Yes – it’s that time of the year. Best of…this is what Pitchfork considers the best song of the year – Kendrick Lamar and Alright:

This is not brand new but this is NME’s song of the year:

Nicole Dollanganger is the first artist sign tho Grimes new label. No wonder both are from Canada and she is supporting Grimes on her tour. Dollanganger’s fascination with desolate Americana imagery recalls other similarly moody, bleak pop singers: think Melanie Martinez’ broken-housewife routine, Halsey’s tortured teen road-trip anthems, and Lana Del Rey’s dark, star-spangled camp. But those singers’ stories still feel romantic, while Dollanganger’s music is only inviting in the way the cute, white Victorian house from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was at first glance. Her album is called Natural Born Losers and this is Your’re So Cool

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXaqMQasQL0

Elena Tonra always sounds heartbroken. On this typically emotional cut, she’s begging “I feel numb, make me better,” as a relationship goes up in flames. Daughter is an amazing band – one of the best out there and the the song Daughter is living proof. I detect a little of The XX – and that is a good thing – a very good thing.Starting life in 2010 as an outlet for the musings of Elena and Igor, then fellow class-mates studying music in college, they soon gained attention with their self-released four-track EP, His Young Heart, in April 2011, and the Communion Records sanctioned The Wild Youth EP, which followed that October (around the same time as Remi joined the band). On the strength of those two releases alone and impressive early live shows, the now trio quickly gained a loyal fan base, one which continues to grow daily, and record deals with both 4AD and Glassnote (for North America). Their gestation was completed with a stunning performance of their now anthem ‘Youth’ on the prestigious The Late Show with David Letterman, a rare feat for a young, European band.
The new album “Not To Disappear” will be out soon.

The most appropriate word to describe Gabrielle Smith’s solo project Eskimeaux might be “togetherness.” The band founded Brooklyn songwriting and art collective the Epoch in 2011 along with several of their friends, but this sense of mutual support and do-it-together philosophy has long been a part of Smith’s M.O.  The album O.K. is for sure much more than just that and the song Broken Necks kind of grows on you. really good stuff:

The sheer versatility provided by the varying prominence of guitar, flute, sax and piano, creates an atmospheric journey for the listener, improving with each listen. It begs for, and ultimately earns, the listener’s personal experiential association that Estjes desired all along.

Swedish psychedelic four piece, Dungen, have recently released their strongest LP since the 2004 masterpiece Ta Det Lungt, and it’s their first LP in five years. Allas Sak, ‘everyone’s thing’, separates the band from the hordes of 21st century shoegazing-psych-pop at the very least in terms of consistency and longevity. Few other bands have lasted like Dungen have: Without a bad release and without signs of succumbing to the seductive, technologically-orchestrated mainstream.

Mastermind frontman Gustav Estjes explained that he intended the album to be an associative experience for listeners, one in which they will be able to create their own stories, to which they can ascribe their own meanings, and in that way the album can be their thing, and even “allas sak.”

Little Simz is,, a technically astonishing MC. Her verses freewheel from skippy, breathless flows that pack an impossible number of syllables per bar, to stop-start rhymes so tight to the beat they could’ve been superglued there. Live she’s an engaging, personable performer; using breakdowns as an opportunity to flop around the stage like a ragdoll before corralling the crowd into chorus clapalongs. Little Simz is from London and she has all the potential in the world – not only Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z have championed her. Her album is out and is calledA Curious Tale Of Trials + Persons. A little taster:

The Mercury Price is arguably the most important award in the music business. Every single album nominated is an amazing work of art. Here are the 12 nominees:

Aphex Twin – Syro
Benjamin Clementine – At Least for Now
Gaz Coombes – Matador
C Duncan – Architect
ESKA – Eska
Florence and the Machine – How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Ghostpoet – Shedding Skin
Róisín Murphy – Hairless Toys
Slaves – Are You Satisfied?
SOAK – Before We Forgot How to Dream
Wolf Alice – My Love Is Cool
Jamie xx – In Colour

Our favorite? Possibly Ghostpoet
Winner will be chosen on November 20.

Die Wortspielerin: Balbina singt mit melancholischer Stimme eigenwillige Texte. Jetzt erscheint ihr Album “Über das Grübeln”Letzten September ergab plötzlich alles Sinn. Die Jahre der Selbstzweifel, des Nichtaufgebens und Weiterkämpfens. Da war die Berlinerin mit polnischen Wurzeln, Balbina für einen Auftritt auf dem Reeperbahn-Festival nach Hamburg eingeladen und stand irgendwann Herbert Grönemeyer gegenüber. Der hatte zuvor offenbar ihre Musik gehört. Ob er das Konzert gezielt besucht hatte oder eher Zufall im Spiel war, lässt sich nicht genau rekonstruieren. Jedenfalls sagte er im Laufe dieses kurzen Gesprächs einen Satz, der sich Balbina einbrennen sollte: „Es ist okay, anders zu sein.“ Herbert der Große erteilte der Newcomerin die Absolution.

Izzy Bizu is a 20 year-old singer songwriter from South West London.
Growing up immersed in the music of Ella Fitzgerald and James Brown, Izzy draws on these influences alongside modern-day icons Amy Winehouse and Adele to create a fusion of soul, funk, jazz and pop that manages to create an exclusive quality of sounding classic and brand spanking new all at once. Comparisons to Amy Winehouse are unavoidable – but of course a bit unfair. No doubt Izzy will make it big.