THICK AS THIEVES.

Attention industry heads: there's a new next big thing in town. Ambassadors rolled quietly onto the scene earlier this year and wasted no time shaking Brooklyn's sleepy indie rock scene up with their visceral soul-powered vocals, primal percussive beats and arena-sized live show, quickly establishing themselves as the kind of immense hybrid of Kings of Leon and Local Natives that could take mainstream rock radio in the US (and the UK for that matter) by storm. With one of the bigger live shows we've seen from a new band this year and their debut album Litost already in hand, Ambassadors strike us as the kind of thing major label bidding wars are made of, as the four piece look to establish themselves as a formidable presence in the rock landscape of 2011.

For proof, look no further than triumphant lead single and live highlight "Unconsolable", all militaristic drums and ominous brass surges, as glass-half-empty lyrics are consoled by a blanket of industrial guitar swipes and brooding synth-noir washes. Coming on strong as Ambassadors' unflinching statement of intent, it's an ambitiously well-layered song with a stomping Dodos-esque percussive heartbeat that picks up immediately where your last heartbreak left off.

MP3: "Unconsolable" - Ambassadors [exclusive]

TINY LITTLE WAVES OF THE FOREST.

We're pretty much all about the burgeoning Miami music scene - I mean, who hasn't been inspired by the sounds of the Miami since Will Smith first preached the city's gospel way back when? Born of the hot hot heat, palm trees and neon pastels of the Magic City are up and comers like Lil Daggers, Millionyoung and of course the amazing ANR, and if you haven't gotten lost in the very special jams of the latter to this point you need to make haste and do so immediately. ANR's debut album Stay Kids is chock full of psychedelic pop gems but none more epic than their STRAIGHT UP power ballad, "The Endless Field of Mercury." The track starts out sweet: choral arrangements and soft keys as far as the eye can see. Then come crashing waves of percussion and urgent vocals that put them somewhere between Yeasayer and Local Natives, and suddenly you've got a severe case of contagious elation on your hands. And though we posted the mp3 yesterday it gets better still - the music video is JUST as epic as the song and strikes the same angelic yet powerful chord - who knew that 1970's beauty pageants could be so affecting?

Then there's the live show, which takes things to another level entirely. Not since The Dodos have we witnessed a two piece unleash so much raw power and intensity on stage, as drummer/vocalist Michael-John Hancock and virtuoso keyboard/synth man Brian Robertson Not planning on heading to Miami any time soon? Worry not - we got you covered. Check them out at the next Popshop (tickets here) along side Walk The Moon and Savoir Adore next Thursday April 7th.

MP3: "The Endless Field of Mercury" - ANR

KEEP FROM THE BEGGARS OF BONES.

Boy & Bear formed barely two years ago but have wasted no time making waves in their native Australia and abroad, releasing their debut With The Emperor Antarctica EP with our friends at Chess Club last year. From the same school of larger-than-life folk as Chess Club alumni Mumford & Sons and Local Natives, B&B impress with a massively developed sound drawing from the pastoral harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and the Appalachian folk of Fleet Foxes. “Mexican Mavis” was the immense highlight of Emperor Antarctica and swiftly championed by iTunes as its Single of the Week last December, acting as the spell-binding focal point of its parent EP. Unsurprisingly, 2010 was an insane whirlwind of success for the group leading them to sell out their debut headlining tour of Australia before supporting the likes of Angus & Julia Stone as well as Laura Marling on both her Australian and UK tour, and since our beloved Mumford lads made ‘banjo’ a by-word for ‘platinum’, the industry heat around Boy & Bear has reached volcanic temperatures.

So we're pretty thrilled to have them booked to play our little (huge) New Shapes day party next Saturday before they fly off to record their debut album with Joe Chiccorelli (The Shins, My Morning Jacket, The White Stripes). Trust me when we say that you do not want to miss them live because those rich, textured harmonies and rustic, indelible melodies are just that much sweeter in the flesh. They take to the Acoustic Stage at 3:45pm, in between sure-to-be immense sets from Brother (3:20pm) and Grouplove (4:00pm) inside on the Electric Stage.

MP3: "Mexican Mavis" - Boy & Bear

And so with that reveal the picture of the full lineup becomes a bit clearer... here's the score thus far:

ELECTRIC STAGE
5:00pm: _______
4:00: Grouplove
3:20: Brother
2:40: Wolf Gang
2:00: _______
1:20: _______
12:40: _______
12:00: The Naked & Famous
11:20: _______

ACOUSTIC STAGE
4:40 Penguin Prison
3:45 Boy & Bear
3:05: _______
2:25: _______
1:45: _______
1:05: _______
12:25: _______
11:45: _______

Together with our New Shapes partners in crime Communion, Chess Club, Plugged In PR and MCT Management, we'll be bringing you more line up announcements throughout the rest of the weekend before the full lineup is revealed and RSVP opens on Monday. Stay close.

THIS HOUSE IS FALLING APART.

We hit Vegas for the bank holiday last weekend, and while listening to The Killers as we cruised into the Sin City was a little too cliche even for us, we found the next best thing in Walk The Moon via our friends at All Things Go. Formed in 2009 in Cincinnati over a mutual love of Local Natives and Animal Collective, they combine the nowhere town ambition and anthemic hooks of their aforementioned Sam's Town forefathers with an endearing Midwestern charm and a knack for addictive pop melodies. "Anna Sun" is the triumphant lead single off of their 2010 self-released full length debut i want! i want!, and with its stadium-sized chorus and brilliant accompanying music video it's one of the biggest songs we've heard from an unsigned band in an age, the kind of stuff British A&R dreams and major label bidding wars are made of. The band play NYC tonight at 9pm at Pianos, any A&R's who aspire to be good at their jobs might want to be in attendance.

MP3: "Anna Sun" - Walk The Moon

THIS IS GOING TO BE BIG.

Correction: this is going to be bigger than big. We've teamed up with Chess Club and GreenShoelace.com to put on what we hope to be one of the biggest parties of CMJ next week when we take over Santo's Party House (our favorite NYC venue) from 3pm-10pm Friday the 23rd. Two stages, 11 bands, drink specials galore, fresh DJ's, there's quite literally nothing more you could really ask for. Be there. Advance tickets are available now for $10, or cop yours for $12 on the door. Shit is about to get REALLY real.

UPSTAIRS
5:00pm: Alessi's Ark // MP3: "Simple Man"
6:00pm: Chief // MP3: "Mighty Proud"
7:00pm: Yes Giantess // MP3: "Tuff N Stuff"
8:00pm: Local Natives // MP3: "Airplanes"
9:00pm: Theophilus London // MP3: "Sandcastles" (Black x Blue)

DOWNSTAIRS
3:30pm: (The) Tony Castles // MP3: "Pirates"
4:30pm: Darwin Deez // MP3: "Bad Day" [expired]
5:30pm: Evan Voytas // MP3: "Getting Higher"
6:30pm: Body Language // MP3: "Huffy Ten Speed"
7:30pm: Baby Monster // MP3: "Curses"
8:30pm: Boy Crisis // MP3: "Dressed To Digress" (Demo)

Presale tickets are available HERE. Don't sleep, we're expecting a serious turn out for this one.

TAUNTING GESTURES.

Last February saw Local Natives emerge from SXSW as the toast of the festival and thus one of the hottest new acts around, while the three tracks on offer on their myspace had the blogs abuzz and A&Rs on both sides of the pond scrambling for their checkbooks. Things have settled down a bit in recent months as fans eagerly await more material from the band, but having wrangled ourselves a copy of the already completed debut record Local Natives are shopping to labels we can assure you the wait is worth it. Proof arrives in "Sun Hands", which will be finding it's way onto the shelves of all good record stores next month when our top bros at Chess Club make it the latest in their long line of phenomenal releases. A longtime live favorite, "Sun Hands" finds the Silverlake outfit at their most primal, all Yeasayer shouts and immense, visceral instrumentation as the track erupts in an explosive middle 8 before returning to the ethereal harmonies the band have made their calling card and easing to a peaceful conclusion.

MP3: "Sun Hands" - Local Natives

I WANT YOU BACK.

Of the hotly tipped bands at SXSW '09 only Local Natives and New Villager were both unsigned and previously unproven in the presence of industry types, and A&R's from New York and London packed out venues all week to see the much hyped West Coast acts for the first time. New Villager succumbed to poor sound systems and a heavy dependence on backing tracks, but Local Natives flourished in the spotlight, consistently dropping jaws all week long. Their forthcoming debut album, Gorilla Manor, walks the line between The Dodos and Cold War Kids with rollicking percussion and melodies to die for, and if the response so far is any indication the Silverlake five-piece are going to have A&R's crawling all over one another trying to lock them down them in the months to come.

MP3: "Airplanes" - Local Natives

// NAVIS //