Former War on Drugs frontman Kurt Vile will be making his way to the 9:30 Club on July 20th to make his first live appearance in DC since the release of his latest album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for this special show. What do you have to do to win?

Kurt said that Wakin On A Pretty Daze is “just about [his] life, without thinking too much about it.” We want to know what album just feels like it represents your life. Like, it just gets you, man. You dig? Leave your comments in the answer below. Have at it!

MP3: Kurt Vile – “Wakin On A Pretty Day”

After an extended period of silence, Jamie Isaac will be putting out a proper release this year in the form of his debut EP, I Will Be Cold Soon. Last April Isaac gave an interview for DIY in which he stated that he wanted to take 2012 to, “solidify further how [he] wants [his] music to evolve.” Based on “Softly Draining Seas,” he spent that time well. Complete with percussion that brings back memories of LCD’s “Dance Yrself Clean” and piano chords/vocals that would make even James Blake pause and applaud, “Softly Draining Seas” is a beautiful piece asserting Isaac’s impending arrival. Stream it below.

STREAM: Jamie Isaac – “Softly Draining Seas”

Katie Stelmanis, co-founder and lead singer of Toronto outfit Austra, doesn’t think it’s possible for her to “write in a major key,” but she certainly brings major drama in the band’s new video for “Home.” Striking a balance between classical and electronic, the piano driven single expresses anxiety of waiting at night for a lover to return. The video features a melancholy Stelmanis staring at the camera as a whir of backstage activity goes on around her. Her apparent loneliness corresponds fittingly to the lyrics and makes for a captivating video. Who knew loneliness could be so catchy?

“Home” is off Austra’s sophomore album Olympia, available June 17th via Domino Records.

STREAM: Austra – “Home”

Beach House returns to the 9:30 Club here in Washington, DC on Thursday, June 6th. We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away. We know you want them. What do you have to do to win?

Beach House is one of Baltimore’s finest exports. Aside from these guys, we want to know what your favorite thing about Charm City is. Please, surprise us (so no, not Joe Flacco). We’ll pick a winner on Friday morning. Have at it!

STREAM: Beach House – “Myth”

Last October, Victoria Bergsman (The Concretes, Peter Bjorn & John) released her third studio LP, Other Worlds, under her solo project moniker, Taken By Trees. Inspired by a vacation Bergsman took to Hawaii, the LP’s latest single is “Only You,” a posterchild for tropicalia featuring plenty of steel drums and slide guitar. The video for the track, on the other hand, provides a jarring visual contrast;  released just last week, it features a blindfolded Bergsman amidst a number of carnally engaged couples. Sensual and surprising. Watch it above.

STREAM: Taken By Trees – “Only You”

With the release of his new single, “Rivers,” Bipolar Sunshine has proven that he can play both sides of the coin. His debut track, “Fire,” was a beautiful downtempo melody that tugged at our heart strings and gave us hope from the desperation that comes when relationships enter turmoil. Complete with beautiful vocals, lyrical genius, an incredible melody and a sample of every girl’s favorite movie, The Notebook, he assembled a song that had every single puzzle piece perfectly put together.

“Rivers” is of a different tune, trading in slow reverb for pounding drums. The track is much more upbeat, but still packs the raw emotion and talented songwriting we’ve grown to love him for. Do yourself a favor and stream it below.

STREAM: Bipolar Sunshine – “Rivers”

What first made me fall in love with Superhumanoids was the band’s clever blend of pop songwriting and elegant, subtly experimental electronica. On new single “So Strange,” however, the LA trio strips back some of the synths and post-production, letting Sarah Chernoff’s unique vocals shine. The track, which was featured on The New York Times Magazine website on Monday, will be included on Superhumanoids’ forthcoming debut album Exhibitionists, out June 11th on Innovative Leisure. Watch a gorgeous live studio performance above, and then stream the original below.

STREAM: Superhumanoids – “So Strange”

God, I love the tease of a two-chord song. The best of them – “Heroin,” “Born In The USA,” “Road to Nowhere” – work their simple structure into an atmosphere of endlessness and delayed, diffuse climax. But now that we’re all addicted to hooks, it’s rare to come across a pop song that doesn’t play by the rules of payoff and resolution – and that’s why I have been looping Jessie Ware’s cover of “Love Thy Will Be Done” nonstop since she released it apropos of nothing other than her appreciation for this 1991 track, sung by soft-rocker Martika and co-written by Prince. Ware’s version is largely faithful to the original, but her pure vocal velvet and the slight, delicious stutter in the marching beat make all the difference. Stream it below.

STREAM: Jessie Ware – “Love Thy Will Be Done (Martika Cover)”

Not long before they took the stage at New Noise at the Gibson Guitars Showroom earlier this month, we sat down for an interview with one of our favorite DC bands, GEMS. We ask them about their upcoming plans, the D.C. music community, their favorite bands of late and more. Big thanks to Jacob Zverina for his video mastery on this one. Watch it above.

STREAM: GEMS – “All I Ever”

We’re honored to premiere “On the Nod,” the first single off Kansas City producer Bryan Cox’s new album Portraits. Cox, AKA Soft Lighting, makes “languid, seductive pop” with traces of late 80s and early 90s dark house. “On the Nod” recalls the classic indie dance sound of Manchester’s Factory Records, the Tony Wilson-owned imprint that launched the careers of post-punk trailblazers like Joy Division (later New Order), Happy Mondays and the Durutti Column. The track begins with nothing but Cox’s washy vocal and a guttural bassline before gradually building into a wall of sound assembled from crunchy drum machine patterns and layers of lush, eerie analog goodness.

Soft Lighting’s Portraits is out May 21st via Synth Records.

STREAM: Soft Lighting – “On the Nod”