It's the Supersound

At long last, we're thrilled to bring you our very first Neon Gold Tour, a powerhouse mini-tour launching in NYC at Popshop on March 1st and wrapping up at SXSW at the official Neon Gold Records showcase two weeks later. Headlining are our resident partystarters The Knocks, with support from our beloved dreamers Savoir Adore and our very first albums signing (!!!) St. Lucia. That's right, we're very proud to announce the amazing and talented St. Lucia as our first albums signing, but more on that next week.

For now, it's all about gearing up for our biggest live undertaking yet, as we bring together three of our favorite bands in the game and set them loose on the unsuspecting masses of the eastern seaboard. And if we missed your town on this run, worry not, this tour will be the first of many. Tickets for all shows (except Trinity College) are on sale now and can be found at our new Neon Gold ticketing hub HERE. We'll have a few special guests joining the tour in various cities, and if you're in NYC you're going to want to get your tickets NOW because we've got one hell of a special guest headliner lined up for the launch party, and tickets will sell out overnight once the cat's out of the bag. Consider this fair warning. Full dates and audio below:

March 1st -- NYC -- Santos Party House (POPSHOP014)
March 2nd -- Boston -- Middle East Downstairs
March 3rd -- Trinity College -- The Mill
March 6th -- DC -- U Street Music Hall
March 7th -- Philadelphia -- The Blockley
March 8th -- Savannah -- Savannah Stopover
March 11th -- Atlanta -- Masquerade

STREAM: "R.O.Y.L." - The Knocks

DOWNLOAD: "We Got It Wrong" - St. Lucia


DOWNLOAD: "Dreamers" - Savoir Adore

We've been waxing poetic on our undying love for Savoir Adore's "Dreamers" since first announcing it last month, but the B-side - a rightfully ambitious Xaphoon Jones remix - plays in a completely different ballpark, one where there's no such thing as gravity or limits. This re-imagination is "Dreamers" on steroids, starting with the crescendoing whirr of interstellar rocket engines powering up and Paul Hammer's swooning vocals setting the scene for a 2011: A Space Horn Odyssey. Then, just as you're bracing yourself for the laser beam synths of the original to drop in, Xaph drops those motherfucking SPACE HORNS on you and the rest is history. So cop your 7" here, get your download on below and celebrate the "Dreamers" release day in style. It's 11.11.11 y'all, the dream is real.

MP3: "Dreamers" (Xaphoon Jones Space Horn Remix) - Savoir Adore [exclusive]

   

El próximo 11/11/11 saldrá un 7” de Savoir Adore en Neon Gold Records titulado Dreamers. Savoir Adore es un duo de Brooklyn haciendo música deliciosa y como prueba de eso les dejo la rola que le da nombre al release “Dreamers” así como el teaser, enjoy.

   

♩ Savoir Adore - Dreamers

We've been on about Savoir Adore for quite a while now, who in the past twelve months have gone from one of our favorite new bands in Brooklyn to our absolute favorite boy-girl duo in the game, swiftly overshadowing your Mates of States and even your Matt + Kims of the world. And that was even before they unleashed "Dreamers", their masterstroke of a new single and arguably the best song we've heard all year. It's a SPECIAL track, so it's with great pleasure that we bring it into the world next month on Neon Gold, just in time for it to become your most essential track of autumn 2011.

It opens innocuously enough, as the crescendo emerges gradually from the ominous mists of the intro, before the synths drop with the full centripetal force of a rollercoaster, swooping in and around staccato guitar picks and frontman Paul Hammer's ethereal vocals. Then at the chorus, it's lady vocalist Deidre Muro's turn, as the synths let up and give her center stage before returning with all the emotional gravity of a thousand heartbreaks in the second verse. It all reaches a fever pitch in the middle eight, as this palpable combination of dreamweaving harmonies, self-assured handclaps, and textured synths come together to play out like a slow-burning cinematic threesome. From there, "Dreamers" builds and builds like a stairway to synth heaven and once you've reached the top, there's just no turning back.

It's a timeless slice of ethereal pop brilliance and one of our absolute favorite tracks of the year, and we hope it'll be yours too. Limited to 300 copies worldwide, "Dreamers" comes true 11.11.11, complete with an empire-toppling space horn remix from Xaphoon Jones on the B-side. Preorder is available from the Neon Gold Shop now, but as were strong believers in instant gratification, you can find a free download of the mp3 right here, no waiting required. Go ahead, live the dream.

MP3: "Dreamers" - Savoir Adore [exclusive]

So there's a new thing. It's called Neon Gold TV, and it'll be coming your way next month as the latest expansion of our lil' empire with a launch party popping off September 28th at Tammany Hall, because the only thing we love more than new ventures is the launch parties that accompany them. Plus, with next month's Popshop not arriving until CMJ week in mid-October (well worth the wait though, TRUST), throwing you another amazing show to tide you over in the meantime was the least we could do.

We love music videos more than life itself, so we've started to commission a few of our own as part of a new series of Neon Gold TV sessions that we've been working on over the past few months. And what better way to celebrate than with a launch party starring Reptar, the subjects of our first ever NGTV session in their first ever NYC headline play. They'll be coming straight over from Terminal 5 after their early set opening for Foster The People to do it even bigger in the headline slot at Tammany, with support coming from our beloved Savoir Adore and DJ B-Roc of The Knocks on the ones and twos all night long. And of course it wouldn't be a Neon Gold party without an open bar deal, so get down early to take advantage of complimentary vodka from 9pm-10pm.

It's all going down Wednesday, September 28th at Tammany Hall, with $5 advance tickets now on sale HERE. Or you could hold out for $10 tickets on the door, but with a bill like this and an advance sale price like that tickets are bound to go fast. Our last launch party with Grouplove in June was a sell out and one of the most special shows we've ever put on, and this one has all the makings of another epic so run, don't walk, over to NeonGold.tv and cop your tickets before they're all gone.

10:00pm: Savoir Adore // DOWNLOAD: "Bodies"

11:00pm: Reptar // DOWNLOAD: "Stuck In My Id"

Yes, you read the header correctly: a festival. Having spent the summers of our youth growing up on Martha's Vineyard, we've always dreamed of bringing a music festival to the island and next month we take one step closer to making that dream a reality. Enter Stars + Stripes Fest, a new annual "festival" we're bringing to Martha's Vineyard this July 4th weekend together with our friends at NUE Agency, featuring an all-star lineup of Neon Gold favorites in Savoir Adore, French Horn Rebellion, The Knocks and Chiddy Bang headlining. Sure, it's more of a mini-festival right now, but it's a jumping off point for what we hope to grow annually into a summer staple for New Englanders and - let's be real - that lineup is kind of insane.

Furthermore, it's all for a great cause, with 100% of the proceeds going to benefit the newly completed Martha's Vineyard YMCA, dedicated to providing a community center for the Island population and fostering the youth of Martha's Vineyard through social programs for all ages. The YMCA is an important year-round presence on an island that - despite it's reputation as an affluent vacation destination and tourist hotspot - remains one of the poorest counties in Massachusetts and much of the Atlantic Northeast, and with the proceeds raised by Stars + Stripes we hope to finally be able to give back to the community that gave us so much in our formative years.

It's all happening Saturday, July 2nd at Nectar's MV from 9pm until late, with advance tickets available now from EventBrite for $30 at the dedicated Stars + Stripes page HERE. Basically, it's going to be the best party we've ever thrown (need we remind you of the line up?), and those of you still looking for the perfect way to spend your July 4th weekend just had your weekend sorted in a big way. Set times and mp3s below, time to go large for America y'all.

09:15pm: Savoir Adore // DOWNLOAD: "Bodies"

10:00pm: French Horn Rebellion // DOWNLOAD: "This Moment"

10:45pm: The Knocks // DOWNLOAD: "Dancing With The DJ"

11:30pm: Chiddy Bang // DOWNLOAD: "All Over" (ft. Gordon Voidwell)

Savoir Adore are kind of the most adorable band in the game and they prove their eternally endearing qualities once again with new track "Sparrow," yet another promising step towards a potentially brilliant second album after the unveiling of "Loveliest Creature" earlier this year. While the Brooklyn dreampop crusaders have always reminded us of Stars, under the light of "Sparrow" (which they've been so kind to give us the exclusive premier for below) they seem cut from a more classic americana cloth - sweet without being saccharin and catchy as fuck.

Spastic drums and fuzzed out guitars ground the song's ethereal levity, while understated synths sparkle in the distance and round out the track's breezy melancholy. Exceedingly infectious - as is usually the name of the game with Savoir - the track puts them in line with some of America's great pop duos. Could Deidre and Paul (not that they're "together" per se) be 2011 indie pop's answer to Sonny and Cher? Or maybe Tammy Terrell and Marvin Gaye? But you know, less dramatic... and white? Come on out to Popshop next Thursday and judge for yourself, tickets still on sale here but going fassst.

MP3: "Sparrow" - Savoir Adore [exclusive]

With the dust settled on SXSW and everyone finally beginning to feel human again, it's time to get back in the New York groove with another round of amazing live music at Popshop, coming at you hard and fast on April 7th. We've got the hottest new band in the game and the toast of SXSW 2011 headlining in Walk The Moon, with support from starry eyed Brooklyn dreamweavers Savoir Adore and Miami's finest ANR. Then as per usual we've got Absolut bringing the drink specials early with 2-for-1 drinks from 8pm-9pm, plus Lightwaves lighting up the decks all night long.

You should have the hang of this by now, but as always it's going down the first Thursday of the month at Tammany Hall (152 Orchard between Stanton and Rivington) in the LES, and tickets are available HERE. We're also making the show FREE after midnight (space permitting), for those of you who hate live instruments but still want to get your dance on with Lightwaves until the early hours. And just a reminder - the first three Popshops all sold out in advance, so GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY. It breaks our heart to see people turned away at the door, so please save everyone the emotional anguish and don't sleep on this one. Set times and downloads/streams below, see you next Thursday.

09:00pm: ANR // DOWNLOAD: "Endless Fields of Mercury"

10:00pm: Savoir Adore // STREAM: "Bodies"

11:00pm: Walk The Moon // DOWNLOAD: "Anna Sun"

12:00am: Lightwaves // DOWNLOAD: "Loveliest Creature" (Lightwaves Remix)

There's a new thing. Lightwaves is the name, and the sound is some of the freshest electronic pop coming out of NYC at the moment. Our introduction comes by way of his debut remix, for Brooklyn darlings Savoir Adore's brilliant new single "Loveliest Creature" (cop the beautiful original here), in which Lightwaves and Savoir come together under the trees, lost amidst an enchanted forest of sprightly synths and neon fairy lights. Catch Lightwaves on the decks at Popshop next week in his NYC debut.

MP3: "Loveliest Creature" (Lightwaves Remix) - Savoir Adore [exclusive]

Savoir Adore are quietly becoming one of our favorite bands in New York City, as they continue to rise to prominence as one of this town's best up and coming live acts and purveyors of the highest standard of boy-girl fronted indie pop. Having first hooked us with 2009's In The Wooded Forest LP and it's triumphant single "Bodies", the Brooklyn four-piece continue to shine on new single "Loveliest Creature". Standing out as the sterling highlight of their recent set at our CMJ showcase last month (complete with its own choreographed routine), they've since made the track available for free download as their new single. Recalling the best moment of Stars' cherished catalog, it's a much-welcomed addition to our fall playlist at Neon Gold HQ, its understated natural beauty complimenting the change of seasons perfectly.

MP3: "Loveliest Creature" - Savoir Adore