Seattle soul-popstress Tess Henley’s “Daydreaming” grabbed us immediately with it’s insanely good Stevie-Wonder-school-of-songwriting brand of melody. The production on the track is little too A/C for our tastes but those melodies and Henley’s excellent vocal performance are enough for us to look past it. Great song.
Tess Henley – DaydreamingTess Henley 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.0
LA’s very own Capital Cities put a sweet summertime shine on the Prince-penned Sinead classic. Opting for a wall of lounging-by-the-pool synths, an easy feeling backbeat, and some neat leftfield Latin-styled horns, CC deliver another adeptly constructed cover version with “Nothing Compares 2 U”
Capital Cities 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
Early 00’s buzzband Earlimart return with their first release in four years with new album System Preferences. First single “’97 Heart Attack” see the LA based duo adding heavier electronic textures to their inimitable brand of spry indie pop.
Earlimart (Facebook)
Rating 8.1
Lower are a loud rock band from Copenhagen. We miss this music. The band’s Walk on Heads EP is really good and deserves your attention ASAP.
Lower 
(Bandcamp)
Rating 8.3
B3SCI land in SF on Friday to cover this weekend’s awesome Outside Lands festival. The lineup is stacked this year and includes b3sci all-time faves Stevie Wonder and Neil Young (seriously, how will we be able to handle so much greatness in one weekend?) as well as a great undercard of other favorites of the blog; including, Michael Kiwanuka, Futurebirds, Tennis, Tame Impala, Birdy, Metallica (jk), Sharon Van Etten and more! Check out some of our recommendations below for this weekend’s can’t miss sets and must see bands & artists; and stay tuned for more coverage live from and following the festival.
FRIDAY
Futurebirds 12:00-12:40 (Panhandle)
PAPA 12:45-1:30 (Twin Peaks)
Sharon Van Etten 1:15-2:05 (Sutro)
Fitz and the Tantrums 3:10-4:05 (Lands End)
The Walkmen 3:55-4:55 (Sutro)
Beck 4:30-5:15 (Lands End)
Washed Out 7:50-8:35 (Panhandle)
Neil Young & Crazy Horse 8:10-9:55 (Lands End)
SATURDAY
Cory Chisel & The Wandering Sons 12:00-12:45 (Sutro)
Tame Impala 1:50-2:40 (Lands End)
Father John Misty 2:55-3:35 (Panhandle)
Alabama Shakes 3:50-4:40 (Sutro)
Michael Kiwanuka 4:30-5:10 (Panhandle)
Big Boi 5:15-6:05 (Twin Peaks)
The Kills 6:10-7:10 (Lands End)
Sigur Ros 8:40-9:55 (Twin Peaks)
SUNDAY
Birdy 1:20-2:00 (Panhandle)
Caveman 2:50-3:30 (Panhandle)
City and Colour 3:45-4:35 (Sutro)
Santigold 5:10-6:00 (Twin Peaks)
Bloc Party 6:45-7:45 (Twin Peaks)
Stevie Wonder 7:20-9:30 (Lands End)
Jaar propels Chan into a completely different plane/dimension/universe on this beautifully cavernous remix of “Cherokee”. One of the best remixes of the year.
Nicolas Jaar 
(Facebook)
Rating 9.2
Tensnake celebrates 40k twitter followers with an islands-y bumper from the vault.
Tensnake 
(Soundcloud)
Rating 8.0
Jason Karaban is an interesting type of talent. A unique type of pop-leaning artist that puts his craft before any limelight. While you’ll be lucky to ever catch a live performance or appearance from Jason, you can hear the syrupy lines of commercial friendly song pour out him on record. His forthcoming full-length Shift will be available September 4th via Ascend Records, and the lead track “Misplaced” serves perfect example of what to expect. The song showcases Jason’s ability to cross the roads between writing and arranging aptness where strings meet guitars, Alex Ebert meets Nick Drake, and everything meets overall inspirational moments. Jason will be performing select live dates in NYC and LA leading up to the release of Shift, these sets are a don’t miss!
Jason Karaban – MisplacedJason Karaban (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
Blues Traveler recently turned 25 years young and has celebrated with the release of a new album, their first original album in four years, Suzie Cracks The Whip. The LP showcases more contemporary elements in the band’s vision while maintaing a trueness to those beloved Blues Traveler signature sounds (yeah Popper we’re looking at you..)! Catch the band’s new single “You Don’t Have To Love Me” on a radio station near you and/or check out the music video below.
And while we’re on a roll, take a look at this sweet prize-pack of authentic BT swag that we’re hooking up for one lucky B3SCI reader! That’s right, you can get your paws on a T-shirt, some official stickers, and a John Popper signed harmonica! To enter it’s simple… just email us here for your chance to win. Let us know that you want the Blues Traveler prize pack and we will enter you in our contest drawing to take place later this month on August 24, 2012. Good luck!
Blues Traveler 
(Official) (Purchase)
Even more exciting for you 90s enthusiasts, Blues Traveler embark upon a massive 30-city “Last Summer on Earth” US tour with Barenaked Ladies, Cracker and Big Head Todd.
August 7 Minneapolis, MN—Weesner Amphitheatre
(w/o Big Head Todd & The Monsters)
August 9 Council Bluffs, IA—Harrah’s
August 10 West Allis, WI—State Fair
August 11 Detroit, MI—DTE Energy Music Theatre
August 12 Indianapolis IN—The Lawn at White River
August 14 Wantagh, NY—Jones Beach Amp
August 15 Philadelphia, PA—Penn’s Landing
August 17 Bethlehem, PA—Sands Bethlehem
August 18 Boston, MA—BOA Pavilion
August 19 Bangor, ME—Bangor Waterfront
A beautiful entry on offer here from Doc Daneeka (producer) & Abigail Wyles (vocals). Both parties earn their headline billing as Daneeka’s skilled production puts the perfectly precise frame around Wyles striking powerful vocal performance. Do not miss.
Doc Daneeka & Abigail Wyles – TobyjugDoc Daneeka & Abigail Wyles 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.5
Zeds Dead slows TEED’s excellent “Household Goods” to an approx. five frames per second pace. The result is a cinematic wash of relaxed keyboard jabs and hypnotic bass tones and if you’re not careful you may just feel the world turn underneath feet as you listen.
Zeds Dead 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.43018
“The Boredom Rose” is a welcome third single by London/Yorkshire based Grass House. More compelling alt-pop with a slight deep south gospel influence provided by Al Spx on guest vocals (A.k.a Cold Specks). Go get it September 10 By Nathan Hetherington
Grass House (Facebook)
Rating 8
