[northboundbeats]

“Funk Party” by GRiZ

March 31st is the official release date of GRiZ`S third studio album,Say It Loud,  and as always, will be a free download. Along with “A Fine Way To Die”, “Stop Trippin`”, and “The Anthem”, GRiZ gives us another preview for the album dropping “Funk Party”. This track has all the traditional funk sounds everyone yearns for and even some hard hitting bass drops that wrap up a tremendous track. Enjoy! 

[northboundbeats]

Record Store Day

       Looking to spruce up your record collection? April 18 is National Record Day and just in time for you to spend some of the return wisely! National Record Day is an internationally recognized event honoring independent record stores worldwide. Artist do special meet and greets or special releases or even rare and limited rereleases just for that day. Every store celebrates in their own way and is the perfect time for all music enthusiast or even just casual listeners to check out their local record stores and add some variety to your collection. Check out www.recordstoreday.com to see the rather impressive list of releases due that day and to check out the locations of a record store near you.

[northboundbeats]

"Vertigo" by Mini Mansions Ft. Alex Turner

       Mini Mansions is a pretty underestimated indie band. Led by none other than Michael Shuman, Queens Of The Stone Age bassist. The band was formed in 2009 when QOTSA decided to take a break after their fifth studio album, Era Vulgaris. After announcing their second album, The Great Pretenders, a track starring Artic Monkeys front man, Alex Turner, emerged titled “Vertigo”. Take a listen below!

[northboundbeats]

Public School out, John West in

       Four months ago, while stumbling through pages of music blogs, I found an unexpected track call “Don`t Wake Me Up” by a man who went by Public School. Instantly fell in love with the track. It was so simple yet so powerful and with that being, now known as John West, debut track, I was more than excited to see what he had up his sleeve. That was four long months ago but over the weekend, John released his second track, “Waiting for You”, and did not disappoint. Still bringing the powerful voice like we heard on “Wake Me Up”, but adding a well-fitting blues style sound that I have kept on repeat. On top of releasing some new music, John has also announced that every Monday for the next six months, he will be releasing a new song and on every Thursday he will be releasing a prerecorded track. Looks like he has been hard at work and building anticipation. Keep your ears open and ready for some great new music.

[northboundbeats]

Franz Ferdinand X Sparks

       70`s rock band, The Sparks, has had quite a career with never really sticking to one genre but showing talent in everything from synthpop to rock to electronica. Known for their intelligent, sophisticated lyrics and theatrical stage presence, Sparks caught the eye of modern rock band, Franz Ferdinand. So much that the two groups have announced they are joining forces to become super group FFS. Following the merging statement, the newly formed band released a teaser video with a small preview of what appears to be the band’s first signal along with announcing tour dates throughout Europe. Thoroughly excited to see what can come from the two groups minds put together.      

[northboundbeats]

"City of Ocala" by A Day To Remember music video

       A Day To Remember released their latest album, Common Courtesy, a little over a year ago and have been steadily releasing music videos to go along with the tracks over that past year. Their most recent is for the song “City Of Ocala”. The song is about the bands hometown and in the video, A Day To Remember gives you a virtual tour of where they grew up, originally practiced, previously worked, and just what their hometown of Ocala, FL, looks like. Enjoy!

[northboundbeats]

"Don`t Wanna Fight" by Alabama Shakes

       This year just keeps getting better with album releases. Today, Alabama Shakes delight us with a soulful tune, "Don`t Wanna Fight", to help us through this rainy Tuesday (depending on where you are). To make things better, you can expect a brand new album from the group, Color and Sound, on April 20. Below is the song list and check out their site for upcoming tour dates. Enjoy!

1. Sound and Color 2. Don`t Wanna Fight 3. Dunes 4. Future People 5. Gimme All Your Love 6. This Feeling 7. Guess Who 8. The Greatest 9. Shoegaze 10. Miss You 11. Gemini 12. Over My Head

[northboundbeats]

"The Blacker The Berry" by Kendrick Lamar

       Today`s track was just awarded the “best new song”. An anger filled Kendrick Lamar releases his first track since “I” and is packed with a message to everyone who was outraged with his Ferguson comments. “The Blacker The Berry” shows that Kendrick was listening and reading what everyone had to say, even though not many agreed with him. It shows that he will not only stand by his comments, but repeat them with an actual tone and not just some letters put together in a tweet. This is a must hear track and not just to bob your head to.

[northboundbeats]

"The Best Room" by Modest Mouse

       Modest Mouse is pretty good at breaking some bad news. The original release date for their newest studio album was March 3. That date has now been pushed back two more weeks to March 17. To lighten the news, Modest Mouse has given us a new track. In addition to "Lamp Shades on Fire" and  "Coyotes", Modest Mouse has previewed "The Best Room", a simple song to further excite us for Strangers to Ourselves. Take a listen below.

[northboundbeats]

"We Are The Hearts" by EXGF

       Not much is known about EXGF. The collective released a summer electro-pop anthem, "Idle Hands", earlier last year but that is the only other track that i know of or could find by EXGF. The groups Tumblr is full of wild and nude art that show there is a massive amount of creativity throughout the members. This track, "We Are The Hearts", is also an electro-pop track with a funky start. So far the group is 2 for 2 on making great, catchy beats and hopfully will be releasing much more this year. EXGF also released some awesome interactive video/artwork to go along with the sound(visit all via clickable clinks below). Enjoy!

Interactive Artwork

Soundcloud

Tumblr

[northboundbeats]

"Up To The Crime" by Daytrip x Vybz Kartel

       Daytrip bring back their creativity with an unreleased track from Vybz Kartel. Adding their own Daytrip style to a deep reggae track shows just how unique their style is. They went all the way to West London to film the perfectly fitting music video which shows a man that is clearly in the wrong business and should have thought twice about his career choice(**Spoiler, it does not end well for the young man). Enjoy the video below and visit/follow Daytrip on Soundcloud to check out more music and for some free downloads. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/takeadaytrip

[northboundbeats]

"B-Boy" by Meek Mill ft. Big Sean & A$AP Ferg

       Meek Mill coming back with force on his latest track "B-Boy". With support from Big Sean and A$AP Ferg. Big Sean stepped out of the lime light for a short period of time but has recently reappeared dropping "IDFWU" showing that his upcoming album , Dark Sky Paradise, is going to be an exceptional album. Meek Mill, recently free from prison, is due to drop a new album soon (date TBA) titled Dreams Worth More Than Money. This track is hopefully a preview for the album and what to come from it. Check out the track and music video below!

[northboundbeats]

Watch the Black Key`s tear it up at ACL

       ACL Live is well known for the huge acts and amazing live shows that it puts on. Anyone that is anyone has played ACL Live and the shows are typically killer. The Black Keys will be releasing their ACL Live episode this Saturday, 1/31 and is definitely worth the watch. Below is some footage of what you should expect out of the episode. Enjoy!

[northboundbeats]

"Black Sun" by Death Cab For Cutie

       I was a little skeptical of Death Cab For Cutie`s up and coming album since the leaving of Chris Walla late last year but after hearing "Black Sun", I have become excited for the release of Kintsugi, Death Cab For Cuite`s 8th studio released album. This track actually sounds very similar to a lot of their earlier work which i think impresses much of there fan base. This is easily one of the better tracks that Death Cab For Cutie has recently released hopefully the rest of the track off the album will continue down the same path. Enjoy!

[northboundbeats]

"Stop Trippin`" by Griz Ft. iDA HAWK

           Although Detroit native and funk master Griz hasn`t shown much activity over the past couple months, he has been hard at work. A few weeks ago, Griz released his frist new track, "A Fine Way to Die", since Rebel Era (free obviously). This track being the first track off his upcoming album, Say It Loud, which finally received a release date of sometime in March. Yesterday Griz released that info and his latest track "Stop Trippin`" featuring iDA HAWK. "Stop Trippin`" starts off as a track you would hear in a Oceans 11 or 12 movie but improved with Griz`s  signature sax sounds added to it. To add to the hype of the song, there were no samples used in making this track and only using original sounds. Topping this huge release off, Griz  announces a huge tour covering coast to coast of the US.

[northboundbeats]

Oceans by Seafret

        Seafret is a refreshing, acoustic duo from North East England but now living in London. They are the perfect type of music to throw on a rainy day, with a cup of hot coffee and a nice book and just relax and Oceans is a perfect example of just that. From Harry Draper`s  peaceful guitar to the soothing voice of Jack Sedman, this is a group to keep your ear on. They are currently scheduled to open for up and coming alternative artist, George Erza, at 2015 BRITs week on Feb. 16 and should be expected to become more known over the next few months. Give Seafret a listen via Soundcloud or through Spotify.

  https://soundcloud.com/seafretofficial

[northboundbeats]

"Coyotes" - Modest Mouse

An innocent little coyote just catching a ride on a Portland rail train back in 2002 is what sparked the influence for Modest Mouse`s newest single. This being the second single , after "Lampshades On Fire", will be released on Modest Mouse`s seventh studio album, Strangers to Ourselves, set to be out March 3. A more mellow tune compared to "Lampshades On Fire" with an interesting video starring a coyote riding, you guessed it, a rail train. Watch the video through the link below via Interstate 8, a Modest Mouse fan collaborative site.

http://interstate-8.com/news.php?newsid=379