School of Seven Bells: Open Your Eyes

Melodic, hopeful and empowering are only a few attributes of “Open Your Eyes,” a brand new track from School of Seven Bells. It’s a first glimpse of SVIIB, the band’s next and final album, out on 12 February. The band lost guitarist Benjamin Curtis to cancer at the end of 2013, but lead singer Alejandra Deheza has pressed on beautifully and incorporated parts Curtis recorded …

Crystal: Rendez-Vous

Japanese synth-loving trio Crystal has created the most fitting soundtrack for the videogame that’s become our internet-centered lives. The perfect blend of artificial nostalgia, quirky sound effects and a good squeeze of Jean-Michel Jarre meets Donkey Kong allows Crystal to charm their way into your head. Then they reveal they’re more than just kitsch. Crystal’s track “Rendez-vous” is strong on its own as a carefree, …

Premiere: “Painfully Obvious” by Twin Cabins

The song and music video from the emerging LA-based artist contemplates physical intimacy

We don’t know much about Nacho Cano—who creates music under the name Twin Cabins—aside from the fact that he was born in Mexico, raised in California, and built his own desktop computer so that it could run a studio. But it’s one of those instances when we’re happy to let the music speak for itself. While the songs Cano made in the past few years …