The 15 best tracks I’ve heard in the last two weeks. New music from Norway, France, Canada, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands and the north (Seattle), south (Louisville), east (New York), west (San Francisco) and mid-west (Chicago) of the US.

Rogue Wave ‘College’
Veteran Oakland indie rock band (formerly on Sub Pop now on Vagrant) return with a track that should appeal to fans of bright, hooky indie rock. New album Nightingale Floors due in June.
[Rogue Wave]

Big Eyes ‘Back From The Moon’
This one actually came out almost a year ago, but only just came to my attention. Seattle based three-piece fronted by former Brooklynite Kate Eldridge (ex-of Cheeky, whose other members went on to be in The Babies and Aye Nako (the former featured in  ITP #14 and the latter featured below). A new album has been recorded and is due for release sometime this year.
[Big Eyes]

M83 featuring Susanne Sundfør ‘Oblivion’
Title track from the new Tom Cruise SF movie with a score by M83’s Anthony Gonzalez and composer Joseph Trapanese. Vocals are from singer/songwriter Sundfør, probably best known outside of Norway for collaborating with Röyksopp on ‘Running to the Sea’ earlier this year. Follow the link to listen to the whole soundtrack.
[M83] [Susanne Sundfør] [Oblivion Soundtrack]

Young Galaxy ‘New Summer’
The Montreal band slow down the pace with a melancholy piece of analog electronic pop.
[Young Galaxy]

Serengeti ‘Direction’
Featured back on ITP #4 as one third of s/s/s (along with Sufjan Stevens and Son Lux) the prolific Chicago hip hop artist David Cohn returns with a track from forthcoming alter ego Kenny Dennis album on Anticon.
[Serengeti]

Aye Nako ‘Molasses’
90s style female fronted alt rock from New York band who list their interests as ”awkward silences, interventions, poor group dynamics, bottled up frustration, drinking, keeping it to ourselves, homosexual tendencies, grooving, posteriors”.
[Aye Nako]

Julia Brown ‘Library’
Seriously lo-fi recording of otherwise quite accomplished and not un-ambitious indiepop. Features members of the similarly fidelity averse Teen Suicide.
[Julia Brown]

Empress Of ‘Tristeza’
The crystalline School of Seven Bells-style dreampop of ‘Hat Trick’ was featured back in ITP#28. This follow up is in a similar vein, though veering more towards electronic pop. Oh, and sung in Spanish.
[Empress Of]

Majical Cloudz ‘Childhood’s End’
The project of Montreal musician Devon Welsh featured in ITP # at the end of last year. Vocals still remind me of an 80s pop singer I can’t quite place.
[Majical Cloudz]

Split Single ‘Fragmented World’
Power pop with hints of of Tom Petty and Fountains of Wayne. Jason Narducy (ex-Guided By Voices amongst others ) currently plays in Bob Mould’s band. Here he’s backed by Spoon / Divine Fits’ Britt Daniel and Jon Wurster of Superchunk / The Mountain Goats (and also currently in Bob Mould’s band). Follow the link to hear two more tracks over on Soundcloud.
[Split Single]

Weekend ‘Mirror’
San Franciscan post-punk in the style of The Cure’s early albums. On Slumberland with similarly inclined label mates Girls Names.
[Mirror]

Las Ardillas ‘Linda Niña’
Puerto Rican punk. Band name appears to be Spanish for ‘the
chipmunks’, ‘the squirrels’ and ‘the gophers’.
[Las Ardillas]

Coliseum ‘Fuzzbang’
A track from the Louisville punks forthcoming J. Robbins produced fourth album Sister Faith, out April 30 on Temporary Residence.
[Coliseum]

Traumahelikopter ‘Down In The City’
Garage punk from the Netherlands (Gronningen).
[Traumahelikopter]

Jenny Hval ‘Mephisto In The Water’
Norwegian singer songwriter / poet / author who previously recorded as Rockettothesky, returns with her second album under her own name Innocence Is Kinky. It’s produced by John Parrish, and musically (*lazy music journalism alert*) you can see where she might share some DNA with PJ Harvey. But her vocals, which always seem to be the heart of her music, are very much her own.
[Jenny Hval]

Takeaway