Inspired & The Sleep is a little band out of San Diego that creates music much in the vein of artists like Tune-Yards. “While We’re Young” in fact has that band written all over it. The song is sunny lo-fi pop at its finest; upbeat and filled with joyous blissful indie vocals, tribal percussive beats, and twee acoustic guitar.

One thing you can always count on with Letting Up Despite Great Faults is their ability to put together an astonishing video. With both “Teenage Tide” and “Our Younger Noise”, the band found a great balance between the modern world and fantasy. They do it again with “Sophia In Gold” off their 2011 EP, Paper Crush.

Of all Fleet Foxes‘ collective works to date, none have impressed me as much and as thoroughly as “The Shrine / An Argument”. Off their latest LP, Helplessness Blues, the song is a medley of sorts, an elongated story with various movements. It’s downright exciting to see the song played out in an eight-minute video, created by front-man Robin Pecknold’s brother Sean. The song is epic in the truest of senses.

Paladino is a Los Angeles-based band that creates a blend of Americana, old-time country and psychedelic folk. Their blend is an interesting one that incorporates playful, intricate guitar riffs with mopey, downtrodden vocals. It’s precisely what you want from such a band; “Ode to Misery” is plenty upbeat. Enough to make you dance. Their video is proof.

These days, it’s hard to focus on anything unfamiliar that hits my inbox. The sheer quantity of emails that come in is staggering. Only doing FensePost full time would allow me to get through it all. Every once in a while, there’s a free moment in which I take a quick look at a few, and I’m almost never disappointed. “Crank It Up” is one such song. It’s by a little Danish band called The Boombox Hearts.

Nothing says America like Corona bottle juggling and swigs of Maker’s Mark being taken directly from the bottle.  Trips to the beach, poorly trimmed beards, and an overall don’t-give-a-damn attitude, mixed with a wonderment for what the morrow might bring.  Yep, these subjects can pretty much sum up the feeling of ease we Americans sometimes unjustly feel.  The fact that they also happen to be the subject matter for Portugal. The Man‘s latest video “So American” are not coincidental.  They are as intentional as war strikes and peace signs.  Once again, …

Studio Pigalle had The Dø over for a set and this eight-minute masterpiece is the result. Having grabbed this French band’s new LP Both Ways Jaws Open early last week, I’m finding it hard to deny the awesome power behind the tribal track “Slippery Slope”, which originally surfaced on their Dust It Off EP from December of 2010. It fits the realm of bands like Lykke Li, MGMT and The Ting Tings.

What better way to visually express the beauty of Anja McCloskey‘s exquisite vocals and accordion based folk music than through interpretive dance, right?  And better yet, how about a setting that is reminiscent of any one of the Twilight movies, but make it far more interesting and relevant (to anything really).  Then throw in some random blood-smeared faces.  And while the situation is obviously a bit dark and partially morbid, the obvious beauty of Anja’s voice can not be masked.

I played Exitmusic‘s “The Sea” on my KSVR radio show a few weeks back. I found the music to be somewhere between the haunting melodies of Beach House and the hushed whispers of Still Corners. The band consists of New York duo Aleksa Palladino and Devon Church. And if Palladino looks familiar, it’s because she also plays a character in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire.

Shawn Fogel has a light-hearted way of conducting himself that makes his lovable indie-pop songs so damn interesting and enlightening.  And this is probably why FensePost has featured his worked damn near religiously since his inception of the moniker known as Golden Bloom.  With every move the man makes, we are right there behind him.  And the release of his fantastic new video for “Rhyme The Reason” should hold no exception.  Once again, Mr. Fogel performs brilliantly and in a fashion that is not only entertaining, but might make you …