IN A TIDAL WAVE OF MYSTERY.

Don't know if y'all got the memo, but summer's here in a big way and it's time to throw the top back and turn the radio up on some serious summer anthems. Enter LA's Capital Cities, who arrive just in time with a little sonic head rush called "Safe + Sound", an easy, breezy, beautiful slice of effervescent electro-pop that even comes complete with a massive "trumpets in da club" bit that absolutely kills it. This is a full-bodied concoction of happy-go-lucky lyrics and syrupy cloud nine harmonies that have them coming off like Yes Giantess with the beards of My Morning Jacket and the solid gold hooks of Empire of the Sun to boot. NOT MAD.

MP3: "Safe + Sound" - Capital Cities

KEEP YOUR HEART CLOSE TO MINE.

Now that Alex Winston is wrapping up her debut album and well on her way to super stardom (see below), one might wonder what The Knocks have in store for us next over at their HeavyRoc Music studios. Well wonder no more, as it's time to introduce you to the latest addition to the HeavyRoc family, St. Lucia. Arriving just in time for the endlessly bleak winter of NYC to give way to the long light of summer, St. Lucia is the sound of childhood holidays and faded photographs of faraway places.

Inspired by his homeland of South Africa, his journey through the UK and eventual relocation to Brooklyn, St. Lucia's debut offering "This Old House Is Gone" plays like a lucid dream that you never want to wake up from, drifting by on an ethereal chord progression that recalls The Shins' "Sleeping Lessons" as viewed through the kaleidoscopic lens of Animal Collective's "Did You See The Words". A winning mix of heavily layered percussive elements, technicolor synth flourishes and tropical electro vibes, it's a little bit of Australia in our own backyard, coming off like The Temper Trap as produced by Cut Copy with shades of Empire of the Sun thrown in for good measure. So basically, dreams DO come true. Expect big things.

MP3: "The Old House Is Gone" - St. Lucia [exclusive]

ALL THE OTHER KIDS.

Quite possibly the most sought after new act in the US, Foster The People have spent the first half of 2010 at the center of a serious major label A&R scrum, and with immense tracks like "Pumped Up Kicks" it's not hard to see why. Combining the production aesthetic of Peter Bjorn & John with the summery falsettos of MGMT or Empire of the Sun, "Pumped Up Kicks" has indie summer anthem written all over it, and with a major label deal already rumored to be in place for the Los Angeles four piece you can expect to be hearing a good deal more from this lot in the second half of '10. But in the meantime it's time to break out the swimwear and pump up those hi-tops, summertime is here.

MP3: "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster The People

ALONE IN THE DARK.

This band is like a pot of synth gold at the end of the pop rainbow. Gypsy & The Cat are Xavier Bacash and Lionel Towers, two chill bros from Melborne, Oz creating some of the best new soft-pop sounds around. Within the first few seconds of “Jona Vark” I pretty much had a flashforward to singing this chorus at a bus stop in five years time, because This. Song. Sticks. It’s just swimming in a hazy soup of reverbed Fleetwood Mac vocals, acoustic guitars and smooth blasts of synth, and you know how we love a bit of synth. We’re a sucker for the whole blissed-out pop aesthetic Australia seems to have mastered with the likes of Empire of the Sun, Gotye, PNAU and Tim & Jean so when these guys hit our peripherals we were eager to hear more, but as they're still yet to put out an official release, we’ll just have to keep this on single repeat in the meantime.

MP3: "Jona Vark" - Gypsy & The Cat

SEARCHING FOR THE THRILL OF IT.

We're quite late to the party it seems, but as you've already read everywhere else, Empire of the Sun (Nick Littlemore and Luke Steele of PNAU and the Sleepy Jackson, respectively) have gone and put together one of the finest singles (and videos) of the year. That laid back late-summer groove, those persistent drums, that chorus (that chorus)... This is breezy pop perfection ideally suited for just about any situation. Going out, coming down, breaking up, making out, making babies, all of the above? Here's your jam.

MP3: "Walking on a Dream" - Empire of the Sun

// Josh Logue //