2014 Hype: GEMS

GEMS are another duo I'm featuring as part of my series of posts on hype acts for this year, and like Say Lou Lou you'll find a certain dreamy sound at play.

GEMS are Clifford Usher and Lindsay Pitts, who formed the band in Washington DC in 2012. Their Medusa EP is a great introduction to their sound. With a focus on cautiously exposed melodies and reverb-drenched bass and beats there is a crystalline feel to GEMS' sound. Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Pitts spends the majority of her time wrapping her vocals around the sparse soundscapes the duo create together and there is a haunting minimalism to their production style - foggy and dense yet brittle and fragile.

△▽ Official video for Pegasus, from the 'Medusa' EP.

For a debut release Medusa is a considerable achievement. GEMS have just released a cover of Seal's Don't Cry on Soundcloud and you can download it for free if you sign up to their mailing list. Check out the video to Pegasus above or stream the Medusa EP in full on Soundcloud below:

Subscribe to our email list and get a free download of Medusa UN₡U₮: eepurl.com/puIUP www.gems-band.com/ www.facebook.com/GEMSband instagram.com/gemsband/

2014 Hype: Say Lou Lou

The next act in my list of hype acts for 2014 are the Australian / Swedish duo Say Lou Lou. Twin sisters Elektra and Miranda Kilbey were born to an Australian father and Swedish mother in Australia, but grew up with periods in both of their parent's homelands. And you can kind of tell... 

And that is because there is just a touch of the electronic cool you hear in the production style across much of the Modular label, for example, but it is applied to a dreamy style of pop music that feels distinctly Scandanavian. We are in deep dream wave territory here - moments of maudlin and bewitching melodies combined with catchy new wave synth hooks, and others of uplifting and irresistible power ballads. It's a little like last year's darlings Haim (yes, sisters again) woke up with a tearful hangover and a bunch of Beach House and Echo and the Bunnymen albums for inspiration. In my book that's a pretty good thing.

Expect the album in the middle of the year, but the girls clearly aren't in a hurry. Having released their debut on Kitsuné in 2012 they have since formed their own label à Deux and are releasing through that, suggesting creative freedom is a key driver.

Start with the In The Dark EP and their cover version of Tame Impala's Feels Like We Only Go Backwards, both below:

Out now on Columbia / à Deux records worldwide. Download here: http://smarturl.it/mBITD?IQid=sc 7" vinyl available here: http://smarturl.it/BITDvinyl?IQid=sc 1. Better In The Dark 2. Beloved 3. Better In The Dark (@tigerandwoods remix) 4. Better In The Dark (Hygrade remix) 5.

We've always loved Tame impala, not only because they're a fantastic Australian band, but because it also hints at music we listened to growing up. There is something sweetly familiar and nostalgic about the music, yet still fresh and innovative. "Feels Like We Only Go Backwards" is really enthralling, it's like there are several different worlds inside one song.

There's a stack more worth checking out on Say Lou Lou's SoundCloud page, including their excellent track Julian.

Stream: Concrete Waves - Kendra Morris

I'm currently compiling a list of some of the artists I'm most hyped for in 2014 and over the coming weeks I'll try and highlight a few. You can check out my Spotify playlist where I'll be adding some of the best music from artists I'm tipping for the year.

One would never expect such a rich and mighty voice to emerge from Kendra Morris's petite frame. Her potency as a singer and performer grew from a...

First up is Kendra Morris, whose Concrete Knives EP is out on 20 January through Naive Records but already available to stream online. There's a loose, bluesy feel to Concrete Knives - Lauren Laverne likened it to David Holmes when she played this out on her 6 Music show and she's not wrong. There's a lovely gritty 70s fuzzy soul to Kendra's style that provides a contrast to her smooth vocals.

Check out the full EP on Spotify, complete with a rougher remix of the title track from DJ Premier: