GOLD019: THE NAKED + FAMOUS

Last month we pulled back the curtain on our favorite track of the year and quite possibly the biggest single we've ever released, so we're pleased to announce that the Young Blood 7" from The Naked & Famous is now available for preorder from the Neon Gold Shop and our friends at Puregroove. Like Passion Pit if they fucked with guitars and had an anthem-of-a-generation like "Kids" or "Sweet Disposition" in their arsenal, "Young Blood" is a breath of fresh air, a wistful celebration of the ephemeral pleasures of youth. Built around an amazing central riff of heavily-affected guitars, the song soars on the wings of singer Alisa Xayalith's urgent vocals, their breathless innocence juxtaposed sharply against the ominous rumble of the overdriven bass that lies beneath the song's surface.

Sporting beautiful cover art courtesy of our heroes over at Special Problems (who also directed the song's flawless video) and rounded out by an epic cover of fellow New Zealand rockers The Mint Chicks' "Crazy? Yes. Dumb? No.", the release is out September 6th and we couldn't be more excited. Remixes are also on the way from The Sound of Arrows (amazing), Pink Ganter (amazing), Chiddy Bang (AMAZING) and more. We posted the original with the amazing Special Problems-directed video last month, but here's the radio edit for the completionists among you or the ADHD set who just can't quite handle the immense gravity of that drawn-out middle eight.

MP3: "Young Blood" (Radio Edit) - The Naked & Famous [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

NEVER GROWING UP.

Just in time for summer, Chiddy Bang roll through with one of the first block party anthems of the season. Sampling one of the biggest hits of the blog era is a surefire way to get your name out there, but any attempts to pass Chiddy Bang's remix of "Kids" off as anything less than amazing fall flat once that chopped up synth sample drops and the beat takes off. The MGMT original was the soundtrack to thousands of late summer nights last year and spawned just as many remixes, but Chiddy Bang's effort sits head and shoulders above the rest and establishes them as ones to watch in the months to come. Only just wrapping up their first year of college in Philadelphia, the hip hop sensations-in-waiting already have a handful of sick tracks in their repertoire, and if they can follow up their ace remix work with some solid originals of their own they'll be a force to reckon with before the year is out. Recognize.

MP3: "Kids" - Chiddy Bang

// Kirk Hansen //

DREAMT IT DRY.

To be perfectly honest, we don't love "The Reeling", the lead single off of Passion Pit's forthcoming Manners, but that's really only because we've been spoiled by the rest of the tracks compiled on their amazing debut full length. The recently unveiled video, on the other hand, is most definitely something to write home about. Perhaps the finest music video we've seen all year, the clip was directed by the Humble collective and filmed at the Delancey, also known as the LES home to our infamous (not really) Neon Gold parties. The video finds the band flanked by girls way too hot for them to feasibly be hanging out with and immersed in a world of distressed, animated paper as Michael belts out the chorus of his most vulnerable anthem from behind a mask of paper mache and torn up gig flyers. Deep, bro.

Regardless of your stance on "The Reeling" you should probably go ahead and start getting extremely excited about the otherworldly pleasures in store for you on their debut LP, out on Frenchkiss Records and Columbia UK next month. Let's just put it this way, if "Little Secrets" doesn't light up the airwaves as this summer's "Electric Feel", then frankly we don't know what will. Here's a hot-shit remix the dudes dropped for touring pals Ra Ra Riot to ease the wait.

MP3: "Ghost Under Rocks" (Passion Pit Mix) - Ra Ra Riot

// Humble //

FRESH TO DEATH AND DRESSED TO DIGRESS.

Bros to the end with MGMT from their days together at Wesleyan, Boy Crisis make sexy dance music with even sexier lyrics. They might actually be the most clever lyricists in the game right now and as tracks like "Dressed To Digress" and "L'Homme" prove in spades, they're on some seriously next level shit. "Digress" is the first track out of the gates, available for free download on their MySpace for a minute now, and I'd be surprised if a properly produced version wasn't making whatever label they end up on very happy as a killer single in six months or so. In the meantime, they're debut release will be a 7" single for "L'Homme" (hear the demo on their MySpace now), out on the consistantly brilliant Chess Club imprint in November. For now, here's "Dressed To Digress", but keep an eye on this space as the new version of "L'Homme" sounds phenomenal and the Chess Club gentlemen have been very kind in servicing us with exclusives in the past...

MP3: "Dressed To Digress" - Boy Crisis

Passion Pit play their biggest show yet tonight at the Bowery Ballroom opening for/stealing thunder from French Kicks. It probably won't quite sell out, so come down, get blown away by the consuming technicolor sound of their live show and buy a 7" from us in person. Seriously, do it.

// Saul Bass //

GOLD001: PASSION PIT

Welcome. We are a boutique record label in New York City and we release 7” vinyl singles by bands we think need to be heard. Beyond that we promote club nights, DJ parties, scout for record labels, rock college radio and I guess we blog too. Here we'll keep you posted on all things Neon Gold, as well as do our best to bring your attention to other people - some friends, some not - making music that excites us. First matter of business is obviously this record we've got coming out next week by your new favorite band, Passion Pit. It's a double A-side vinyl single featuring "Sleepyhead" and "Better Things", two of the strongest tracks to hit the airwaves all year with everyone from the NME to Radio One already hailing them as the second coming. Thus, we're pretty thrilled to be bringing their first ever proper release into the world on September 8th. Our friends over at Transparent Magazine described the synth-heavy technicolor glory of "Sleepyhead" as "an enchanted forest fire that's coming to burn your town to cinders", and we think that suits it pretty well. Not to be outdone, "Better Things" shines on side two, all shouty group vocals and infectious dance beats, like the Jackson 5 covering MGMT or maybe the other way around. We're feeling generous, so here's a free download of "Sleepyhead" to whet your appetites.

MP3: "Sleepyhead" - Passion Pit

Available on pre-order now from the Neon Gold Shop, the 7" features some seriously excellent artwork from Germany's FRAUGRAU and is strictly limited to 1000 copies, 500 for the US and 500 for the UK. UK and International customers can get the record directly from our friends at Puregroove, who we're excited to have on board as the exclusive overseas dealer for all things Neon Gold. And while we're shouting out collaborators we just need to express an unspeakable amount of gratitude to Michael Wenzel, who handled all the web development for Neon Gold's entire online presence. Dude rocks shit coding for MTV Networks and other next-level projects and still programmed everything for us for free simply for the love of the music.

Among other things to keep on your radar is our official website (mainly because it's nice to look at) and our Facebook page for anyone who wants to make sure they're 1000% on top of their shit when it comes to all things Neon Gold. Oh and be our friend on MySpace, we're just kicking it with Tom right now and it's getting a little awkward. And last but not least, if you really love us you can consider donating at this link (or by pressing the button on the right sidebar). The entire Neon Gold team (all two of us) are still scraping by as college students hemorrhaging rent money and this record label shit ain't cheap, so throw us some dollars if you're feeling lucrative and want to help us continue to bring you good music in the years to come (and if you're like us and too broke to help anyone out but yourself it's okay, we completely understand).

So yeah, cheers all around. Here's to better things and we hope you enjoy the ride every bit as much as we're planning to.