assault? Turf War has the remedy; it’s called rock n roll. Falling somewhere between Confederate soldiers and hipsters in their aesthetics and attitude, the Nashville quintet have just released their first single, “Born To Run Free,” off their forthcoming EP, The Great Escape—and it’s a doozy. These Americana punks sound like they’re having a lot of fun smashing Bruce Springsteen and The Clash together at high speeds. Give it a listen below and your ears will be having a lot of fun too. Thank me later.

The song was recently featured as Converse Rubber Tracks‘ track of the week and is available for download on Converse’s Facebook page.

MP3: Turf War – “Born to Run Free” [Via Converse]

Spring might be playing hard to get, but the only two dudes you know donning sweat-drenched, full-body fire suits and pumping out bouncy, synth-heavy pop songs are back in our lives with a brand new track. That’s right, everyone’s favorite Detroit duo, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., have released the first song off their forthcoming Patterns EP. “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)” is the kind of fun-in-the-sun, cotton-candy electro jam that makes you want to put the top down and feel the wind in your hair. Don’t. It’s still pretty cold outside. For now, enjoy in enclosed spaces. Stream it below.

STREAM: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On The Dancefloor)”

Six years after Vampire Weekend set the indie blogosphere on fire with the Afro-syncopated prepster-pop of their self-tiled debut, the band is set to release its third album, Modern Vampires of the City. Now, you can hear the album’s first two tracks, “Diane Young” and “Step,” which find the Ivy League foursome sounding more confident and mature than ever. Sonically, the band still seems to take plenty of cues from Graceland, but “Diane Young” also features the musical aesthetics of a harder-charging brand of Elvis Costello-esque rock-n-roll, and also sees Ezra Koenig trying out — successfully, I might add — a sort of countrified falsetto. Give it and the doo-woop-like “Step” a listen after the jump.

Vampire Weekend’s Modern Vampires of the City comes out May 6th via XL.

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GEMS. Finally, a DC band to get really, really excited about. Like, really excited. After wooing listeners with two dreamy jams in 2012, the guy-girl duo today dropped a third nugget of sonic gold, “Pegasus,” prior to their inaugural SXSW appearance in March. Smooth, slow and meandering but never lost, “Pegasus” floats on a wistful cloud of sparse but dramatic dream-pop, showcasing the hauntingly good vocals of both Clifford John Usher and Lindsay Pitts. Enjoy.

STREAM: GEMS – “Pegasus”

Ernest Greene’s (Washed Out) newest track, “The Sound of Creation,” may have been commissioned by Philips the electronics giant, but it belongs in Phillips the museum — because this dreamy three-minute soundscape is a work of Art with a capital A. It’s also Gorgeous with a capital G. Indie-meets-industry collaborations don’t always produce these kinds of results. But in this case, we can thank both Greene and Phillip’s The Sound of Creation campaign for a gem. Enjoy.

MP3: Washed Out – “The Sound of Creation”

Matt Duncan, a master songcrafter hailing from Lexington, KY, has so far flown under the radar. But if Duncan continues to churn out butter-smooth soul-pop gems like “Lone Ranger,” his reputation is sure to grow. The first single off his second record, Soft Times, “Lone Ranger” is a magical carpet ride through 70s jazz-rock, pop, funk and white boy soul. Duncan offers a deserving nod to a smorgasbord of old school influences — from Steely Dan to Albert Hammond Sr. to Billy Joel — who under his tender, loving care are re-imagined with just the right combination of sap and sincerity. Enjoy.

MP3: Matt Duncan – “Lone Ranger”

Some describe Mac DeMarco‘s music as “off-kilter pop” or “slacker rock.” DeMarco brands it “jizz jazz.” Whatever you call it, it’s awesome. Mac’s latest effort, 2, is near perfect. And in his latest video, the lazy groover “Dreamin” is nicely paired with footage of the always raunchy, exceedingly goofy DeMarco driving around the slums of Quebec looking like Alex DeLarge in a powdered wig — smoking, shredding guitar, getting slimed, all in a day’s work. Enjoy.

Mac Demarco’s 2 is out now on Captured Tracks.

I love nature. I also love Toro Y Moi. So, as you can imagine, I was pretty floored when the artist né Chazwick Bundick’s newest video came out, combining both nature and Toro into the most artful of video montages. What makes the whole endeavor even more glorious is that it’s set to the soulful “Say That,” the latest track off Chaz’s forthcoming record, Anything In Return. Chaz has always erred on the R&B/funk side of chillwave, but “Say That” sees him embrace the disco-soul troubadour inside himself, pairing a solid back beat with sparkling musical texturing and seductively floating his vapor-like vocals above it all. Enjoy.

Toro Y Moi’s Anything In Return is due out January 22 on Carpark.

Want shimmering waves of acid-washed guitar fuzz to knock you down into the oncoming breakers, rending you helpless to the onslaught of shoe-gaze sea foam? If so, you came to the right place. Brooklyn’s Lazyeyes throw the garage-like distortion of the Northwest and the surf-rock vibes of the Left Coast on top of the heavy reverb and atmospherics of East Coast dream pop. But don’t take my word for it. I’ve attached their new track “Wait” as evidence below. Enjoy.

Lazyeyes is planning on releasing their four-song, self-titled EP on January 26, 2013.

STREAM: Lazyeyes – “Wait”

If you’re a FIFA ’13-obsessed, headset-adorning gamer, you’ve likely heard this song one of the many nights you’ve spent twiddling your controller into the wee hours, talking smack to 3rd graders in Korea. For those unfamiliar, this is how they do “chillwave” in Brazil: dreamy, bouncy, tropical electro-pop. Zemaria are relatively unknown at the moment, as is much of the Brazilian music scene, but after hearing this song — ripe with its “don’t-ever-wanna-grow-up” synth vibes and its “live in the moment” guitar funk — you’ll understand why such circumstances are destined to change. Thankfully, the band promises a full album come March 2013. In the meantime, enjoy the above video — proof that a childhood of goofy clothes, skateboarding, and joint rolling wasn’t exclusive to North American upbringings like mine.

STREAM: Zemaria – “Past 2″