Kodaline shows love-related anguish in "Honest"

Round up a stellar 2014, Kodaline return with the music video for new single "Honest," the lead single from the Irish alternative rock quartet's upcoming sophomore album, "Coming Up For Air," will be released on February 9. Kodaline exploded in Europe last year when their debut LP "In A Perfect World" produced a string of emotional soft-rock in the best possible way anthems documenting mournful tales of love and loss.
For all intents and purposes, "Honest," is a song about communication. This makes a whole lot of sense, since misunderstood communication usually stems from insufficient frankness and dishonesty. The Jacknife Lee-produced track, due for release on February 1st, finds the Dublin-based rockers in something of a bad mood. While "Honest" certainly has more of an edge than their previous hits with its sharp lyrics and angry guitars, Kodaline still throws in a soaring chorus and stays true to their whimsical stadium-rock sound.
Influenced by a pure and more clean sound, with more depth in their lyrics, "Say what you want to say/ but if you lie to me again/ I'll be the one who walks away/ is it in you to be honest?" bolstered by a huge-sounding, buzzy synth line, are resolute, yet somehow oddly uplifting, as the chords change from minor to major. This shift feels especially nice, as the verses are purposely minor, indicating conflict. It's a towering rock anthem that oozes earnest drama with its sensitive crooning and giant-sized crescendos. Is it in you to be honest? Check out the booming new video, which sees performance footage of the band mixed with moments of love-related anguish.

Hozier Leads a Life of Crime in "From Eden"

Hozier is known for his boundary-pushing music videos, and with his latest for "From Eden" the boundary in question is once again ethics and morality. As the 24-year-old Irish singer takes the family on a nice, carefree crime spree. It's a modern family bonding. The soulful tune is really mesmerizing and too pretty, and the cinematic clip is definitely an interesting watch and the final slow-motion shot is just heart-warming.
The uplifting indie-rock song "From Eden," is the official fourth single from Hozier's critically-acclaimed self-titled debut album, although it was originally included on the Irish musician's second EP also named "From Eden." The track is a simple love song, seemingly concerned with that time when love begins and a relationship is uncertain.
Hozier, who directed the video himself, takes us on a divergent visual path. He casts himself as the father figure in a young family of three who appear to be on a fun road trip until it becomes apparent that their gas stop is actually a stick-up and he runs out to the car with his approximately 5-year-old child and his significant other, with a paper bag full of money.
No firm back story is offered to the viewer, but between the hold up and the time the cops arrive at their home, we are treated to sunny visuals of a happy family, although clearly not well off, having a nice day together. This is not Bonnie & Clyde, this is the traditional, American nuclear family. It creates a disconcerting effect, in which you find yourself rooting for the criminals with absolutely no reason. In the end, Hozier goes to jail and his son is left without a father. Eden is left in jeopardy. The ending and supporting song make the video surprisingly tender. Again, a roller coaster of emotions here.

The 1975 Become Children Again in "Heart Out"

The 1975 have digressed a few decades to become children again and have have essentially copied them with kids playing the band on stage in the eerily familiar video for their new single "Heart Out," the final single and arguably one of the best tracks on English indie rock band's self-titled debut LP, which is a ruthlessly catchy and Accidentally Interesting album, quite possibly the most verse-chorus intensive pop-rock record since Andrew W.K.'s "I Get Wet."
Hailing from Manchester with successful hits like the ever-popular "Chocolate," The 1975 is becoming a more recognized indie-rock group with a growing fan base, and they are riding the hype train to the top. Frontman Matt Healy described his lyrics to The Guardian as "a genuine kind of diary." He added: "And that's the thing I'm really proud of in this album - it's me figuring myself out. Even the line in Heart Out - 'Your obsession with rocks and brown. And fu**ing the whole town...' I'm always talking about me, really."
The video begins in a bizarre, awkward fashion. As soon as it starts, the viewer is immediately transported to a middle school talent show. As one might expect from such an event, it all begins with a weird hip hop-dance performance by three young girls awkwardly with little rhythm and poor posture and some old dudes clapping, before a tween version of The 1975 take to the stage performing their recent single, much to the horror of the elderly onlookers. It's unique, almost creepy and a little bit weird, but that makes the whole ordeal that much more refreshing.
Receiving horrified stares from parents and adults in attendance, the clip comes to life through the excitement of a distinctly more youthful version of the band appearing in the show. The whole scene is put through the lens of their lofty dreams of becoming rock stars. They perform "Heart Out" in a cool, casual demeanor, and the youngsters don't seem to get distracted by the out-of-place spotlights, fog machines, and falling sparklers. Clearly unfazed by the fact that they're performing in a middle school auditorium, this version of The 1975 is everything a good rock group should be.

Bastille unveiled the haunting ballad "Oblivion"

Bastille have premiered a very beautifully haunting music video via MSN.com for their latest track, "Oblivion," the eighth and final single from the British quartet band's debut album "Bad Blood." The indie-rock ballad "Oblivion," is endlessly mysterious and now we have a perfect visual companion, which stars 18-year-old actress Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark in the HBO TV series "Game of Thrones," adapted from George R.R. Martin's novels.
Smith is a storyteller and a magnificent musician, and his music is a thrilling example of what great pop music can achieve. The beautiful part about "Bad Blood" is that it is both entirely predictable yet completely disarming. The exploration of any and all sounds; the delicate use of strings to heighten emotion, the touching piano-based "Oblivion." There are moments, instruments, timings, buried within his experimentation that take you entirely by surprise.
This is never more evident than in "Oblivion," which features little more than a piano and Smith sounding for all the world like he's standing in a desert staring at the night sky as he mournfully proclaims, "When oblivion is calling out your name/ You always take it further than I ever can." Smith and Bastille really deliver, ranging earworm choruses across the album. There's something 80s about the heart-swelling melodies of "Oblivion," but only because they evoke a-ha and Tears for Fears in their determination to be both catchy and muscular.
Beginning with Turner sitting in a room alone listening to "Flaws," a previous "Bad Blood" single, the Austin Peters-direvted clip follows Turner as she enters the middle of an empty rodeo arena. Going up to the microphone in front of an audience, Turner opens her mouth miming the lyrics to "Oblivion" and Smith's voice comes out before getting into her car to race at a very strange competition. It's a very simple video but the simple-ness really makes a good match with the deep ballad. the clip is a very simple and diverts from traditional "storytelling" and focuses more on provoking an emotional reaction, whatever that may be.

Arcade Fire debuts gay rights anthem "We Exist"

Arcade Fire released the inspirational and psychedelic music video for the poignant gay rights anthem "We Exist," by using their six-plus minutes of screen time to tell a haunting story about a young man’s struggle to come out in a small town, as we find "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" star Andrew Garfield plays a whole different kind of superhero by taking on one of the more unexpected, affecting roles of his career: a blonde-haired transgender woman in wig and dress, seeking a shred of solid ground.
"We Exist," conveys a message of self-empowerment and equality, comes from Canadian alternative rock band's fourth studio album, "Reflektor," which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart last October. This song was inspired by frontman Win Butler becoming a father, and also by an encounter with a gay teenager in Jamaica. The song was described by Butler as "about a gay kid talking to his dad" and coming out to his straight father. Introducing the song onstage, Butler also said that "the right to marry anyone you want is a human rights issue."
For the video, Garfield acts as this kid, who is trying to be himself in a world that won’t let him. Arcade Fire isn't quite done with the sensation of its headlining Coachella music festival set, judging by footage from its new video. The band shot the clip on and offstage when headlining this year's festival. It stars Garfield in an eerie white and pink drag costume as he hits up a roadhouse bar, where he defends himself against a hoard of violent drunks and embraces his destiny and dances up a solitary storm. Arcade Fire’s video is dedicated to those still looking to find their true self, even if the world doesn't want them to.
The clip starts off melancholy, with Garfield watching himself as he shaves his head and tries on a bra, eventually ending with him in tears. As the sun rises, he strolls down to the bar, where men leer aggressively at him and ask him to dance. After being escorted to the dance floor, he's groped, knocked to the ground and kicked in the chest. But what starts out as a hate crime ends with joy as Garfield's character to strike some Flashdance moves and walk through a tunnel into the real crowd at Coachella music festival and strikes a number of badass poses on stage with the band. It's a tense, riveting video that adds even greater depth to the already meaningful song's lyrics and throbbing synth-rock arrangement.

Lykke Li returned with "No Rest For The Wicked"

Those of you who like to abscond into depressing films like "Blue Valentine" are in for a treat. Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li returned with a story of intimacy and separation with the depressing video to her chest-thumping new single, "No Rest For The Wicked" the second single taken from her upcoming third studio album, "I Never Learn," due out May 6th via Atlantic. It is a beautifully shot film evokes the harsh emotional turmoil of a breakup and the subject matter of the new album, which Li wrote after a breakup.
Following on from the critically acclaimed album "Wounded Rhymes" in 2011, the 28-year-old songstress continues her strong push towards her "I Never Learn," the third part in a trilogy of her albums, which is full of big emotional ballads, and one of the biggest and most emotional is "No Rest For The Wicked." It follows "Love Me Like I'm Not Made Of Stone," revealed earlier this year. The first song we heard cut through with its aching minimalism, just a bleached voice and husky guitar. Now she follows up with the orchestral "No Rest For The Wicked."
Speaking about the song, the singer commented: "'No Rest For The Wicked' is the second song I wrote for 'I Never Learn.' I wrote it in Sweden when I was packing up my shit, and I'd just gotten out of a relationship and it was a horrible time. I just had the hurt, shame, sadness, guilt, longing. The vocal track, the take, is the demo. In the verse, I'm referring to myself pleading guilty but I'm referring to all of us." The song is a heart-wrenching tale of lost love. The video portrays Li's lyrics through its beautifully shot depiction of intimacy and separation, accompanied by the raw vocals and emotional harmonies.
Director Tarik Saleh is able to match the song's emotional weight through a story of two lovers torn apart due to external factors, as "No Rest for the Wicked" video pits Li amidst an interracial love affair, in which her seafaring lover comes and goes like the wind. There's a vintage wash over the three-and-a-half minute clip that recalls a director like Valentine's Derek Cianfrance, and a sense of isolation that rings true to the song's lyrical visuals. Sad music and interracial love surrounded by jerky-sustained hatred... you can see where this is going. Watch the drama unfold below.

Kaiser Chiefs walk up a path in "Coming Home"

Kaiser Chiefs recently released a new music video for their comeback single "Coming Home," the first official single to be lifted from British indie rock's forthcoming new album "Education, Education, Education & War," which marks a new era for the band and will be released in the UK on March 31 and in the US on April 1 via Universal Music. The return of English rock band Kaiser Chiefs is around the corner. After promoting the first buzz tracks "Misery Company" and "Bows & Arrows," the world is ready to enjoy its upcoming new album.
Some songs are made to fill summer stadiums as the last light falls over the crowd. Kaiser Chiefs' new single "Coming Home," a U2/Kings of Leon-ish stadium-sized ballad, is one of them. There's a softer flow to "Coming Home," with light synth chords and twinkling guitars. It's a bit like Mancunian mystics James, for all you gnarled veterans out there, and boasts a second singalong chorus on the trot ("We're coming home... light a fire") to prove once again that those chops are still intact, however hard will.i.am tries to infect frontman Ricky Wilson with his anti-joy miasma.
The 'one shot' promo was shot in the Yorkshire Dales, not far from the band's hometown, and was directed by James Slater who took the songtitle to heart in his latest video for Kaiser Chiefs. As he explained: "We shot the video in a jovially named place called Blubberhouses which is right on the southern cusp of the Yorkshire Dales, and not too far from where I'm from. Its also just up the road from where the band hail. I think we all just hankered after a bit of home cooking. I've never shot in Yorkshire before, I should do it more often. The landscapes are great and as soon as DOP Jonathan Isles put the anamorphic lens on, it looked like a Western setting."
The video features Wilson share a journeyman's trek, walk up a path in what looks like the English countryside as he strolling across moors, while various characters, including his bandmates are lined up along the pathway, and finishing up alongside his bandmates in deck chairs looking down the road. The meaning behind the small details of the video coordinate with the song, and are really rich here with Wilson's quality as a performer, embraces the band's laddish humor, and adds a welcome measure of theatricality to the whole affair.

The 1975 get nostalgic for "Settle Down"

The 1975 have unveiled a brand new video for latest single "Settle Down," the fifth UK single taken from the Manchester-based indie rock band's self-titled chart-topping debut album, which was released last fall. The video sees frontman Matthew Healy and the boys take a nostalgic approach this time around, and returning to their grim and dark black and white aesthetic present throughout most of The 1975's earlier videos after abandoning it for recent videos - the American movie vibe of "Sex" and the colorful pop feel of "Girls."
Manchester has a lot more to offer than a famous soccer team. This band also calls it home, and their magnetic energy is causing an excited reaction within music lovers everywhere. With their self-titled debut, The 1975 marked the arrival of a new British rock sound: something dark in imagery and storytelling but warm and pop-y in sound. Their seamless ability to connect with each other and the music is refreshing even now. Their honest electro-pop/rock music has a versatility similar to pop of the '80s. This trait has found a way into music in our day and made it hip again. Their album, and the song, "Settle Down," possesses a youthful vigor that is infectious.
This sensual track "Settle Down," is about the obsession Healy, has for the pop legend, finds he singing of an ill-advised relationship and the chaos that ensures. It was inspired by Michael Jackson, whom Healy has noted his admiration for in the past. The lyrics tell a tale of the nonsensical attraction between lovers and the chaos that ensues. It'll be hard to resist getting up out of your seat and not cracking a smile. The cheerful guitar riffs accompanied by the pulsating drums make for a song you just want to get lost in.
The accompanying video for "Settle Down" - documenting the minutiae of small town life - tells the story of two mysterious teenage boys, lost and troubled in a post-industrial rural village, who reveal supernatural powers. Healy's there, wandering out looking moody and observing proceedings before they take a peculiar twist before the end. It was shot in Redcar, Yorkshire and features various shots in and around the Northern England town. The video is sure to please the hardcore fans, after many didn't take issue with the nudity or drug use shown in the "Sex" video, but were disappointed the band had ditched the black and white aesthetic they have used since their early days.

Broken Bells explore space in 'Holding on for life'

Broken Bells, the indie rock duo of frontman James Mercer from The Shins and producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton, returned recently, and they've brought out some big guns and explored outer-space in an eponymous short film video for latest track "Holding On For Life," the lead single off the group's upcoming sophomore album "After The Disco," due for release on February 4. The video does have the larger scale that a film would. It contains impressive lighting, intense character story line and even plot development. The video has a retro feel but has modern elements that are brought in through the production of the music.
Accidentally channels Bee Gees, the indie-disco number finds vocalist Mercer channeling his inner Barry Gibb. "I was in the vocal booth and I was like, 'Let me try this falsetto thing,'" he recalled to NME. "But it was when we doubled the track that I was like, 'Oh my God, it's the f---ing Bee Gees! On a Shins record, that song would sound like a joke, but with Broken Bells, you change the context and it works really well." The single, "Holding On for Life," does feature a very unique sound. It combines indie influences with a futuristic background of guitars and electronica music.
Rolling Stone described the song as "a Bee Gees-like indie-disco number," a sentiment also expressed by NPR's Bob Boilen, who wrote that he "heard Bee Gees in something like this." In an interview with Boilen, Danger Mouse concurred with this comparison, saying, "It sounded kind of like the Bee Gees a little bit, but so what, the Bee Gees had some good choruses." Danger Mouse, who wrote the story, recently told Rolling Stone that the sort of retro vision of the future was inspired by watching old science-fiction movies. The duo challenged themselves to make a "Broken Bells" album in a vintage way, using minimal instruments over which Mercer would sing.
Directed by Jacob Gentry, the sci-fi-themed clip is a sequel to a previously released "Angel and the Fool" video and both of which starring Anton Yelchin and actress Kate Mara. The clip makes for a taut yet open-ended storyline about a human and a spacewoman fall in love and the side effects of inhaling vapors in a space helmet at a party. It finds its lovelorn lead characters in astronaut suits at a smoky space party where looks are deceiving. The duo are visible as spirit guides throughout the video, donning some very sharp Star Trek-ish unitards. It's a great piece of weird, disjointed sci-fi filmmaking well worth to watch.

Jake Bugg laments in "A Song About Love"

Jake Bugg has just released a music visual for his latest single "A Song About Love," the third release off Bugg's sophomore album "Shangri La." The Nottingham-based singer/songwriter is still only 19-years-old, yet here he is with his second album already and, on the back of the acclaim he achieved on his self-titled debut album, the speedy release of "Shangri-La" is a promising sign that Bugg is bursting with ideas and has no plans of sitting back on top of his one Mercury nomination.
To be blunt, none of "Shangri-La" ever really steps too far from the safety zone of his debut, but Bugg is being fast-tracked by his label into producing new material, which is probably why the new album sounds so recycled. Should he be given the chance to master his penmanship and emulate his peers' musicianship, Bugg could genuinely live up to his hype and his potential within his next few releases. On "Shangri-La," however, Bugg is still searching for that special something and. providing he manages to find anything at all by the time he begins working on album number three, he could very well validate himself as a serious performer for years to come.
Following a similar structure some of the softer tracks heard in his debut, the new tune "A Song About Love," is a slow paced love ballad, in contrast to his rocking "Messed Up Kids." Bugg wrote this love ballad with two bars that last one beat too long before the chorus. It gave the session musicians who played on it a lot of trouble to work out. The British rocker is mainly self-taught; his only music training was a music technology course at college that he dropped out from at the age of 16.
According to an interview with the NME, Bugg didn't realize when he wrote this song that it would be difficult for his backing musicians to play, as he's never learnt how to read music. A dose of heartfelt romance is provided with "A Song About Love," where Bugg's honest emotions seem to pour out of this melancholy song. Bugg's versatility is showcased here and "A Song About Love" holds up just fine. He can easily bounce from rollicking folk to somber love tunes and back again. It Showing a more emotive side and a softer side of the young indie rocker. The video, showing a more sentimental side than we usually see of the Nottingham teenager, as he laments in his heartachey tune.

Jake Bugg going on the run in "Slumville Sunrise"

Jake Bugg has unveiled a music video for his the studio version of new bluesy track "Slumville Sunrise," which was recorded at Rick Rubin's Shangri La studio and will feature as the second single on British singer's new sophomore album named after the recording space, which is releasing today, and is a much more cohesive project. Additionally, Bugg says he's a far more proficient singer than when he recorded his debut. What a year it’s been for Bugg. At just 19 years of age, the Nottingham-born singer-songwriter has accomplished a hell of a lot.

Bugg demonstrates electric prowess on bluesy new tune, which opening with vigorous slamming chords, Bugg's vocal follows with "the wind keeps beating at my window, I haven't slept all night." Slipping into a fury of a chorus, Bugg sings, "Slumville sunrise, nobody cares or looks twice," to paint a vivid picture of a shanty town. The track has a real sense of enthusiasm about it and Bugg's ripping solo is fast and furious, leaving us to re-adjust to the whirlwind we've just heard. "This place is just not for me," chants Bugg, showcasing his desire to start afresh. "Slumville Sunrise" is an up-tempo number, eliciting the desire and lyrical talent of the young singer-songwriter.

The song thoroughly displays Bugg's quirky guitar skills. I got a chuckle at the video because of the green screen running in place. It was sort of haphazardly thrown together and made to look choppy. It really made this quirky song shine. "The video is basically a chase. A character, played by Jake, steals a ring from a jeweler and a pursuit begins, the chasing party increases in size and becomes more and more bizarre as the chase and song go on," director Shane Meadows explained to NME. What about that goofy tracksuit Bugg is sporting? "We wanted to pick the most awful tracksuit we could find - something he just wouldn't want to wear."

In Benny Hill style, Bugg acting for the first time and dressed in a shocking tracksuit, as he steals an engagement ring worth £20,000 from a jeweler's before going on the run through the city from the cops and a circus of others including granny, a plump woman in a leopard leotard, and an Elvis impersonator carrying what looks like a bag of onions. With traditional values and a Slumville wage, Bugg's character snatches a diamond ring from a ritzy shop to make his pregnant girlfriend his wife. When he arrives home and presents the ring to his girlfriend, she won't have it. Her inconsolable nature and their ongoing banter keeps the video fresh, humorous, and highly entertaining.

The Killers give their best "Shot At The Night"

The Killers offer a brief, but beautiful modern-day Cindrella story in their starry video for the gleaming new single "Shot At The Night" as the first single off of American rock band's upcoming 10th anniversary first greatest hits compilation, "Direct Hits," due out November 11. As the cautionary adage goes, what happens in Vegas stays in The Killers' new video and Sin City is their home base after all, and what better way to continue immortalizing their city than with lots of shots of the Strip, an unlikely dalliance between two attractive actors, and a maze of reflective glass surfaces.
Produced by the French electronic musician Anthony Gonzalez of M83, this glitzy synth opera "Shot At The Night," is a soaring synth-pop song and one of two new tracks that feature on their best-of collection "Direct Hits." The other fresh cut, "Just Another Girl," was produced by longtime collaborator Stuart Price. The album also include singles from the band's four studio albums to date Regarding the album's release, vocalist Brandon Flowers noted, "This record feels like a great way to clean everything up and move onto the next thing."
A neon-lit love story comes to life and Las Vegas romance blooms in the Roboshobo-directed clip, which begins with scenes of daily drudgery as a hotel maid (played by Bella Heathcote, Dark Shadows) makes beds and vacuums casino carpets inside the palace-like Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, mindlessly going through the motions of what appears to be a daily routine. She goes home alone where she rests before returning to work the following day, and nearly hits a cute pedestrian (Max Minghella, Ides of March) with her car at a crosswalk while daydreaming.
She goes about her housekeeping duties, when fate once again brings them together and Minghella and his friends convince the dutiful Heathcote to blow off work for a night on the town. Interspersed are reflected profile shots of Flowers singing the dreamy song from a high rise hotel, the two enjoy Vegas, riding a motorcycle down the Strip, watching a poker game, holding hands and kissing against the wall of a building, and just like any Las Vegas love story. The video ends after the enamored couple watches others get married at a typical Vegas wedding chapel. It's well after midnight, and he kisses her tenderly as the sun rises before she rushes back to work.

Tegan and Sara unveiled "Goodbye, Goodbye"

Canadian indie rock duo Tegan And Sara have premiered the music video for their song "Goodbye, Goodbye," the synthy twin sisters' Polaris Prize-nominated Essential pop album, "Heartthrob." We have experienced deep connections with people through the exchange of emails and texts, only to discover later that a false sense of intimacy can leave a relationship wildly out of balance when you're finally face to face. The new video captured the blur of communication that often leaves us feeling disconnected and isolated from each other. So many miscommunications, so little time!
Of course there is a ton of motivation to correct the equilibrium when you're getting into a relationship, but it is far more challenging and frustrating when you're getting out of one! Falling in love is easy, breaking up is hard. Tegan And Sara's new love anthem "Goodbye, Goodbye," was originally penned by Sara. Tegan recalled to Under The Radar that it was a song that she and producer Greg Kurstin "loved almost immediately, but we also didn't feel like it had a big enough chorus." She added: "All Greg did was change the chords underneath the chorus and all of a sudden it popped, it was insane. It was in my head for months after Sara wrote it."
Sara tells HuffPost Canada Music about the song and accompanying video directed by Natalie Rae Robison: "'Goodbye, Goodbye' is a sound off about rejection and the empowerment of shutting someone out after a break-up, but it's also an acknowledgement of the distorted nature of intimacy that comes from communicating complex emotions through a cell phone or email. In a way we learn more about ourselves than each other when we interact this way. Our phones and computers are just mirrors for us to reflect again and again."
Once upon a time, we used phones to speak into and written words could take days, if not weeks, to reach someone. The evolution of technology, from texting and chat to email and Facebook, has utterly changed the way we communicate with each other, including how we deal with being broken up when your ex is but a keypad-push away. That's the theme of Tegan And Sara's new quasi-lyric video, which documents the drafting of various "Dear John" messages, all sent via text, email, or Facebook. Some heartbreakers actually grab a pen and paper, others opt for word magnets - anything so long as face-to-face interactions are avoided.

Daughter offer up a somber ballad "Youth"

North London-based trio Daughter has recently released a new stark video for the poignant and beautiful track, "Youth," a track off of their 2012 EP "The Wild Youth," one of the strongest self-releases I have heard, as well as recent debut album, "If You Leave," which is out now via Glassnote. Calling to mind a stripped down Bat For Lashes with a forlorn Florence Welch-esq vocal, the four mid to slow tempo tracks on "The Wild Youth" are brooding and beautiful, yet never boring. Subtle, yet confident in U.K. indie folk rock band's delivery while displaying a knack for smart and incredibly effective arrangements, color me impressed.
To say it's been a busy year for Daughter would be a massive understatement. For those who have been following the development of the solo artist (real name Elena Tonra), who creates gorgeous music that is stuck in limbo between personal singer-songwriter confessions and bombastic swells of slick indie rock, with the focus very much settled on the delicate intricacies of Tonra's vocals and the sweet simplicity of the accompanying acoustic guitar. Her latest collection of songs build upon the ambient ideas first explored in short bursts on the mostly acoustic tracks on previous release "His Young Heart," which dedicated an entire track to lengthy synth chords and layered vocal sounds.
As a track itself, "Youth" is a somber and simple ballad about lost love. For the bombastic drums in the final moments of "Youth," Tonra has decided to express aggressive ideas in swathes of production techniques, the acoustic ideas swapped for clean electric guitars and synths that reverberate so heavily one could be forgiven for getting lost in them in the dark. Tonra's voice softly and surreptitiously shoots bullets like "And if you're in love, then you are the lucky one... 'cause most of us are bitter over someone," and the verses are colored in nuances of nostalgia, regret, accusation, anger and love! In my view, a perfect blend to illustrate the title.
The black-and-white video is extremely simple and effective and it adopts a minimalist approach, allowing the song to speak for itself. Tonra and her bandmates: Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella stand fixated to their designated spots, on an entirely darkened stage-save for three spotlights-and allowing themselves only enough movement to successfully play their instruments. It's moody and straightforward, just like the song. "Youth" is a wistful, heavy-hearted track, but there's still an underlying melancholy, and the combination synchs up for a simple yet effective end result. Tonra's voice is so mesmerizing that a simple video is all the band really needs, and it is rather fantastic.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs are on top of NYC in "Despair"

Indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs rocks the Empire State Building, NYC's monstrous 1,454-foot symbol in their new visuals for "Despair," the second single off their latest fourth studio album, "Mosquito." Shooting the video on top of the Empire State Building marks a milestone for the trio as they officially become the first group to ever shoot a video in the famous landmark. It is somewhat inappropriately titled "Despair," and no, there are no "Sleepless in Seattle" homages at any time during Yeah Yeah Yeahs' up-tempo garage punk anthem.
This aching anthem finds vocalist and pianist Karen O singing about wasted days and nights and tears stinging her eyes, before concluding, "Nothing to fear." It is one of the most melancholic tracks on "Mosquito," but drummer Brian Chase said he feels it reflects the album's "wise and peaceful sense of love." He explained: "Love has always been there in different forms. In the form it takes on 'Fever to Tell,' it's very wild and passionate. This one seems to be not quite omniscient, but can see situations from the other side, so there's a peaceful sense to it, but at the same time, encouraging whatever it is to go through its process."
Karen described this track as "a love song to despair." She added: "It's a feeling that you have that visits you time and time again. It's an incredibly uplifting song , though, about wanting to run away from certain darkness in your life. It was certainly "an iconic moment", Karen told the New York Times about video shooting. But it was also the 34-year-old singer's first visit to the summit of the legendary skyscraper. The same was true for the video's director, Patrick Daughters. "I don't like heights," he explained. While Yeah Yeah Yeahs performed on the 86th floor, a camera crew circled in a helicopter. "It was plenty loud," Daughters said. "I don't think they had to worry about the neighbors."
Karen starts the clip by making a scene in a bar, before the action shifts to show guitarist Nick Zinner in a cab and Chase napping on the subway, each on his way to the Empire State Building. Fittingly with the lyrics, the trio eventually convene at the summit of the skyscraper, where they ultimately rock out as the track adds whirling guitar and pounding drums to Karen's spare vocals. She's all smiles as the song unfolds and the band takes a minute pause momentarily to take in the view from their heightened perspective, the camera pans out to the amazing sights around New York City, and it's clear just how far Yeah Yeah Yeahs have come.

Janelle Monáe & Erykah Badu are "Q.U.E.E.N."

Janelle Monáe is back and spotlighting her hyper-stylish in her new tasty black-and-white schemed video for the equally impressive single, "Q.U.E.E.N." the first single from Monáe's upcoming sophomore effort, "The Electric Lady," expected for a fall release. Channeling the retro swagger of Elvis's "Jailhouse Rock" video, the 27-year-old soul-funk pioneer jams while surrounded by six dancing ladies rocking bold black-striped looks in this old school soul feeds new school funk.
The powerful Erykah Badu-assisted jam, "Q.U.E.E.N.," is an irresistible art-funk strut, and also, is terrific - a punk cabaret groover that drops back on Badu's verse to highlight an incredible, funky bass lick and then makes a string-heavy transition into Monáe's unexpectedly relentless rap. It's exactly the type of stylishly futuristic and playfully absurd aesthetic we've come to expect from Monáe, and the dystopian intro perfectly sets the tone for the defiant and quirky jam that follows. Its sexy, slinky, impossibly funky grooves demanded a next-level video, and the forward-thinking Monáe has certainly delivered.
Directed by Alan Ferguson, "Q.U.E.E.N." and takes place in an alternate future, the clip depicts Monáe and Erykah as frozen human sculptures in what could easily pass for an interactive Soho pop-up art gallery. As "Q.U.E.E.N."'s funk-tinged bass line kicks in, the sculptures flicker to life with Monáe twerking in her chair and singing about haters and their snap judgements: "I can't believe all of the things they say about me/ Walk in the room they throwing shade left to right." The clip gives off a very artistic, grown woman, sophisticated fun type of feeling.
The funky Alan Ferguson-directed clip, an absolutely deadly early-'60s mod mook, and explores a witty concept, sees hipster artist Monáe teams with Badu where the two star as a museum exhibit comes to life. Instead of her predictable black-and-white tuxedo, Monáe throws on some Givenchy heels and shows off her shapely figure and  some crispy dance steps while claiming her QUEEN-status. Backed by an aesthetically stunning bevy of mod '60s dancers, Monáe finally sidles up to a sexy look Badu, who's looking terribly regal in all white and gold. Together, they sing about female equality and loving oneself despite social pressure.

Kate Nash poured guts and mind in "OHMYGOD!"

Kate Nash is back, and she's got reasons to be bitter with a new video earlier today on MTV for her new single, "OMYGOD!" in support of her fan-funded third album, "Girl Talk." The 25-year-old British songstress may be known for making upbeat pop, but she admits that she was in "a lot of pain" and going through "a very sh**ty time" while writing her "Girl Talk," which she channels feminism, sexism and fun on it. Nash uses music as "therapy" and found her new album was the perfect way to put all her feelings into songs.
With her 2010 sophomore album, "My Best Friend Is You," Nash successfully broadened her intimate folk-pop outlook to a more slickly produced, post-Amy Winehouse neon-soul sound. She was clearly growing up and growing her sound along the way. At 25, Nash is still figuring out what she likes musically and, most of all, who she is. She's doing what most artists who became famous at a young age eventually do, which is to say that she's rebelling against what made her famous.
Nash had a torrid 2012 and is well on her path to becoming massive from indie popper to badass rocker, and she takes this growth even further on her new punk-tinged raw and rambunctious "Girl Talk." And yes, women who own bunny rabbits named Fluffy can still be badass. Thankfully, while Nash has moved to a more extroverted, aggressive sound, she hasn't sacrificed any of the personal, intimate lyrics that marked the best of her early songs. Nash says she has "absolutely poured my heart, soul, brain, guts, and mind into this record" following a "significantly important and challenging year," and "Girl Talk" reflects that intensity.
Nash is clearly a woman dictated, and driven, by her moods and impulses, wherever they may lead. She's got thrust, she's open, articulate, opinionated, and refuses to ever edit herself, to rein herself in. This is her, take it or leave it. She leers as she lambasts those she once considered soul-mates in songs like "OMYGOD!" which benefits from a chorus that feels like it's been beamed in from another, more tuneful place.  "OMYGOD!" lyrics showcase Nash's poeticism, musicality and a perfect harmony between music and lyrics. "OMYGOD! is the poppiest one on the record and it still shows that I still have inside me those pop medleys and harmonies," Nash said about song. Enjoy the clip.

A Rocket To The Moon goes on trip 'Ever Enough'

A Rocket To The Moon teams up with Disney Channel actress Debby Ryan set off on a roadtrip for the their just-released video for their ever emotional ballad, "Ever Enough," the first single comes off the four-piece rockers' upcoming highly-anticipated sophomore LP, "Wild & Free," which drops on March 26th. The clip is a sweet little narrative about the power and possibility of love and features a couple on the run, with plenty of heartstrings tugging sequences young love to make the lady in your life swoon.
"Ever Enough" is a song that showcases A Rocket To The Moon's evolution from teen-leaning pop rock act to full-blown alternative folk rock juggernaut with a finesse that is second-to-none. The song deals with the insecurities so many of us struggle with concerning matters of the heart, and as a "hopeless romantic," this guitar-and-piano ballad kicks off on an acoustic note then launches into a love song so cinematic, and it finds the perfect balance between light-hearted moments and serious topics, conveying the theme of the song, that true love is unwavering under all circumstances.
"'Ever Enough' is a song about reassurance," frontman Nick Santino explained. "It's about telling the person you care about that you will always be by their side through the thick and the thin, the good and the bad no matter what." With its pretty acoustics, heart-tugging melodies, and bright piano parts, it's a song that speaks to that fierce kind of love everyone looks for but can't always hold onto. These boys aren't ashamed to wear their hearts on their sleeves with this one, and they've created some inspiring instrumental bits to match, so we certainly recommend giving it a spin or three.
Directed by Mark Staubach, the plot-driven clip is emotionally moving, showing an intimately gentle and romantic side of the band and depicts a romance-fueled road trip through the desert includes impromptu dancing, campfires, and a Vegas wedding, which you won't soon forget. It stars Santino and Ryan as a young couple who set out on the road in an attempt to escape their problems. That all sounds well and good, wild & free, but we soon learn that Ryan is sick and has busted out of the hospital with Santino to live out whatever time she had left. Valentine's Day may have passed, but the couple prove that true love does conquer all.

Passion Pit revive relationship in "Carried Away"

Passion Pit offers another different variation on typical Valentine's Day romance and takes on messy and dramatic relationships with their latest visuals for their new glimmery pop cut, "Carried Away," taken from American indie pop band's sophomore studio album, "Gossamer." Passion Pit are still milking the single potential of "Gossamer," with good reason that record is full of jams. The video is a fantastical depiction of a troubled relationship in fast-forward.
Sure, the beat and vocals make it sound like a happy-go-lucky song but once we witness the break-up fights, the awkward dinner party, and the scenes of their loving past, that all goes downhill. The clip, directed by the sibling-duo Brewer brothers (Purity Ring, Alt-J), goes through the life of a relationship. Brewer certainly does that but only after sucking you into a dysfunctional and surreal, yet strangely real love/hate relationship. To say this relationship is disfunctional is an understatement, but it plays out in increasingly fantastical ways.
"The music video was shot in Los Angeles and tells the story of a love/hate relationship through a playful Godard-inspired narrative that follows the couple throughout their home," explains Brewer. It's a swirling, chaotic portrayal of a relationship - a real one with fights and all. The clip stars Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos and the "One Tree Hill" actress Sophia Bush as a couple in a desperate attempt at reviving their almost-dead relationship. The pair once cared about each other, but now find their relationship on the verge of falling apart.
The clip showcases they live together in an adorable house, filled with charming tchotchkes and a failed cat adoption, but as the couple with some interesting abilities who can't stop arguing and playing pranks on each other and their relationship begins to crash and burn, the house literally turns on them as Bush turns her back to Angelakos, their bed splits apart, sending Angelakos into a 'symbolic' pit of breakup hellfire. It's a lighthearted look at the ups and downs of love. So open up that box of chocolates and watch the clip below.

Of Monsters and Men debut "King And Lionheart"

Of Monsters and Men, an Icelandic alternative folk sensation, burst on the music scene this year with their first hit single "Little Talks," and the five-piece indie folk/indie pop band is back and have managed to release another epic, cinematic treat new video for their new single, "King and Lionheart," the title track for their upcoming album. Like all their songs, "King And Lionheart" has a folksy pop/rock feel, and the clip is a medieval, 'Middle Earth' fantasy.
Formed in 2010, Of Monsters and Men are the biggest thing to come of Iceland since Sigur Rós, and of course, their beautiful landscapes. Like many Icelanders, guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson and vocalist-lyricist Nanna Hilmarsdottir are fascinated with the idea of storytelling, and many of their songs are fantastic fables of lions and other animals. "I like animals, and I think they're more fun than human beings," Þórhallsson told Spinner. "They're just very fun to write about. There's something simple about it. When we write the lyrics, we're often thinking about the human being as an animal. The raw animal instinct of a human being. It's like, how bad can people be?"
Directed by WeWereMonkeys (Mihai Wilson and Marcella Moser), whose last promo for "Little Talks," was named iTunes Alternative Single Of The Year last year, received over 50 million views on YouTube, so anticipation for a follow-up is erm, rather high, and it's no surprise that this long in gestation follow-up is just as epic. It has the feel of a Tolkien/Martin 'Middle Earth' fantasy, complete with a supernatural sprite that comes to the rescue, but there's enough clues to make you realize that it's a post-apocalyptic near future.
No fear, with all the charm and and wonder of their former promo, WeWereMonkeys deliver on all fronts. Of Monsters and Men showcase their splendid feel-good single "King And Lionheart" behind a dark animated visual. Focused on the endeavor of two intrigued little children, a brother and sister are desperate to reunite in the wake of a world taken over by an evil force, the video follows a sea of animated creatures and angry men as they chase down the all but innocent kids through a seemingly permanent coat of darkness. Guided by a light though, the children are able to find refuge in a large 'spoiler alert' castles that doubles as a spaceship.