Ashrae Fax :: Pointbreak :: MP3

Ashrae Fax....never heard of them? Me neither, until today. Also mind-blowing is that this excellent batch of dream pop came from 2003, which doesn't feel like that long ago, but what was happening with music then? Lots of everything really. But definitely not the resurgence of this brand of lush, darker dream-pop or ethereal shoegaze that has saturated the internet. Not even going to get started on the Cocteau Twins comparisons here 'cause it's just too good.

Mexican Summer is reissuing the band's final album Static Crash! on June 25. Also in the works: the label will release the duo's entire discography plus a new album to come later. 

Culture Collide 2013

Not usually in the business of promoting events for the sake of promoting events, but check out the dynamite lineup for this year's Culture Collide. It features the reunited Medicine, The Raveonettes, Dinosaur Jr., The Men, Iceage, KIng Khan and the Shrines, No Joy, and Liars. A lot of really spectacular progressive pop and rock in this lot.

Click on the image for more.

Be Forest :: Florence :: MP3

Be Forest went ahead and made one of the most cohesive and fully realized shoegaze pop jams I've heard in years. "Florence" is taken from the trio's album Cold, available through We Were Never Being Boring.

Motorama :: Letter Home :: MP3

Russian pop quintet Motorama recently saw their debut album Alps reissued through Talitres. Still sounds so fucking great and buoyant to this day. Bursting with hooks and dream pop flourishes, now you can own it on vinyl. Here's "Letter Home", one of several standout tracks from that release. Fans of New Order and The Radio Dept. are gonna swoon.
 

French Films :: Latter Days :: MP3

French Films is a Helsinki, Finland-based pop band that I fell in love with thanks to Skattebrain and a nostaligic past with the Slumberland Records catalog. White Orchid dropped in April and I'm shocked as to how little press and accolades it has received compared to some of the dumpiest and overhyped acts I've had dumped in my mailbox/newsfeed in the past six months. 

Lone :: Airglow Fires :: MP3

Following last year's essential Galaxy Garden -- the best of Matt Cutler's career to date -- comes this new 12" single "Airglow Fires". Takes a minute for the groove to grab you but once it does you're submerged in Lone's layered, warped world of club-ready electronica and escape.

R & S will issue the single along with B-side "Begin to Begin" on July 9.
 

Happy Families :: New Forgetting :: MP3

Former Bowery Electric-ian Lawrence Chandler is back with a new project called Happy Families. The noise and engulfing wash of guitars are excessive, as well as the distant/buried vocals delivered this time around by artist Lucia Rivero. Sonic Cathedral will release the duo's debut 7" single on July 15. The B-side, "I Remember You", is a cover of The Ramones.