Ghost Beach are the latest pop pioneers to set the internet ablaze. Barely a year old, the NYC-based duo of Josh Ocean and Eric “Doc” Mendelsohn have already perfected a blend of retro & futuristic, soaring synth-pop sounds that can best be described as Tropical Grit Pop. Nowhere is this more apparent than on their recently released “Modern Tongues” EP. Josh plays the jilted lover with vocal panache as Eric’s soaring synths, guitars and forever young harmonies are plucked right out of Neverland.Get Ghost Beach’s Blonde here.

What’s in a name? There’s little daylight at the start of a day, but equally so as it turns to night. Brooklyn’s Little Daylight has incorporated this dichotomy into every element of their sound. Their penchant for contrast leaves room for percussion big and small, vocals at once intimate and soaring, gravelly guitars tempered by shimmery synths and whispering pads. From the pounding drums of “Overdose” that provide the foundation for frontwoman Nikki’s sensuous lilt, to the stormy night drive of “Name In Lights,” theirs is a world of lush pop where the song reigns supreme.
 
A three-headed hydra at work, Little Daylight fired the first shot in 2012, priming the world for their pop aesthetic through a series of official remixes for the likes of Passion Pit, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Freelance Whales. A fully collaborative effort, the re-works paved the way for their own originals to do the heavy lifting, as the band slowly unveiled their full artistic vision as both producers and songwriters.
 
The band started in the summer of 2012 when Little Daylight’s Nikki, Matt, and Eric spent a month at an upstate lake house, sketching the ideas that would become their first singles. Since then, they have stayed true to their DIY approach, even creating the video for their first single “Overdose” themselves. A few days after Hurricane Sandy, Little Daylight took to the street with a team of friends armed with cameras. While Con Edison attempted to restore power, the band raced against the clock, shooting in darkened neighborhoods as Nikki danced in the shadows without a plan or pretence. The result was a clip that captured an infectious, after-hours joie de vivre and further communicated the band’s singular perspective.
 
Little Daylight plans to maintain their hands-on approach, even as their music begins to reach a larger audience, thanks in part to tours with pop luminaries such as Charli XCX and Marina and the Diamonds. Rather than transition from their home recording spaces to a more lavish studio setting, they’ve opted to recreate the intimacy of the lake house. They’ll spend the summer holed up in a Brooklyn carriage house where they’ll be recording their debut full-length — ready to emerge in fall of 2013 with another round of releases.
 

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It didn’t take long for Step Rockets to take off. Just 13 days after the release of “Kisser”, the track hit #1 on Hype Machine. The song has over 300,000 Soundcloud plays and continues to gain international attention.
 
The Minneapolis four-piece twists psychedelic sounds and modern pop hooks into danceable indie rock. Their tracks blend the raw attitude of the Clash with the interstellar arrangements of the Flaming Lips, creating a sound that is uniquely dynamic and fun.
 
Step Rockets aim to live up to their name. The group of multi-instrumentalists build layers of EDM, New Wave and Reggae to launch their music into something that is both fresh and mysterious. Their sound is a cosmic recycling of music past and present, aimed to create an experience that defies description.