POPSHOP. THIS THURSDAY. IT'S HAPPENING.

Hope everyone's getting some solid recovery time in this week from New Year's Eve and the holiday break because we're about to do it all over again this Thursday at POPSHOP (only... bigger?). It's all popping off at 8pm with two-for-one cocktails courtesy of Absolut, then BRAHMS and French Horn Rebellion tearing it up at 9 and 10 respectively, before MNDR hits the stage for her headlining set at 11pm. Then Chiddy Bang's own Xaphoon Jones will be taking us until the early hours on the ones and twos with enough hot jams to reduce the dancefloor of Tammany Hall to smoldering ash by dawn. Entry is on a first-come-first-serve basis for the first hour and as the venue approaches capacity we'll only be allowing in names from our RSVP list, so be sure to RSVP at POPSHOP@neongoldrecords.com to make sure you're covered. And now for something to set the tone for the evening, the amazing Twelves radio edit of French Horn Rebellion's signature jam "Beaches & Friends", a track we can't wait to hear live again on Thursday after it absolutely destroyed the Brooklyn Electronic Music Festival a few weeks back.

MP3: "Beaches & Friends" (The Twelves Radio Edit) - French Horn Rebellion

BLUE SKIES ARE COMING.

Last summer Noah & The Whale delighted the music listening public with their endearing brand of happy-go-lucky folk pop, charming their way into the the Top 10 on the UK singles and albums charts - with "Five Years Time" and Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down respectively - and surprising everyone as one of the year's most unexpected runaway successes. Now, barely a year later they're back with their second album, but anyone expecting a faithful sequel to their debut is in for something of a rude awakening.

We got an advance listen just after the album's completion last spring, and what we heard was the sound of the band boldly stepping out in a new direction away from that which made them the whimsical darlings of the pop world. The result is a sophomore album that's a veritable seachange from it's predecessor. First Days of Spring is a classic heartbreak record full of dark, orchestral ballads of hurt and healing, no doubt attributable to the dissolution of frontman Charlie Fink's relationship with Laura Marling last year. There's a tension between a tangible darkness that hangs over the record and the hopefulness of new beginnings throughout, and lead single "Blue Skies" is a brilliant example of this.

More than just an album, First Days of Spring is also a film written and directed by Fink, the trailer of which doubles as a music video for the single and can be found above. Sweetening the deal even further is the rather impressive (not to mention surprising) remix package for "Blue Skies", highlighted by the amazing Twelves mix, which goes down as another massive win from the Brazilian remix maestros.

MP3: "Blue Skies" (The Twelves Remix) - Noah & The Whale