The last time i read Spin Magazine, the Presidents of the United States had a spread about how the guitarist only had 3 strings. So the fact that Spin’s Prince cover compilation slipped by unnoticed is not absurd. But There is some pretty great versions of some already amazing songs on this. Here is California’s electro psych outfit Fol Chen’s version of the Beautiful Ones.

Pick up some Fol Chen here. I’m not sure where to get the comp these days, but its called Purplish Rain.

03 – Fol Chen – The Beautiful Ones

This song is a slow wave. I would’ve recommended the song prior to the long weekend, but Idiot Glee deserves more isolation than offered by the claustrophobic beach real estate everyone rationed out this past holiday. James Friley’s sugar sweet melodies and drawling beats should be your companion on a far removed island with your other 4 essentials.

Listen to the rest of the EP here.

Idiot Glee – All Packed Up

Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor are endlessly interesting in his exploration of industrial / rock / and some may even include pop music (like this track). The soundscaping and textural integrity of “With Teeth” is enough for you to stand on the top of with your dark side.

Nine Inch Nails – All The Love In The World

I heard very early mixes of this band sometime during CMJ a couple years ago. Despite the raw recordings, i could hear the cluster of small tinkerings and sounds that Young Mammals avalanche into epic, bigger creatures. While this tune is buried under reverbed harmonies and fuzzy walls of guitar, the song stands out clear and above it all. 848 is great pop in a pool of noise.

Watch here for something to pick up soon.

Young Mammals – 8 4 8

It’s always like finding treasure when you hear a singer/songwriter like Erik Hall writing singer/songwriter stuff that won’t sell in a coffee shop. The Way to a Monster’s Lair has that great yearn you hear in Mark Linkous, or Carter Tanton, or Neil Young, or any other man you imagine leaning over his guitar and bleeding songs out onto his scuffy basement carpet.

Buy the debut.

In Tall Buldings – Monsters Lair

This song is like an epic little journey. The type with dragon blood and velvet satchels of emeralds, but way cooler because it’s made entirely of heart racing melodies, and doesn’t have anything to do with wizardry.

Grandchildren have plenty of gems.

Grandchildren – Saturn Returns

Truepanther doesn’t have a deep roster being a pretty young label, but they do have a lot of gold. For instance, Tanlines. With a hop back and forth from down tempo island beats to campy synths, songs with sing alongs, and summer camp dancers, their ep has been a good heavy rotater this year.

Get it here.

Tanlines – Reinfo

With the dreams-you-have-in-a-coma vocals drifting above the army of drum rolls on this song, Celebration wrote a winner. They have more than a few which you should grab.

Celebration – Our Hearts Don’t Change

This Morning Teleportations song reminds me of great turn of the century music, back when you didn’t feel like you were doing pop culture a disservice by calling it ‘indie rock’. With cluttered vocal hooks stitched to fit the chugging momentum of the track, the stop and go energy, and the warm chanting choruses, this song comes off so very anthemic.

I don’t think they have anything to pick up yet, but watch them on Glacial Pace.

Morning Teleportations – Expanding Anyway

MiniBoone: Cool Kids Cut Out of the Heart Itself Music Video from MiniBoone on Vimeo.

This song has a ton of hype behind it. Not hype in that cool-sneakers-on-douchey-29-year-old’s kinda way, but in an entirely earnest, melodic, and belting unapologetically kind of way. Catchy as it is, this song will run you fucking over.

Miniboone has an EP to check out at their site, and a video that’s as fun as this song.

In the past two weeks, Cults has seemingly materialized out of thin air. With little information available other than a sparse Bandcamp page, they’ve mysteriously dropped some serious knowledge on our asses. “Go Outside” is some glorious indie pop that rubs us all the right way.

Pitchfork recently scored an interview with them if you’re interested in a little more background info on the group.

Special thanks to both Ish and Dan for both turning me onto this.

Cults – Go Outside

This song is infectious. So infectious that, like me, you may spend a while battling whether you actually like the song or if it is just the catchiest pop you’ve ever heard. Once that’s done, it’ll be your twentieth time listening to the track, and it won’t matter. She’s won.

MNDR – C.L.U.B.

This track is off of The Beach Boys‘ fourteenth album Friends. It’s a short album with short songs. All of them but two are under three minutes.

Little Bird has the gnarliest cello breakdown I’ve ever heard. This song is begging to be sampled by an apt hip hop producer.

Buy the album here

The Beach Boys – Little Bird

I picked up Kisses‘ album The Heart of the Nightlife on a whim last week after hearing a little buzz about them. The LA duo sports a balearic dance pop sound landing somewhere between Jens Lekman and Air France. This track brings me back to high school and my obsession with Joy Division— seriously, is that Ian Curtis on vocals?

[This track has been removed at the request of Kisses]

This summer, when you and your friends are living out the montage of wearing aviators, chuckling in slow motion at a bar at 3pm, drinking Orange Lazaruses, catching the eye of the cute girl across the way, I’d play this Sleigh Bells song on that boom box you remembered to bring.

Sleigh Bells – Ring Ring

I’m Turning Into – I’m Going

It’s been a while since I was completely obsessed with the Swedish electronic duo Air France’s No Way Down EP, which is amazing and got some serious play. This is a remix of the 1991 track “Spring” by Saint Etienne and it’s nothing short of ‘the shit’.

Saint Etienne – Spring (Air France Remix)