I WON'T LET YOU DOWN.

In the spring of 2009 we put on the debut London show of a then-unknown band called Egyptian Hip Hop. Barely out of high school at the time, it was seriously early days for the Mancunian four piece but there was no denying the ridiculous potential on display. Now just over a year on, they still have the best name in the game and have put out their debut single with our friends at Hit Club, collaborated with the likes of Late of the Pier and Hudson Mohawke, and are currently readying their debut EP Some Reptiles Developed Wings for release on Moshi Moshi, esteemed purveyors of the finest new music the world has to offer since the beginning of time. With Mohawke at the helm on production duties, it's all brassy 80's synths and thick basslines, the sound of one of the most ambitious new bands in England harnessing their boundless creative energy and channeling it into a 3-minute gem of precocious pop perfection.

MP3: "Moon Crooner" - Egyptian Hip Hop

BETTER WITH YOU.

Finland's Villa Nah first entered our lives last summer when "Ways To Be" wound up stuck on repeat on the office stereo for a solid month via their debut VN EP, yet somehow it never found it's way onto the blog. Fortunately after locking themselves in the studio for the past 10 months, the group are back with their debut album, Origin, and "Ways To Be" is back in our lives for good. Out now via Moshi Moshi on an AA-side 7" with the equally brilliant "Running On" on the flipside, the track is one of the best of the year, all synthesized 80's melancholy and timeless pop songwriting. Connoisseurs of haunting electronic pop, Villa Nah join the likes of Royksopp, The Knife and Kleerup as they evolve into viable heirs to the Scandinavian disco throne, and "Ways To Be" - already crowned Song of the Year at Finland's Dance Awards last month - is a massive first step in the right direction.

MP3: "Ways To Be" - Villa Nah

YOU STILL SLEEP WITH YOUR BACK TO ME.

We’re back in NYC for our final year of uni with more time to care for the blog than we’ve had while in London over the past few months, so we’re able to take a look back at some of the things we’ve loved all summer but just haven’t had the time to show love to.

Enter The Drums, a band we’ve been spinning since they initially sent ripples through the industry with their NYC live debut at Popfest last May. They’re just now breaking into the tastemaker consciousness with their debut single out on Moshi Moshi now and their Summertime! mini-album to follow next month, and the blogs are abuzz with praise for their breezy summer anthem “Let’s Go Surfing”. It’s the logical single for them given their SURF 4 LIFE aesthetic and their sunny Floridian heritage, but it’s unheralded demo “Me And The Moon” that’s got our hearts aflutter. With no foreseeable release (it’s been left off both the single and upcoming mini-album) we fear it may never see the light of day, so enjoy it below and watch the band take off in the months to come.

MP3: "Me And The Moon" (Demo) - The Drums

FIND YOURSELF A NEW BOY.

CMJ had no shortage of highlights, but perhaps the best pairing of the week came when two of the UK's finest new electro acts, The Whip and Late of the Pier, made their stateside debuts at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last Wednesday. Between the mechanical brilliance of the Whip's crushing synths and the over-the-top spectacle of Late of the Pier, it was one of the more lethal one-two punches the week had on tap and another reminder of just how many untouchable singles the Pier's Fantasy Black Channel has to offer. The way in which the shockingly young four-piece recontextualize familiar parts - the Gary Numan synths and Zeppelin-esque chorus of "Bathroom Gurgle", the Hendrix-inspired guitar breakdown of "Heartbeat" - in a wholly original new setting is amazing on record and something even more special to behold live, and you get the feeling this is a band who's only just begun to tap into their seemingly boundless potential. And speaking of "Bathroom Gurgle", the single that served as the band's schizophrenic statement of intent when they burst onto the scene with Moshi Moshi a year ago saw a beefed up re-release this week complete with a flurry of big name remixes. Enjoy its fruits in the form of Filthy Dukes' faithful reimagination of the track below.

MP3: "Bathroom Gurgle" (Filthy Dukes Remix) - Late of the Pier

// Signalnoise //