Say Lou Lou “Fool of Me” (f/ Chet Faker) Julian 7″ (out now on à Deux) These dreamy Swedish twin sisters released one of the most enchanting ballads of last year with the moody, lovelorn “Maybe You.” Since then, the artist formerly known as Saint Lou Lou kept us on pins and needles, but their return single is well worth the wait. On “Fool of Me,” the girls (Miranda + Elektra Kilbey) enlist the talents of buzzy Australian vocalist Chet Faker to help … →

Classixx “All You’re Waiting For” (f/ Nancy Whang) Hanging Gardens (out 5/14 on Innovative Leisure) For their debut album, it looks like the Angelino production-duo are busting out their Rolodexes. The group’s recently-released, devestating summer track, “Borderline,” featured velvety vocals from Kisses/Princeton frontman Jesse Kivel. To follow it up, Hanging Gardens‘ brilliant second single enlists the breezy, carefree vocals of permacool ex-LCDer, sometime-Juan-MacLeaner Nancy Whang. If you’ve heard Classixx before, you know what they are all about: top-down, hair-in-the-wind, Balearic-leaning, synth-driven, good-time … →

Oscar “Never Told You” Digital In an online music world that’s over-saturated with information, very little is known about London-based producer/songwiter Oscar Scheller. What is known, however, is that his debut single is an effortless direct-hit of a summer pop song. Led by his emotive baritone (think Dan Bodan, Jens Lekman, Zach Condon), “Never Told You” glides along with consumate ease and grace, leaving the listener disarmed by its scintillating simplicity. Something tells me this won’t be the last we’ll hear from Scheller this year. Here’s hoping…

The National “Don’t Swallow the Cap”/”Demons” Trouble Will Find Me (out May 20 on 4AD) About a month before the all-conquering Brooklynites unleash their uber-anticipated sixth LP, we get some tasty hor d’oeuvres in the form of two of the album’s first three tracks. While the latter is exactly the kind of artful, impeccably crafted diet-dirge that characterizes large chunks of their spotty, slightly uneven 2010 release, High Violet, the former reminds us what has made them one of the two or … →