SUMMER TWINS FORGET ME (ROLLERGIRL REMIX) [FREE DOWNLOAD]

Hello how is it all going? Well I hope. Now that we've done away with the pleasantries, let's get down to business shall we? The nitty-gritty. The crunch. Whatever you call it: let's do it. And by that I mean, I'm about to start writing about some music that I have found so hold onto your hats, tuck your shirts in, finish the food that's already on your plate and do everything else you need to do in order to read words with your eyes. You ok? No, neither am I.

So, what do we have here? We have Summer Twins – oh! That rings a bell. Yes it does because I wrote about Summer Twins at the beginning of Summer. I wrote about two of their songs, 'I'm No Good' & 'Forget Me' – they're a duo (twins actually) who specialise in creating retro-Americana sounds, full of surf-rock twang and doo-wop 60s prom night romance. It's nice, generally gentle stuff. But here marks a change: enter Rollergirl. Yes, Rollergirl. He – or at least I think it's a he (???) – has remixed Summer Twins' beach-friendly tune 'Forget Me' and it sounds pretty much very different from the original I'd say.

Preserving the twinkling melody of the original, the remix instantly puffs out its chest in bold and ballsy fashion – this is pretty much indie dance at its dirtiest and fuzziest. The bass flaps like a loose telegraph wire powered by people's dancing feet as a thumping kick and crashing hi-hat create an uptempo disco groove. By the end of the song, the sound is a veritable explosion of gloriously live-sounding instruments, everything half-distorted and super-powered with the sound of someone basically "going for it" on the drums and everything else, punching out the sound with glorious gusto.

The vocals are like the only part of this song that's kept wholly intact. At first it was kind of strange hearing the soft tones of the Chelsea and Justine Brown – the "twin" parts of Summer Twins – but then it allowed the remix to remain true to the California sun-pop vibe of the original, whilst still being able to turn up the roughness on the other elements to the track.

Rollergirl's self-titled debut album is out and has been out for a month courtesy of Nah Collective. And you can also download it from Rollergirl's Bandcamp (below).

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CAYUCAS EAST COAST GIRL

It's a very nice bit of artwork isn't it? Yep yep. It's the album cover for a California band's latest album, debut album in fact, and that band is called Cayucas and their album is called BIGFOOT. There is a song from the album called 'East Coast Girl' which is very nice and which I am going to write about shortly.

But firstly: a big fat WHATEVER. Wow, well done, you're able to comment on the obvious and say how much these guys sound like Vampire Weekend. Wow. Comparisons. Wow. Aren't they so easy yet satisfying to make? Makes one feel part of the utmost musical intelligentsia dunnit? Well, here to fight against that is me. They make nice music. Of course they sound a bit like what's come before them because it's come before them and they obviously like the sound. Big-diddly-whoop.

And now I'm over it. Who cares. The sun is shining through the window and the trees are shaking in a summer breeze and everything is lit up very nicely outside. And when I listened to this song, it seemed that all that was missing was the beach. See if this slightly Wes Anderson-themed music video, but most likely just the music, enhances your day at all.

There's comin-round-the-mountain acoustic guitars that drive the song along on wheels of simple distorted bass, like a trundling mobile genteel beach resort, even tiki lights rattling down by its sides. Ya the video captures the sound quite well, freshly washed and ironed cotton shorts blazers and polo shirts. "omg dis so white" - yeah but, um, they ARE white.

Yelping far-off vocals provide the final cherry on top, lots of "hey"s and "whoa"s, like a kinda call to surfboards and stuff. It is a sound that whilst perhaps pioneered by the likes of Vampire Weekend has been carried off very well indeed by others - just like these guys here, and - for instance - Mathieu Santos (whose 2010 Massachusetts I wrote about extensively). Cayucas have a great vibe here, summery and carefree, upbeat and with a catchy groove, something that's a very nice accompaniment to a very nice day.

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MOOD RINGS PATHOS Y LAGRIMAS

Beau-ti-ful. That's what I think of this song by Mood Rings, 'Pathos Y Lagrimas'. It's the new single from their upcoming album, VPI Harmony, out 24th June on Mexican Summer.

But yeah, enough of that, what I was saying was that this song is beautiful. Very very pretty. I've just been reminded of some sad news and this song kinda suited that terribly perfectly. Not perfectly terribly. That's something else entirely: something that this song definitely ain't. It's really very evocative and full of slow waves of energy that pulse out like pure feeling.

But it's not intense. It's not in your face. It has its mood (excuse the pun) and the five-member band from Atlanta build on this mood, creating sweeping swathes of sound that are as lethargic as they are poignant. It's a hot breeze that seems to stumble over blades of grass and trees to get to you rather than blast through its obstacles.

It's a careful, almost mournful, tune with an interesting groove given to it by a stop-start rhythm on the drums - they go half-speed, double-speed, and the bass plays continually to the later, almost waiting for it to catch up. Nice effect. It's like one minute you're up and positive, taking things in your stride; the next, you're down-in-the-dumps, quite ready to pack it all in and curl up in a ball somewhere. Maybe that's just me. But they've captured it well in any case.

The frequent solo surf-guitar stylings in their lo-fi light-distortion cast mellow lines of sound over the wash of echoing 80s drums and other instruments. The vocals are plaintive and earnest, suiting very well a song with a title of 'Pathos Y Lagrimas' ('lagrimas' is tears in Spanish, guys). There's a distinctly dreamy feel about the type of lo-fi, delicate 80s indie kinda music that this band plays, a wonderfully crafted sound that's as chilled as it is emotive. An eerily heartwarming-yet-lacrimose offering. And, as I said, beautiful, byu-di-full.

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BEST COAST GONE AGAIN VIDEO

Best Coast, one of the more well-known lo-fi of today - quite an achievement given the huge surge in recent years of artists coming up with no end of surf-pop, garage-fuzz, or indie-lo-fi whateverness.

The vocal hooks of singer Bethany Cosentino - who writes pretty much all material, musically and lyrically, for the band - help Best Coast to soar above other bands with a similar sound. And this new song 'Gone Again' is no exception. Starting out with some wonderful 'oooo'ing that becomes a refrain for the song, music bursts in with a foot-tapping 2/4 rhythm and Cosentino's laid-back style of singing, touched with light distortion. Perfect for a rainy Sunday indoors. Just like today, in fact.

This video comes in a series of videos for Adult Swim to promote the Adult Swim Kia Singles Program - a free mp3 series. 10 Free tracks over 10 weeks. Really cool, with some really cool artists. So check back to know when Best Coast, and some others, are up and available for download.

Here's Best Coast's nice blog: bestycoasty.blogspot.com
And their Myspace.

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