Sorry guys! No posts until Monday. Have a great weekend!

Video Premiere: Gwen Stefani - Early Winter

Even though The Sweet Escape made me lose pretty much all interest I had in Stefani (which was a great shame), I had to post this video today because it is one of my absolute favorite Gwen tracks recorded... annoying that it had to be a part of such a crap album. THIS is the Gwen I love, and I'm extremely surprised that she released it as a single nearly a year after the album came out.

The Hives - T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S.



"We rule the world"

Despite my love for all music Swedish, I've only ever been a casual fan of The Hives, one of the biggest bands in the country. It's just a matter of taste, really. Their brand of brash garage rock isn't always my thing. I do love the new single, Tick Tick Boom, though, and I'm a sucker for when bands experiment with their sound and attempt something totally left field. On the band's new album (released this week in the States), they've done just that... teaming up with American producers The Neptunes for T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. God knows this shouldn't have worked, and I'm not a fan of wonderful Swedish music being corrupted by our samey U.S. producers, but the song ends up being something really special, fun and funky. Although, I wish Maja from The Sounds were singing it instead. Now that would be good!

The Hives - T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. (zshare)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Buy the album here!)

DKDent - Teenage Love



"I would have died just to hold your hand"

Here's a discovery for you. Germany's DKDent completely has the potential to be an enormous electropop duo, yet I haven't seen them featured on any music blog out there yet. Teenage Love, their first single, should (in a perfect world) be racing to the top of the pop charts all over the world. It's got a massive chorus, an extremely catchy synth hook, cleverly relatable lyrics and a great vocalist. Really, they've got the entire package. Just remember where you heard them first!

DKDent - Teenage Love (new zshare soon)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Buy the EP here!)

The State Of Floral Beings - Proxy



"Staring at the bright blue sunset"

Not since last year's Oh No Ono have I posted a pop song this crazy. The State Of Floral Beings' Proxy is absolutely insane: a noisy, catchy bright track that comes on like a hurricane and leaves just as unexpectedly as it started. The group is from Sweden and considers themselves "experimental," which, to me at least, is always a turn off (when it comes to music - haha). Luckily, they've got enough pop smarts to craft songs that are not only interesting and weird, but memorable as well.

The State Of Floral Beings - Proxy (right click)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Download more for free here!)

DAMPFBAHN! - Go Higher



"This damn city is blocking my light"

Listen to some of these influences that Danish band DAMPFBAHN! lists on their myspace: Flaming Lips, Scissor Sisters, Steve Vai, Ace Of Base. An interesting mixture, for sure, and amazingly you can hear a little bit of each in the band's music. This is a band officially on the edge of something great. I'm not sure they're 100% there yet, but there is so much potential here. They've got a lot of great songs already, and Go Higher is one of my favorites. It may not be the flashiest, but it's quite uplifting and just a great, classic pop song.

DAMPFBAHN! - Go Higher (zshare)

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists! Download more for free here!)