BEST NEW MUSIC - AU/RA - DANCE IN THE DARK

This year at Coachella I was forced to come face to face with my own old man out-of-touchness. I hadn’t even heard of Billie Eilish before I stumbled up to her absolutely packed set at the festival. Who was this seventeen year old making deeply original music? Simple beats, with strong (dark!) vocals and killer presence? What rock did I live under? Now my eyes are wide open and It’s clear to me that we live in the time of the teenager. Old people don’t know shit.

While Eilish has fast become a radio superstar, Au/Ra is not very far behind. These two seventeen-year-old pop-sensations from opposite sides of the globe are sisters in a new kind of sound. One that really bumps (in a dark kind of way) and appears to connect with a whole lot of anxious and angry younger people. (Does this make Lorde their Aunt? Or grandmother?) It’s nice to know that I haven’t aged out of this sound even if I’m slightly late to the party on it.

AU/RA - DANCE IN THE DARK

Au/Ra’s “Dance in the Dark” is an upbeat electro-goth tune that belongs on the radio (well, SiriusXM) and in the headphones of angry teens (and slightly less angry older people) who just want to scream their feelings to the sky, but may not have the words for it.

This is a hit, and one that we’re glad to be slightly ahead of the curve on, instead of deeply behind. Listen now, share it with your friends! This is a banger. One that we’ll sure to be listening to all summer long.

The production on this track shines in it’s minimalistic heaviness-- a bit of a pop industrial resurgence from The Six, a production and songwriting collective out of the UK who are responsible for some of your favorite hits (seriously, look them up).

“Dance in the Dark” has been released simultaneously alongside Au/Ra’s “Medicine,” which we also really dug a lot too. It was a tough call which song we wanted to write about, but we went with this one based on sheer catchiness. The green-haired songstress is going to have a really great year ahead of her with tracks like these. The only question left is: What’s NEXT?!

From deep within the murky depths of the Los Angeles River emerged a creature: 50% raver, 50% comedian, 10% Robotcop. Kurt Kroeber doesn’t own a dog, operates Soundbleed (the world’s only dance party comedy talk show rave), and is down to party with you. Come up some time and say “Hey dude!” But definitely make sure to casually drop the secret Illuminati password.