It’ been a good start of the year for Cub Sport, the 4 piece indie act from Brisbane. The band broke out on the scene in 2012 & grabbed Channel V’s Australian video of the year.

Two years later the band returned with the album “This Is Our Vice” via Nettwerk Music which dropped in March and heated up the Australian Independent Charts. The kick off track ‘Only Friend ’ hit many year-end playlists including BBC1 tastemaker Huw Stephens. All the album tracks stand alone, but my personal favorite is the upbeat alternative rocker “I’m on Fire“. College radio is on board and has pushed the album to #53 on the CMJ top 200.

Frontman Tim Nelson notes meeting Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig backstage at Falls was a defining moment in his career.
stephen@sgcmedia.com, briese@umbrellamusics.com

Singer-songwriter Ben Hobbs, a Kings favorite and who I’ve continue to cover just dropped another track ‘Cold Sweat‘ with an exclusive Billboard premiere. Hobbs notes, “It’s a song about realization, about a moment when you can admit to yourself that something has been ruling you. You can see all your strengths and finally start using them.”

Since the last time I featured his brilliant track ‘Wishful Thinking‘, he performed the BBC Introducing Night in Reading and the prestigious Gold Dust night in London which have presented the greats Lana Del Rey, Jessie J, & Ellie Goulding in their formative years.

His song “Sweet Enough” has just clocked 500k+ Spotify streams. Check out my last feature of this Bradley Cooper look-alike.
jeremy@laissezfaireclub.com, cduncan@theorchard.com

Luna Shadows arises out of the ashes of Los Angeles with her unique sound of dark indie pop separating herself from the sun-soaked ‘Katy Perry’ type pop singers. The latest track ‘Hallelujah California‘ which comes off her debut is brilliant, and mesmerizes with a couple listens.

The singer-songwriter tells us the backstory behind the love letter to Los Angeles: “My father used to say that “Hallelujah” (Wainwright/Buckley rendition) was the saddest song ever written, mostly because it’s darkness was disguised in a major key; conversely, the sole uplifting praise word “Hallelujah” was paired with the most melancholy of melodies. Playing on this juxtaposition, “Hallelujah California” is my eye-roll love letter to Los Angeles. The song explores how disorienting it can feel at times to live in a paradise, to have an endless summer, but still experience such sadness and doubt.”

Luna Shadows brings forth a lil’ Lana del Rey with endless summers and sadness but she is establishing her own voice. The blog love is mounting too. The track was featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday Playlist, blurbed by gossip blogger Just Jared, and clocked 30k+ SoundCloud streams in one month.

*Luna just released the new track “Cherry” exclusively on Beats 1 via Noisey.
brittanysabra@gmail.com, lovealwayslxs@gmail.com

Who the heck is Gypsy & The Cat? I had no idea until I had lil’ run-in with the Melbourne duo and my favorite music blogs. The opening guitar chords of their latest ‘Inside Your Mind‘ grabbed me, and I kept listening — an anomaly these days!

The indie-dream pop duo has a story behind them. These two DJ’s stepped on the scene in 2010 quickly made a name for themselves, became an Unearthed J Award nominee and has three hit songs under their belt. They’ve toured the UK and Europe and sold hundreds of thousands copies of their debut release.

Now, Gypsy & The Cat marks the return with the release of ‘Inside Your Mind‘. The track has become a blog favorite having been featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday, and reaching #2 on the Hype Machine charts.

Their forthcoming album which was mixed by Dave Fridmann (MGMT, The Flaming Lips) will have a June release date. Oh! And… check out the amazingly cool video which features a cat, a really big Cat Head!
mike@cutabovepr.com

Highs who hail from Toronto are making noise with their upcoming release ‘Dazzle Camouflage‘ via Indica Records.

The bands formation arose out of the bedroom that quickly led to demos which landed online, followed by a string of shows including Canadian festivals such as NXNE and Canadian Music Week.

Their latest track I Do, Do You? comes off their full length and was produced by Luke Smith (Foals, Depeche Mode). The full album can be streamed on Ear Milk.

Highs have lined-up a bunch shows in Canada, and if you haven’t seen the band live, you can catch a glimpse of the alternative pop 4 piece in their latest video.
erin@weareab.co,