Even the most stunning/perfect/shouldn’t be touched sort of tracks as Laura Welsh’s “Cold Front” most certainly is are safe with Russ Chimes. The London-based Chimes preserves all the positive qualities of the on trend original Laura Welsh vocal while switching out it’s mod R&B dark pop instrumental for something a bit more club friendly (read: awesome) with a bigger beat. Chimes 100%.
Russ Chimes 
(Official)
Rating 8.4
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. We are party to another winner from Aussie risers Snakadaktal with new track “Hung On Tight”. We loved previous song “Ghost” a lot (maybe our favorite track of the last month) and wow “Hung On Tight” is equally strong. As we highlighted in our review of “Ghost”, the interrelationships between different pieces and parts of melody and the different rhythmic elements in Snakadaktal’s music (and present again here in quality on “Hung On Tight”) is very very special and is indicative of a band populated by highly skilled and well-schooled songwriter(s). Liberation Australia will be releasing Snakadaktal’s debut Sleep In The Water LP on August 5th.
Snakadaktal 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.6
The successful-in-his-own-name Hot Chip member Joe Goddard sails through another successful bit of modern dance music w/ the piano stabs-driven “Step Together”. Featuring German producer Boris Dlugosch, “Step Together” is described by Greco-Roman’s (the track’s releasing label) co-founder as “an attempt to make synthesizers sound nice”. Really, the overall of the track has quite the pleasant effect, a something like summertime travelogue shots of the English countryside as taken from trains kind of pleasant (at least to us). Step in the name of love (& together) w/ Goddard’s “Taking Over” EP which is out today.
Joe Goddard (Twitter)
Rating: 8.3
Stwo (pronounced like “stew”) out of Paris fixes up a luxury R&B spin on classic Janet Jackson. We couldn’t be more in love.
Stwo 
(Twitter)
Rating 8.2
Pop songwriting oddball Dent May returns with “Born Too Late” the lead single from the Mississippi-based artist’s third LP, Warm Blanket. Recorded in a (at least according to PR) haunted Victorian mansion in St. Augustine, Florida; May recruited locals to record many of the record’s insturmental bits and bobs. Recalling the 60’s-80’s pop songwriting student blend of artists like Mayer Hawthorne; “Born Too Late” achieves it’s B3 Rec’d status on the very stength of its songwriting. Obviously Mr. May is a bit of a hand here, effortlessly blending varying schools/genres/era of melodic construction into a seamless melange of high quality tunefulness. Warm Blanket is due August 27th.
Dent May 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.4
New York newcomers Blue & Gold channel the best and most soulful parts of the classic rock canon w/ brand new track “It’s Only You”. The warmth and care of the melodic stylings and choices of singer Alex Kapelman highlight an instrumental that would be just as much at home on a Black Keys record as it would on a Stax record release; that and the track features a most excellent and most emotive guitar solo (!) where not a single note is out of place or wasted. Check out our premiere of Blue & Gold’s “It’s Only You” below and look for the band’s self-titled EP July 16th. p.s. if you’re in NYC, catch Blue & Gold @ Piano’s on July 17th,
Blue & Gold 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.1
UK no-info-on-the-web band As†ronomyy (their spelling) scores an impressive debut w/ “Don’t Need You”. Soft-touched guitars as played out of a bathroom, delicate yet trapp-y drumms, hushed melodies, “Don’t Need You” is a sound you are certainly acquainted with; however the track’s execution is totally flawless and easily stands on its own as a highlight of its genre/trend.
As†ronomyy (Soundcloud)
Rating: 8.3
Straight out of Miami, Robby Hunter Band puts up an ace with “Treat You Right” (feat. GostWridah). An impressive follow up to prior releases, “Hard On Me” and “Corazón”, “Treat You Right” is a nice mix of hip hop, funk and indie styles, all into a perfect slice of beach music in under 3 minutes. By Brian Litwin
Robby Hunter Band 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.3
The Mighty Misun give summer it’s proper start; dropping TODAY (the summer solstice!) a new 10 track EP of summery bootleg re-fixes of their biggest tracks. Mixed by Cousin Cole & main Misun producer Nacey, the duo fit the great Misun vocal melodies over classic bits of soul, pop & dub. You can sample all 10 sun-drenched boots here.
Misun 
(Facebook)
Rating 8.2
A well-executed reverb-drenched beach guitar is truly a sound/wonder to behold. Context that w/ summertime and a truly strong track e.g.: Austin band La Vega’s “Key West” and there’s nothing we B3’ers can do really to resist it. Look out for La Vega’s debut Wave LP August 13th on Major Nation Records.
La Vega 
(Tumblr)
Rating 8.0
Absolutely fantastic! Very little information exists online on “Stay Inside”‘s point of origin Raleigh Ritchie, an artist out of the UK (we’re assuming via accent); literally though, our man has barely 100 follows on Facebook. That aside, “Stay Inside” is so so good; the work of a very special/accomplished artist. We can’t wait for more.
Raleigh Ritchie (Soundcloud)
Rating 8.2
Brooklyn synth pop upstarts Little Daylight ably follow up recent successes “Name in Lights” and “Overdose” w/ the summery 80’s-esque bounce of new track “Glitter and Gold”.
Little Daylight (Facebook)
Rating 8.3
