Stuart Howard is the face behind ambient break beat act Lapalux. Tracks that blend a large variety of pads, hip hop based beats, and samples from a slew of sources (anything from commercials/P.S.A.’s to Nicki Minaj). Definitely a guy to check out, his constant output of tracks shows a wide range of techniques in production. The IDM & Glitch Influenced beats glide between moods. His song Ballast is supreme, depicting the beauty and art in samples and abstraction musically. The worldwide electronic shift in the past couple of years is really starting to churn out some great acts. Where many artists fail to be able to nail down this avant garde beat art, Lapalux shows the ability to perpetually pump the tracks out.

Papertwin – Cross

Papertwin melds droney darkwave melodies that match up against an 80s pop sensiblity. Morbid lyrics against feelgood pop music is a match made in angsty heaven, or hell. “Cross”’s Powerful sincere vocals mixed with vibrant waves of electronic programming, is reminiscent sometimes of Thom Yorke or Bjork’s production aesthetic. This is where broken lo fi tinges on what is considerably awesome dark synthpop. Also check out this remix by KnifeShow of Papertwins track Coma below.

Work Drugs make superb baby making music, to be blunt. Smooth Seductive tracks with pretty breathy vocals, very reminesant to Casa Del Mirto, Evenings, and Waskerly Way. Lo Fi cruising jams for the laid back soul. 2 step drum beats with shimmering synth and pads, ghostly and haunted this tracks leave you wanting more. personally im excited for this release, they have alot of potential for killer replay value. you can check the tracks they have posted thus far on their soundcloud HERE. Benjamin and thomas create a awesome pairing in these superb lo fi tracks, check em out in all their glory below.

The multi electronica genre bending act of Laurel Halo is nothing but joyful bliss. These tracks smear lines in the clubs between pulsating Idm and Shoegaze-chill out proving theres no fear in gems. Wobbly bass lines behind shimmering synth leads tinge of all sorts of genres, utilizing Dub, Drum n Bass, and Electro techniques. Check out her video for the track Embassy above, and also her guest vocals on a track from  Games called Strawberry Skies below.

Introducing Waskerly Way a ambient chillwave project from Mikey Waskerly of newcastle. The lofi glaze over this freshly baked little number, leaves a warm fuzzy feeling. This is music you seize the day to, Harmonic and distant. Simple tracks like these make such widespread feel good vibes for all involved, its like a childs laughter. Alot of vibes similar to Animal Collective with a certain poppy dissonance. This Chilled out muse creates ambient soundscapes similar to acts like Wild Nothing, How To Dress Well, and Twin Shadow. Check out his track below and give the laid back smooth vibes a listen.

Wild Nothing’s Gemini was definitely one of my favesies of 2k10. I love pop songs, maybe even to a shameful degree. My taste isn’t very cool or Alt-thentic. I pretty much love the poppiest songs of every decade, and everything derivative of the poppiest songs of any decade; the 50s being one major exception. Wild Nothing, I think, make great pop songs. Another thing I love is when you can play a whole album by a band, or an entire catalogue, without ever changing a song. Where you never even have the nagging temptation to skip to the best songs on the album, because, really, everything is good. The band I have most known in my life to consistently make albums that I can listen to the whole way through is Starflyer 59 and Wild Nothing definitely has the same sort of appeal. They, or HE, I should say being Jack Tatum, definitely gets my gold seal of approval and if you missed out last year, it’s never too late for a listen.

Canada’s Memoryhouse are known for their dreamy tracks that bring to mind distant, indistinct memories thanks to the ethereal quality of Memoryhouse’s rich soprano. The group just released a video for their song Heirloom, which is a B-side from their November 7-inch Caregiver. The video was directed by Jamie Harley, a man known for his ability to piece together beautiful moving imagery. His gift is clearly displayed in Heirloom’s video as the viewer follows a mysterious raven-haired beauty through hazy shots of beaches and deserts. The different stills bring to mind the feeling of when you discover an old photo album of your parents and realize they had this amazingly cool life before you came along. The non-linear video matches perfectly with the peaceful music and the combination of the visual with audio creates a peacefully calming vibe.

Mexican Summer is pretty good at catching the essence of summer time shenanigans. No Joy is another lo fi noise rock group hell bent on having summer forever. At first listen, No Joy is eerie plucking tiptoeing through walls of noisy summer time rifts. the ghostly feel of both the guitar and the vocals makes the hair on your neck stand up. They just released their first full release on Mexican summer and the tracks are flavorful riffs packed onto beautiful female vocals. Their album Ghost Blonde, is a great ode of production artistry and environmental textures. Currently on tour with fellow Mexican Summer mates Wavves & Best Coast. Be sure this crunchy beach pop trio when they hit your town. you can check out more with one of their videos below

Wild Nothing-Your Rabbit Feet

2010 proved an excellent year for newcomer Wild Nothing with the release of the critically hailed debut Gemini and judging by the recent released EP Golden Haze, 2011 is looking bright as well. Wild Nothing, the brainchild of Jack Tatum hails from lower Virginia but his dreamy, swirling sound places him in a more other worldly locale. Golden Haze follows Gemini its chill wave flavoring, but Tatum keeps himself from being one-note with thoughtful and well-crafted lyrics and beats.

There are a lot of REALLY terrible bands called Echo Lake, just forewarning you on the premise that you love them, and go hunting for more info. This Echo Lake is a hazy, shoegaze outfit garnering a lot of JAMC comparisons. They don’t sound anything like the Jesus and Mary Chain. FYI. They do, however, sound a lot like Slowdive. I’m the ultimate psych/shoegaze/dreampop fanatic so they’re definitely up my ally, and fit right in with my desolate gray day winter depression vibes. Definitely a LISTEN WITH HEADPHONES kind of band. They’re kind of elusive so I don’t really have a place to send you for more, I could link you to another really crummy band called Echo Lake, but that would only be funny, and not very constructive.

Change-Leopardon-A-Small-Bees-Nest

As the colder months set in (along with Family-centric holidays) so does my desire to listen to The Smiths. But a girl can only listen to Meat is Murder so many times, so thank god for the recent discovery of moody, shoegazey, synth lovin’ MINKS. The group claims Brooklyn as their base, but I could swear from the perfectly shadowy vocals and dark sounding pop hooks that they hail from a dreary steel town (okay last Smiths’ reference I swear).  The group recently released a 7-inch entitled Ophelia on Captured Tracks that shows a wealth of promise of getting you through this wintery months.

Where do i start with the pompadour bearing musical being George Lewis Jr. Aka Twin Shadow Born In Dominican Republic, Now Based In Brooklyn New York, the purity in these tracks is undeniable. These dream pop serenades are a breath of fresh air straight from the 80s. Kind of a cross between Morrissey and the nu shoegaze acts How To Dress Well or Glasser. Brilliant guitar rifts carrying along the crooning of Lewis’ silk voice, these are bound to have you humming the melodies throughout the day. Seeming to have originated from a cultural time vault, the sound if a mixture of modern and new age production techniques.

“David”

As if I needed another motive to move to Sweden, The Radio Dept. pop up out of nowhere (and by nowhere I mean they’ve been around since 1995 yet somehow have slid under my radar this entire time?!) and increase my love for the Nordics tenfold. The Stockholm based trio encompass elements of shoegaze, pop, and electronic that result in beautifully rich melodies.  They released their third album, Clinging to a Scheme in April and ever since then the nearly flawless pop album has garnered proper praise from nearly every critic (this one included) who listen to the versatile record.

Fluffy Lumbers-Cruisers

Just as Nostradamus prophesied, New Jersey will replace Brooklyn as indie rock’s mecca. With bands like Real Estate, Ducktails, and Fluffy Lumbers creating their own buzz , the prophesy seems to be coming to pass.

Nevertheless, Fluffy Lumbers are still carving out a name for themselves in the garden state. While Employing the drum machine percussion of Ducktails, the Lumbers opt for a more crunchy sound. The guys mix the overblown guitar tendencies of shoegaze, pepper in some slacker vocals, all while surfing on a big pile of lo-fi charm.

Soooooooo, my favorite band in the history of time is The Jesus and Mary Chain, chances are, if anyone uses the word “Shoegaze” to describe a band, I will be pretty into them. Nude Beach is no exception. Every band of late using the beach moniker tends to be pretty, and nostalgic, bringing to mind that old 80s photograph of your childhood quality, but Nude Beach is grittier, edgier. More parts A Place to Bury Strangers than Beach Fossils or Beach House. They definitely capture the authentic 80s Spacemen 3/JAMC aesthetic better than anyone I’ve heard in quite a while, and I have to admit, that in the inescapable fog of the last year of dreamy bedroom pop, it’s refreshing to hear something a little rougher around the edges. Check them out on <a href=”http://www.myspace.com/nudebeachmusic”>MYSPACE.</a>

Rangers-Golden Triangles

As electronics slowly take over the musical landscape, it’s sometimes nice to hear good old fashioned fat base lines and wistful guitar solos. Rangers offers both, wrapped up into a nice stoner indie package. Still, their music is on the edge of anything you’d associate with guitar-based rock, and synthesizers and samplers make a strong appearance in many tracks. Their production is purposefully compressed, and their rare vocals are artfully distant, reminiscent of shoegaze greats like My Bloody Valentine. But it’s clear that they’re as proficient with live instruments as they are with electronics. Now isn’t that something.

Brain Idea-The Heat

Brain Idea-One More Time

Outside of throwing back a couple of rich and full bodied Busch Beers, Chicago’s Brain Idea, enjoy long walks on the beach, whispered sweet nothings, and playing rock music.

According to their MySpace, Brain Idea sounds like “three dudes hanging out.” Nevertheless, from only sampling two tracks on their MySpace page, the band seems to be onto something. Fusing inebriated garage rock with some shoegaze tendencies, Brain Idea’s slacker take on the rock trio somehow manages to be fresh while retaining all the hooks we have come to love from this genre.

After a few false starts and a change of location, I had Light Pollution singer/guitarist/keyboardist James Cicero and drummer Matthew Evert interview ready. Standing next to their van outside of Washington D.C.’s The Rock and Roll Hotel before their October 18th show, we discussed (amidst the sounds of city buses and drunk patrons), the evolution of Light Pollution’s sound, the recording process of Apparitions, and the benefits and downfalls of warehouse living.

As Light Pollution began their October 18th performance at The Rock and Roll Hotel with the swirling dream-like “Good Feelings”, I was pleasantly surprised at the transformation occurring before me. Singer, James Cicero, (who projected a welcoming, but low-key and slightly introverted persona when I interviewed him earlier) had morphed into an absorbing performer the moment the first note was struck. As he switched back and forth between his electric keyboard and guitar, Cicero’s eyes displayed an intensity which mixed both joy and a creative mania. Along with a tendency to quickly jut his arm up in an almost praise like manner, his performance was proving quite captivating to watch.