HARD TO IMAGINE.

There's something about Sweden's Little Majorette that's deceptively brilliant. Frontwoman Zoe Durrant's voice is unthreateningly whisper-soft, sometimes infantilized even, bringing to mind fellow Scandinavian heartbreakers, Flunk. We first fell for Durrant in her previous project Havana Guns - whose debut single "She Always Goes Down" briefly won over our hearts and minds before their breakup back in 2006 - but with Little Majorette she's back and better than ever, joined by musicians Petter Winnberg and Nils Tornqvist, who also moonlight as musicians in Miike Snow's touring band.



In "Never Be The Same", Durrant's vocals provide the perfect distraction from the suspicious piano chords ominously crescendoing under the dark electronic shadow of the song's intro, anxiety building as the synths crawl closer and you brace yourself for the jump scare around the corner that never comes. That is, until the massive gang vocal chorus drops and an avalanche of Miike Snow-sized synths from the coldest Arctic winter fall from the sky above. Then just as you think the coast is clear, they unleash one of the most chillingly amazing keys riffs we've ever heard, almost classical in its design as it spirals up, up and away into the cold night air as the song reaches its twilight. And just like that, Little Majorette burst onto the scene out of nowhere with one of our favorite singles of the year. Shock and awe.



MP3: "Never Be The Same" - Little Majorette

YOU WERE MY FAVOURITE GHOST.

We dropped the first official offering from the rather amazing Clare Maguire in the form of "Strangest Thing" last month, and now we've got an official Bloodshy & Avant remix courtesy of our friends at NME Radar. We doubt this was originally conceived as a remix given how well it works as an alternate single version of the track, but regardless we're pretty enamored with it. With an instrumental that wouldn't be out of place in the catalog of Miike Snow - with whom Bloodshy & Avant moonlight as two-thirds of the band's creative core - the track's semi-tropical bounce stands in sharp contrast to the stark drama of the original arrangement, but it's a nice alternate version that's a more than welcome addition to our late summer playlist at Neon Gold HQ.

MP3: "Strangest Thing" (Bloodshy & Avant Version) - Clare Maguire

BLUE FLOWERS HITS NYC.

We've mentioned Blue Flowers - the legenedary West London club night turned singles labe - before in these pages, and we're over the moon to announce our upcoming collaboration with them as they seek to launch the Blue Flowers brand in NYC. The original night quickly became West London's premier club night and saw everyone from Jamie T and Noah & The Whale to Adele and Laura Marling cutting their teeth on its hallowed stage, and now the NYC night promises to showcase the best new talent from both sides of the Atlantic. Launching June 20th with Neon Gold favorites The Maccabees headlining and support from Miike Snow and Hatcham Social, their new venture is already off to a hugely promising start. Not only has Music Hall of Williamsburg, New York's best large-scale venue, signed on to host the proceedings, but we'll also be rocking the Neon Gold room downstairs all night long with an elite crop of DJ's dropping the jams until 3 AM. Olmec and Body Language will be getting things started early, with Friends With Benefits and Shuttle (formerly Etan) keeping things moving until the early hours. Get ready NYC.

MP3: "The Reeling" (Miike Snow Remix) - Passion Pit