Greyjoy is a stellar dreampop band from the Western Australian city of Perth, whose debut single “Idle Thoughts” remains one of our favorite tracks of the year. “Idle Thoughts” is one of those rare songs where you’re not entirely sure how it was made – which instruments are live, which are sampled, what’s a loop – but everything sounds just right and the final product is something new and wonderful.

New track “Distance” is another songwriting and production tour de force marked by some of the same 90s folk- and psych-rock influences (think Madchester and bands like The Stone Roses) that appeared on “Idle Thoughts” and that render the “dreampop” label a bit too restrictive for this band. Far from hopping on the latest trend, Greyjoy are charting new musical territory with their gorgeous vocals, haunting melodies and innovative sound engineering. While it’s tempting to lump them in with other Aussie indie acts that effortlessly combine electronic and acoustic elements – Cut Copy, Miami Horror, Empire of the Sun, Strange Talk, Gold Fields – they’re doing something unique and awesome and we love it.

Greyjoy’s self-titled debut EP will be released July 23rd.

STREAM: Greyjoy – “Distance”

British based singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist Marc Rigelsford (Magic Arm) gives new meaning to the phrase “work from home.” Rigelsford recently released his psychedelic sophomore LP, Images Rolling, which like his first album was recorded completely in the comfort of his bedroom. Unlike his first effort, however, Images Rolling departs from Magic Arm’s hallmark electronic sound and makes abundant use of live instrumentation. “Warning Signs,” the third track off Images Rolling is exemplary of this transition. Utilizing live piano, strings, and brass the track is a warm psychedelic escape that hums with life. Stream it” below.

STREAM: Magic Arm – “Warning Signs”

Miami is known for a lot of things. Garage rock isn’t one of them. The Jacuzzi Boys, however, have been working on changing their city’s reputation since 2007 by churning out their very own blend of carefree, sun-baked, psychedelic garage rock. Their latest release “Double Vision” is a bright, accessible track that is chock full of phasers and reverb, giving credence to arguments that they be among the most significant bands Miami has produced in years. Stream it below.

STREAM: Jacuzzi Boys – “Double Vision” 

Psychedelic revivalism seems to be a hot genre these days. London’s Antimatter People are no stranger to it, but don’t cast them with the rest of the crowd. In an era when most psych acts opt follow a retro, lo-fi approach to their music, Yehan Jehan’s outfit opts for a crisp sound and production style — reminiscent of Pink Floyd at their finest — which ironically does more justice to their forerunners than do their compatriots. Give “Mossy Grounds” a listen below and you’ll see what we mean.

STREAM: Antimatter People – “Mossy Grounds”

Thee Oh Sees haven’t always been the band you see today. The psych-rock stalwarts began as the one-man side project of John Dwyer and over the next decade slowly evolved into its current four-member iteration, changing names five times along the way. One thing that has been constant about The Oh Sees, however, is their tendency to put out good music.

For their latest venture, Thee Oh Sees have teamed up with Adult Swim and a handful of garage rock heavy hitters for Garage Swim. The compilation album features tracks by Mikal Cronin, King Tuff, The Black Lips and King Kahn to name a few. Thee Oh Sees’ contribution, “Devil Again,” has been offered up as the first taste from this album. It’s the type of straightforward, head bangin’ rock song that you love to hear from these guys. Stream it below.

STREAM: The Oh Sees – “Devil Again” 

“Runaways” is one of those rare tracks that’s so jarringly good, it makes you stop what you’re doing the second you hear it. Minutes later you’re diving down a musical rabbit hole, devouring every piece of information you can find on the band. In this case, there’s not much: Mirror Kisses is a synth-pop project based out of Harrisonburg, VA that drew some initial inspiration from artists including New Order and the Human League, with the preliminary goal of “making a kind of lost record from the 80s, like something you might find at a garage sale.” But, in the spirit of other experimental pop wizards like Wildarms and Blood Orange, their retrofuturistic sound combines so many different influences -– hip hop, balearica, AOR, electropop -– that it’s hard (and pointless) to pin down beyond maybe calling it post-pop.

Watch their self-directed video debut for “Runaways” above and melt into a tropically inflected daydream full of otherworldly synths, guitars and samples that crash like waves and dart like dayglo meteorites around George Clanton’s haunting vocals. If you like what you hear and want to see Mirror Kisses’ new album Heartbeats pressed on vinyl, show the band some support via Kickstarter.

STREAM: Mirror Kisses – “Runaways”

Kurt Vile today announced the upcoming release of his fifth studio album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze. It will be Vile’s first double album and clock in at about 70 minutes long. The former War on Drugs member also shared a new track from the release: the almost identically-titled “Wakin On A Pretty Day.”

Kurt Vile, as with his 2011 breakthrough album, Smoke Ring for My Halo, gives us a taste here of his incredibly smooth guitar work and relaxing lyrics. The nearly ten-minute-long song breezes by effortlessly, making it prime for repeat listening. The video that accompanies the track features Philadelphia street artist Steve Powers as he paints an abandoned building with Kurt’s name and the album title shot as a time lapse.

Kurt Vile’s Wakin On A Pretty Daze comes out April 9th via Matador.

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

As we wait anxiously for Wondrous Bughouse, Trevor Powers (a.k.a. Youth Lagoon) holds our fix over with the second single off the album, “Mute.” Unlike his 2011 debut, The Year of Hibernation, there is a noticeable sense of grandiosity in “Mute.” The track is filled with sweet sounds, distorted keyboards and a nostalgic call to 60s psych-pop. It wouldn’t sound out of place on a Wes Anderson movie soundtrack. Stream it below.

Youth Lagoon’s Wondrous Bughouse comes out March 5th via Fat Possum.

STREAM: Youth Lagoon – “Mute”

London’s Emperor Yes prove with their new track “Cosmos” that there’s plenty of room for experimentation in synth-pop. Produced by Summer Camp’s Jeremy Warmsley, “Cosmos” does justice to its name, bursting from the get-go with a celestial explosion of synth. Admittedly less weird than their previous Unicorns-esque single, “Wasps,” “Cosmos” still carries a good degree of quirk like an estranged cousin of Passion Pit and M83. For all it’s differences, though, we still love it.

It’s worth noting too that one third of Emperor Yes is Ash Gardner, producer and owner of House of Strange studios who has worked with the likes of Mumford and Sons, Noah and the Whale, Ash and more.

Emperor Yes’ Cosmos will get an official single release on March 11th via Tape Club.

STREAM: Emperor Yes – “Cosmos”

We hope you’re all excited as we are for New Noise 007 this Thursday, December 4th at the Gibson Guitars DC Showroom. Along with putting on HAERTS‘ first live show in DC, we’ll also be bringing back All Things Gold alum and one of our favorite bands of late, Vacationer, for a proper headlining set. Vacationer’s Kenny Vasoli was awesome enough to make a playlist for us featuring five songs he’s been playing on repeat recently. Check them out after the jump, and make sure to grab your tickets for New Noise below.

STREAM: Vacationer – “Everyone Knows’

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