It seems like these days every drummer, bassist, or tambourine player in a Scandinavian band also has an surprisingly amazing side project of some form or other.  At least that’s the case with WhoMadeWho drummer Tomas Barfod. When not manning the sticks for the Danish electro crew, he’s making a name for himself as a House DJ under the pseudonym Tomyboy. Barfod’s prepped his debut full length, Salton Sea, and it is ready to drop on May 22nd with Friends of Friends. While his production is very solid, he is at his best when elevated  with the help of a few vocalist friends.  Sweden’s beautiful Nina Kinert lent a her services on “November Skies,” the second single released off the album. Kinert’s crisp vocals cut through the buoyantly poppy track and provide a catchy melody that I can’t seem to get out of my head.  Be sure to check out the full album next week.

MP3: Tomas Barfod – November Skies (feat. Nina Kinert)

In 2009, Animal Collective, a foursome at the forefront of experimental electronic music, released an electro-pop gem in Merriweather Post Pavilion. Now, with the new Honeycomb/Gotham 7″, the group once reconstructs the pristine pop veneer that made their previous album so sweet to listen to, but this time shatters it with its decade plus of mad-genius creativity.

The A Side, “Honeycomb,” showcases many of the African beats that featured prominently in Animal Collective’s 2009 release, but marries them with some of the jolting, trippy rhythms that long-time fans should easily recognize. The sound is huge and joyous with myriad flourishes going on in the background. “Gotham”, the B Side, plays the Morlok to the Eloi of “Honeycomb”. It’s darker and more dissonant with melodies that linger and haunt. It’s hollow and cold with twisted sounding gadgets flowing around in the ether.

The contrast in the two songs is striking, but though they are polar opposites in feel, sound and tone, they are put together with equal amounts of deftness. With this 7″ it seems like Animal Collective is done just making its audience dance, and instead going back to pushing the boundaries of what music can be.

STREAM: Animal Collective – “Honeycomb”

STREAM: Animal Collective – “Gotham”

Nothing about Clock Opera is effortless. If there’s anything bad to say about frontman Guy Connelly, it’s that he tries too hard, but in the same way Grizzly Bear tries too hard—the perfection throughout some songs is so striking you actually feel weighed down by how much effort went into crafting them. Like eating ice cream prepared with liquid nitrogen, you find yourself asking, “it’s good, but is it so good it was worth all the trouble?”

After listening to their new album, Ways to Forget I’d say yes. Calling it a “new album” is misleading; many of the songs have been floating around since as early as 2009. Now they’re finally coming together for the first time, like childhood friends who spent their college years on different coasts, counting down the days until they could graduate and share a flat in a foreign city with some pals they each picked up along the way. And while strong characters living together don’t always work out, the huge personalities of each track on Ways to Forget bring out the best in one another; like learning a new language, the intonations and crescendoes become predictable in an exciting way rather than growing old

Chose your own adventure: If you’re not familiar with their older songs, you can backtrack a bit with our coverage of “Lesson No. 7,” “Belongings,” their SXSW performances of “Once And For All” and “A Piece of String” and our interview with band. If you’re already acquainted with these excellent tracks, I recommend focusing your attention on Man Made, a night cruise in 5th gear, and “Move to the Mountains,” the soundtrack to your journey off the couch, out the door, and into the life you’ve always wanted. I got pretty stoked on the chorus of “The Lost Buoys,” as well, but I’m generally hesitant to recommend anything that “gets really good when the synths kick in.”

If you’re big into lyrics, Connelly’s obsession with impermanence and inescapable transience might strike you as heavy-handed, but again, nobody promised you subtlety. Stream the album below courtesy of Hype Machine. Ways To Forget is out now on Universal Island.

STREAM: Clock Opera – Ways To Forget

The last time we checked in with Swedish electro-pop outfit Wild At Heart, they were going the overtly sexual route on their debut track, “Get Related,” way back in late 2010.  The duo, formerly dba Cleast Eatwood, just recently delivered their newest track, “Darling,” produced by fellow Swedes (and ATG darlings) The Sound of Arrows. The track is the ideal mixture of both artists; airy vocals and crystalline synths that sound simultaneously minimalist and thickly layered. The band’s grasp on pop music composition is staggering, and only furthers Sweden’s legitimacy as kings of the electro-pop realm.

STREAM: Wild At Heart – “Darling”

Maps & Atlases last album, Perch Patchwork, saw the Chicago quartet embrace their once-dormant pop sensibilities. Long touted for their mathematically-intricate musicianship, tracks like “Solid Ground” and “Israeli Caves” saw the band blend angular guitar and drum beats with gorgeous melodies. Today the Barsuk signees released “Fever,” the first taste of their upcoming record, Beware & Be Grateful. The track continues down the same path as Perch Patchwork, replacing impressive bouts of finger-tapping with bright synths and a bouncy drumbeat. Fans of the old shouldn’t fret though; their live set is still chock full of the classics. Beware & Be Grateful comes out April 17th on Barsuk.

MP3: Maps & Atlases – “Fever”

After three years in the making, Portlandian art rockers AU have finished carefully crafting their third full length, Both Lights. “Get Alive” is the second snippet of the album they’ve released and showcases the duo’s orchestrations.  The track is lush, highlighted by the best combination of harpsichord and banjo that one could imagine.  AU (pronounced “ay-you”) creates a buoyant soundscape that at times carries a Xiu Xiu vibe–minus the suicidal tendencies and arrangements that lean towards post-rock.  If you dig “Get Alive,” be sure to look out for Both Lights on April 4 via Hometapes.

MP3:  AU – “Get Alive”

Niki & The Dove are set to break out in the U.S in 2012, leading way with their magical single “The Drummer.” The Stockholm-based duo signed to Sub Pop last year and have garnered raving reviews across the board, including shouts from NME, Artrocker, and The Sunday Times. This Thursday, the stars have aligned as we’ll be hosting Niki & The Dove’s U.S. headlining debut at our monthly club night All Things Gold, alongside the heart-stopping Gordon Voidwell, Lightwaves, and special guest DJs. Limited tickets available HERE for the very reasonable price of $10.

STREAM: Niki & The Dove – “The Drummer”

STREAM: Niki & The Dove – “DJ Ease My Mind”

There isn’t much information out there on the internets about Nora En Pure, other than that they’re from Zurich, and that they’ve created a song that manages to take Aaliyah’s “Rock The Boat” and make it even sexier and smoother than the original. “You Make Me Float” is so intricate and sensual that listening to it on anything but some high quality headphones just wont do it justice. Go buy some Sennheiser’s or Beats by Dre and pop this number on. You’ll thank us later.

MP3: Nora En Pure – “You Make Me Float”

It’s crazy that we live in a world where stressed-out citydwellers will spend $20 to go sit on the hardwood floor of an incense-laden yoga studio while some new age fauxhemian with a banging bod guides them through The Best Meditation Practice Of All Time. Not saying we’re not down with mindful awareness and peaceful reflection and all that–plenty of our respected idols practiced this sort of thing–but because, with the right soundtrack, you can achieve the same serenity in the comfort of your own home.

And good news: the perfect soundtrack has arrived. One listen of our newfound favorite Young Heel’s Falls EP will have you wondering how you ever gazed through frosted windows contemplating your mortality without these Brooklyn boys to lend you their dreamy musical counsel. In “Troubles At The Top,” they lay down harmonies gentle enough to soothe whatever beast rages within you while keeping things dark enough to avoid lobotomizing your angsty heart. If that sounds like a challenge to you, they’ll be happy to hear it—experimentation is at the core of their sound, and we’re already looking forward to the ways they will continue bridging discordant canyons of genre as they continue to gain exposure. Troubles at the top? We’ll see, but trouble reaching the top? Unlikely.

Grab “Troubles at the Top” below, and hop over to Young Heel’s Bandcamp page to snag the whole EP.

MP3: Young Heel – “Troubles at the Top”

Shabazz Palaces are not shy about their intentions of changing the face of hip hop.  Drawing heavily upon African musical and cultural traditions, as well as their transcendental musings, the duo gives us plenty to mull over.  Their songs are delicately constructed, utilizing atmospheric atonalities, as well as more familiar bombastic beats.  Likewise, the video for “Are You…” plays with tempo and structural shifts.  The visual treatment, given by fellow Seattlite Maikoiyo Alley-Barnes, explores the track through forms flora and female.  It starts with slow, languid shots interrupted by floral flashes in time with the beat, but turns into a generational debate on the merits of Daisy Dukes.  Black Up was one of the most poignant albums of 2011, and Shabazz has followed it up with equally powerful videos.

MP3: Shabazz Palaces – “Are You… Can You… Were You? (Felt)”