Brainy new wave-informed trio Facts on File have just released a promotional cut for the track "Bring it Down", a performance-based video that features the band members in different billboards around the city animated in live-action form. The track can be found on the band’s latest full-length Bring it Back, which the band will be celebrating with an official release show at El Cid on March 26. 

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Kimono Kult is a completely new band, shaping the industry into something no one, not even producers were ready for. A blast of experienced musicians came together to create an statement that is, creatively, all in Spanish. A sextet group featuring Nicole Turley, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, John Frusciante, ex-Mars Volta and At The Drive-In guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, singer Teri Gender Bender from Le Butcherettes and Bosnian Rainbows, instrumentals from Dante White of Dante Vs. Zombies and Laena Geronimo from Raw Geronimo, this incredibly talented group of musicians got together to debut a four track EP called Hiding in the Light. Now I do not speak Spanish, nor have I ever taken a class; my knowledge doesn’t pass knowing how to count to 10, but you can still feel and hear a story coming from the instruments and the tone streaming through Bender’s voice. The Spanish language acts with no rules, executed fluently with its instruments creating a mind-bending experience that even I had a hard time grasping. But that is the point of music – the musician creates the sound for themselves and the listeners choose to create their own story to match it, connecting on different levels. I took this album as a type of philosophy, existentialism, to be exact- ‘stressing the individual’s unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his/her choices.’ Everyone’s mindset is different and this EP has its crazy, loud and progressively beautiful sounds that make it so jarring without an unsatisfying noise. These hauntingly engaging artists truly test the limits of music, which no one has dared explore before. – Kayla Hay

Santa Barbara natives and Secretly Canadian signees, Gardens & Villa are riding high on the release of their sophomore album, Dunes. The band brought their dreamy, seaside affinities to a studio in the frozen tundra of Michigan to record with producer, Tim Goldsworthy (Cut Copy, LCD Soundsystem). The results stayed true to the dreamy pop we’ve come to know from the group, but with more depth and maturity. Where their self-titled debut was youthful, like dipping your toes in the sand as waves crash on the shore – Dunes explores the deep recesses of the open ocean; an uncharted, mysterious and more solitary place to dwell. Currently on tour, Gardens & Villa are coming through LA to play the El Rey tomorrow, March 8 with Jonathan Rado (of Foxygen), and Waterstrider. Peep the video for their second single, "Colony Glen," below, filled with hypnotic beats and moody lighting. – Jacqueline Caruso

Shanee Pink has been sharing the spotlight with Mark Noseworthy of Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros in neo folk duo Pink & Noseworthy. The Laurel Canyon singer/songwriter is now making her solo debut with new single "Spreading in the Light", a dreamy, nocturnal cut that oozes with atmosphere as it paces in a leisurely stroll. The song is the title track off her forthcoming EP, which is due on March 25th through North Street Records. 

Steve McBean has remained staunchily dedicated to the different sides of hard rock with his main project Black Mountain for close to a decade now. However, his other significant project Pink Mountaintops has been just as worthy for other reasons – the former embraces sludgy riffs and proggy instrumentation, while the latter has a looser template that can vary from blissful psychedelia to reverb-laden indie pop. Now forget everything you’ve read in this description to begin to get into the mindset of what his latest full-length Get Back sounds like, since McBean has set aside his more genial side to deliver a ballsier record that has more grit and attitude. The story of this album started when McBean moved to Los Angeles, finding a likeminded soul in Icarus Line member Joe Cardamone and subsequently working together on an album that wholly embraces the hardy psychedelia that has shaped this city in many ways. Not to mention the fact that there’s a laundry list of LA-based musicians that collaborated in the making of Back like Rob Barbato, Annie Hardy and Steve Kille. "Ambulance City" is just one of the many rollicking layers found throughout the album, a pulsing rocker that rides a motorik rhythm as McBean and his cohorts implement some fuzz-flaked guitars. There’s much to dig in Mcbean’s newest endeavor, one that should introduce and please both old and new fans alike with its contorted explorations on how to reshape (and sometimes deteriorate) the classic design of rock n’ roll. Get Back will be released on April 29 through Jagjaguwar.

New wave space disco pioneers, De Lux, have shared another single off their upcoming debut LP, ‘Voyage,’ set for release in April on Innovative Leisure. A delightfully odd dance tune, "Make Space," has me wanting to bust out my glittery polyester jumpsuit and lucite platforms. There’s an absurdity to the duo’s music a la The Talking Heads, that is simply fun. The synthesizers and funk riffs make for a fantastically produced track, but at the end of the day, you just want to keep it on repeat and dance around your room with a hairbrush. So, stay inside today and follow those instructions in the song, "Move around, don’t fall, make space." – Jacqueline Caruso

Ripe for pop radio, Max and the Moon’s ‘Crazy’ EP features catchy, upbeat songs you’ll be singing all day long. The title song and single, "Crazy," is a definite stand-out. The thumping beat and bluesy guitar riffs get your toe-tapping, while the R&B style vocals, remisicent of Justin Timberlake (in a good way, I promise), will have you singing along. It’s the perfect, feel-good tune for a rainy day commute. The lone ballad on the EP, "Losing the Agreement," leans in and brushes that hair off your cheek with the perfect balance of sensuality and sensitivity. While this song dims the lights, it doesn’t lose any steam. These OC boys know how to write a pop song and this EP ups the ante on production, poising them for a breakout. With a busy live show schedule already this year, don’t miss them at The Troubadour on March 4 with The Colourist. – Jacqueline Caruso

Blonde Summer’s leading man, Chris Pope, is forever living in the 90’s, or at least his music is. His mellow garage rock sound has the feel of an everlasting winter, though it also has a warmth that places you in the dead of summer. His newest album, High Times, is Pope’s third EP installment, recorded in Ship studio with Aaron Espinoza. The EP goes through diverse selective styles, from breezy indie rock to synthpop to electroclash, with a 90’s grunge motif that brings back the musical styles that everyone knows and loves. Blonde Summer made headlines at CMJ in 2013, which I attended and unfortunately missed them perform. Forfeit yourself to his voice, drown yourself in his music and cut those ties with the 80’s – please. – Kayla Hay

Blonde Summer’s leading man, Chris Pope, is forever living in the 90’s, or at least his music is. His mellow garage rock sound has the feel of an everlasting winter, though it also has a warmth that places you in the dead of summer. His newest album, High Times, is Pope’s third EP installment, was recorded in Ship studio with Aaron Espinoza. The EP goes through diverse selective styles, from breezy indie rock to synthpop to electroclash, with 90’s grunge motif that brings back the musical styles that everyone knows and loves. Blonde Summer made headlines at CMJ in 2013, which I attended and unfortunately missed them perform. Forfeit yourself to his voice, drown yourself in his music and cut those ties with the 80’s – please. – Kayla Hay

Fuzz is the biting power trio of Charles Moonhart, Chad Ubovich and garage rock prince Ty Segall, keeping true to their very apt name by channeling the more psychedelic side of garage rock. In the video for their banging single "Raise", which was one of the highlights on their self-titled LP last year, the band is shown in full performance mode on a tv screen as a child becomes morally corrupted by their jamming antics; not really, but he does turn into a monster. Director Matt Yoka had this to say about the video: "I felt it was my responsibility as a filmaker to warn parents that Fuzz is going to turn children into monsters". There’s no better way to describe it, isn’t there? Fuzz is available now through In the Red. 

"Wandering in Your Mind" is the first single by fuzz rock duo Street Joy, a scorching garage burner that pummels with a scrappy guitar lead as it pierces through a stomping groove. Centered around the confident vocals of Jason DeMayo, the song weds a heavy melodic edge with Mersey-beat backup vocal harmonies courtesy of drummer Scott Zimmerman; imagine a period in the sixties where boy bands where beginning to expand their pop hooks with barn-burning licks and you get a good idea of where the duo stand. Finding that kinetic balance is what makes the track resonate, striking a soft focus mid-fi production that really makes that rattling distortion really pop out instead of submerging it with a thick, murky tone. The track is said to be the first in a series of singles, which should give more clues into their overall sound. At least this one track proves that they’re having a blast, offering a tight synchronicity that makes their official recorded debut a very anticipated one, indeed. – Juan Rodríguez

Mixing the more absurd elements of Animal Collective’s looping, electronics and sound design with trip hop and droning psychedelia, Bür Gür offer something eclectically engaging for the ear drums. While they could be lost amongst the sea of young kids making music on their laptops in the suburbs of LA, they stood out to this skeptic for their unpretentious approach and attention-grabbing arrangements. Utlitizing loops and beats to fill out a sound driven by layered guitars and sparse vocals, their sound is best represented as experimental pop. Stream "Bush" below. – Jacqueline Caruso