Brooklyn-based George Lewis Jr., aka Twin Shadow, has released “Five Seconds” off of his upcoming album Confess, slated for release July 10th via 4AD Records. Known for his new wave ’80s aesthetic from his 2010 debut Forget, Lewis’ latest release expands on the ’80s vibe with an uptempo drum beat, soaring synths, and his signature smooth, crooning vocals.

As Lewis explained to Stereogum in February, his new material is still very synth-heavy, but with more emphasis on sampled acoustic drums, as evidenced on “Five Seconds.” The nostalgia-tinged track feels like it could easily be on the soundtrack of a John Hughes movie with Lewis’ distinct style of slightly bittersweet lyrics that are so full of heart.

And after reading on the Twin Shadow website that a motorcycle crash with a friend and the feeling of eventually riding a new bike inspires Confess, it’s even clearer where Lewis is coming from with his latest material: “…I got a new bike and went to LA to record what is now called Confess. I took the bike out at 6AM one morning after not having done much riding in the couple years between Forget and Confess…I inched toward 100 on the speedometer and punch the last five. TON UP! My mind is filled with words. My heart is full of love. This is where I want to be. I want to stay here, and I want to tell you everything.”

MP3: Twin Shadow – “Five Seconds”

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about MMOTHS and I have a feeling it won’t be the last. Last time MMOTHS appeared here on ATG was with his collaboration with Keep Shelly in Athens. This time, he’s enlisted the help of LA dream-pop wizards Superhumanoids on a new track, “Summer.” The song is laidback and atmospheric yet at the same time driven by a heavily percussive beat. The song’s title is an ironic one considering how depressing the lyrical content is. Listen for yourself below.

STREAM: MMOTHS – “Summer (Feat. Superhumanoids)”

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from our buddies ANR. If the Huffington Post is to be trusted, the guys have been busy scoring an operatic version of 2 Live Crew’s “Pop That Coochie” for the Sundance-bound short film “Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke”. While we’re praying that is accurate and we have a trace of video evidence – we have bona fide proof that they’ve been busy with this recently recorded Neon Gold TV session. The session features two tracks. The first is their single “It’s Around You” in traditional ANR rampage fashion. The second, and more surprising song, is a sultry cover of “Millionaire” by Kelis featuring Andre 3000. Get fuzzy with it and melt into your mulled wine.

ANR will be DJing the ATG + BYT New Years Eve extravaganza along with Animal Collective (Avey Tare, Geologist), JD Samson from Le Tigre / MEN, Lightwaves and many more. It will sell out. Grab your tickets HERE.

MP3: ANR – “Millionaire (Kelis Cover)”

Miike Snow is making a play for Swedens finest export (watch out Peter Bjorn & John). Their 2009 self-titled debut LP was masterful and they’re responsible for the knobs on Britney Spears’ mega guilty pleasure hit “Toxic”. Now they’ve gone and gotten a bit more orchestral on us, but kept up with their characteristic piano, laser sharp synth and dry vocals. As shown above, this new track “Devil’s Work” is part of a larger production/campaign in conjunction with artist Andreas Nillsson.

STREAM: Miike Snow – “Devil’s Work”

Memory Tapes is one of the less talked about chill-wave surfers, but arguably the prototype. In all likelihood, Dayve Hawk would rather not be mentioned in the same sentence with chill-wave … well, too late. However, his music does deserve to stand alone, and his latest effort, Player Piano, out this past summer on Carpark Records, is further proof. More like Toro y Moi than Neon Indian, Memory Tapes works with a sparser, dreamier landscape of sounds. And “Offers” is another phenomenal example of this: his laid-back psychedelic pop sensibilities twirling around and around until you (the listener) find yourself staring at a big bubbly cloud of cotton candy funk, just waiting to be lapped up. Trust me, I don’t make this stuff up.

STREAM: Memory Tapes – “Offers”

Neon Indian returned to DC this past Friday for the first time since riding the hype off Era Extraña. The chillest of the chill brought along Com Truise to open up the night. Seth Haley and co. lit up the venue with their groovy brand of throwback ’80s electronica, sporting plenty of synth and some noticeably-expert percussion. Neon Indian then came on to what at that point was an absurdly-packed crowd. Alan Palomo wasted no time getting into it, kicking things off with a Psychic Chasms favorite, “Terminally Chill,” and quickly following it up with the first single off Era Extraña, “Polish Girl.” The music was great, but my only complaint is that you could hardly hear Palomo’s vocals over the orchestra of synth blaring behind him. Otherwise, the band more than made up for that with an entrancing psychedelic light show, gracefully handling technical difficulties and dropping an overall solid set.

Check out some pictures from the show after the jump, courtesy of Franz Mahr.

STREAM: Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”

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It’s the weekend. And a holiday weekend at that – but we care about you readers so much we’re working. Check out the brand spanking new Neon Indian jam “Hex Girlfriend”. Alan Palomo, the man behind Neon Indian, has discovered a formula that works over and over again: chill, synth and repeat.

STREAM: Neon Indian – “Hex Girlfriend”

Star Slinger has largely been on tour and recording his forthcoming Volume II recently, but he’s found time to drop a couple one-off remixes. The best and most transformative of those is his remix of “New Beat,” the hit single off of Toro y Moi’s Underneath the Pine.  When asked to do the project, Star Slinger said that he couldn’t do another soul beat, so of course he did a riddim.  In this version, the funky electro-bass lines have been lost to hand-drums and jungley synths.  In fact, the remix would be totally unrecognizable if it wasn’t for Chaz’s vocals, which introduce the song and continue to be the focal point throughout.  What results is something that sounds like a rainy dance party.  Star Slinger will be stopping by U Street Music Hall this October, and is sure to impress.  I know I’ve already got my tickets.

MP3:  Toro y Moi – “New Beat (Star Slinger Dancehall Remix)”

NME: How much does it cost on average to release an album from an established pop star? Over $4.5 million. That’s a lot of glitter.

Uncut: David Bowie is “most likely” retiring from making music, according to his biographer. Hello, Labyrinth 2?

AbsolutePunk: Portugal. the Man gets most of their stolen gear back. This rarely happens.

Pitchfork: P-Fork interviews Beck after 15 years of making music.

Billboard: Billboard takes a go at listing the 50 best indie labels in America.

Paste: The mag lists 50 musicians we all ought to be following on Twitter.

NME: Tom Waits to release first new material in seven years.

Flavorwire: A compilation of the 30 harshest musician-on-musician insults in history. Zing! Burn!

We’re still on a Small Black high since their show last week. Check out “Photojournalist” below.

STREAM: Small Black – “Photojournalist”

Small Black lit up DC9 with a healthy serving of electronic dream-pop this past Thursday night, and all for a good cause. The show was put on by the Monument Music and Arts Festival in support of the Grassroots Reconciliation Group, a charity dedicated to rehabilitating child soldiers in Northern Uganda. Along with support from Virginia’s Cigarette and DC’s own Outputmessage, the Jagjaguwar darlings wowed the crowd with a phenomenal, diverse set. As is with any band that, to their liking or not, falls into the “chillwave” camp, Small Black’s live offering was chock full of vibrant, atmospheric synths. But what separates these guys from the rest of the pack is their ability to use slick bass lines, creative samples and acoustic-electronic percussion to transform otherwise lackluster, airy tracks into memorable dance, pop and R&B jams. We’ve got pictures of the show, courtesy of Franz Mahr, below after the jump.

STREAM: Small Black – “Despicable Dogs”

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