New York based three-piece fun. are set to release their debut album ‘Aim & Ignite’ through Hassle Records on June 7th with exclusive bonus content. The album will be preceded by the single All the Pretty Girls on May 31st.

fun. is what happens when three extraordinarily talented musicians come together to create something altogether new and wonderful. Nate Ruess, late of The Format, has teamed up with multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff (Steel Train), resulting in their ingenious debut, Aim And Ignite. The trio melds an array of diverse inspirations – spanning Broadway to The Beach Boys, “Nilsson Schmilsson’ to “Pinkerton” – into an irresistible collection of freewheeling pop songcraft.

With ‘Aim & Ignite’, fun have crafted a contemporary rethinking of classic 70s pop, where ornate arrangements and inspired orchestrations meet present-day rock ‘n’ roll. Take, for example, At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be), which suggests the heretofore unimagined sound of a Caribbean Queen, with Ruess belting extravagantly over a backdrop of festive horns and steel drums. Barlights – arranged by longtime Ruess fave Roger Joseph Manning Jr. (Jellyfish, Imperial Drag, Moog Cookbook) – is brash and brassy blue-eyed soul, while Dost’s Light A Roman Candle With Me is rollicking and Randy Newman-esque.

Songs like the album-opening Be Calm meld finely wrought chamber-pop orchestrations – all brass and strings and multi-tracked harmonies – with guitar-fueled rock ‘n’ roll, and tracks like Benson Hedges and single All The Pretty Girls are fit to burst with richly prolix lyricism and intricate melodic twists and turns, which provide plenty of room for Ruess’ distinctive vocals to soar.

Sound of Guns release their new single “Architects” on June 21st through Distiller Records. The single will be available on 7” vinyl and digital download. This track is taken from their forthcoming debut album “What Came From Fire” which will be released on June 28th. The band have been busy in the studio with the renowned producer/mixer Chris Potter (Verve / U2) who has mixed the single.

Sound Of Guns are from Liverpool but don’t have the usual sound associated with the city. They have chosen anthemic power chords over jangly guitars and riotous gang vocals over quirky lyricism- an experience of epic proportions.

Having broken through the ranks via BBC Introducing last year, the band have had many highlights including playing at Radio One’s Big Weekend, a main stage performance at Latitude festival and 4 performances at Glastonbury festival. They rounded off the year with a show at the inaugural Sound City festival in Dubai and opening Liverpool’s Music Week.

Their debut EP ‘Elementary of Youth’ was Zane Lowe’s ‘hottest record in the world’ on his Radio One show and they have been tipped for great things from the likes of Q, The Guardian, Rocksound and The Fly. Steve Lamacq also featured them as his favourite new band on his 6music show. The band have just completed a headlining UK tour and will now be embarked on further dates including a Club NME show at the Great Escape Festival, alongside Everything Everything and Delphic.

Double Dagger’s new CD/LP ‘Masks’ was released on 22 March 2010 through legendary label Thrill Jockey and features limited edition packaging designed by Nolen Strals (vocals) and Bruce Willen’s (bass, vocals) own design studio, Post Typography. The LP and CD each come in three different covers, all with custom die-cut jackets printed as different mask drawings with “eyes” that change color depending on the orientation of the CD or LP sleeve. The EP was recorded by the band using a necessarily DIY setup and manages to capture the loudness and energy of Double Dagger’s explosive live performances.

As a taste of what to expect you can check out a FREE MP3 of the track ‘Pillow Talk’…

For more info on Double Dagger visit their Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/doubledaggersucks

Ganglians’ awesome single ‘Candy Girl’ is released today on Berlin-based label Souterrain Transmissions. The single is available for free download. Click below.

Ganglians – Candy Girl by souterraintransmissions

Next month, the band see the UK release of their album ‘Monster Head Room’ (May 10th) before their European tour kicks in, taking in 2 UK stints and an appearance at Primavera.

May

18 – UK – London – Cargo
21 – Ireland – Dublin – Whelans (upstairs)
22 – UK – Belfast – Menagerie
23 – UK – Glasgow – Captains Rest
24 – UK – Manchester – Deaf Institute
25 – UK – Cambridge – Portland Arms
28 – Spain – Barcelona – Primavera Sound Festival
29 – Spain – Barcelona – Primavera Sound Festival

June
25 – UK – Nottingham – Bodega Social Club
26 – UK – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club
27 – UK – London – Barden’s Boudoir

In the last couple of years, Dan Stephens and Joe Ray (with vocalist Alana) AKA Nero’s reputation has grown massively. They followed their ‘Requiem EP’ for Formation Records with a massive single on Breakbeat Kaos – first home of Pendulum – ‘Act Like You Know’. Their first venture in Dubstep, ‘This Way (featuring Alana)’, released in 2008 is still hailed as a classic of the genre and their recent remix of The Streets ‘Blinded By The Light’ still features in the sets of DJs as diverse as Chase & Status, Diplo, Skream and Tiesto. They have recently supported Chase & Status, Deadmau5 and Zane Lowe on tour.

It is quite obvious why they have signed to Chase & Status’ new label MTA Records, with an album due later this year: they share with them the same love of all things bass, dabbling with equal ease with dubstep and drum and bass and, alongside luminaries such as Sub Focus, Skream, Jackbeats and others Redlight, they break style boundaries in their search of a perfect groove.

This single is a glorious example: ‘Innocence’ is an instant dubstep classic, a grandiose feast of dramatic keys and eerie vocals torn to pieces by a monstrous bassline, while ‘Electrons’ unleashes a raw energy reminiscent of the rave days, with an infectious hook and diva-style vocal samples.

Nero are currently in the studio collaborating with Sub Focus and putting the finishing touches to their debut album, which will be to 2010 what Sub Focus debut LP was to 2009, and ‘More Than A Lot’ to 2008.

Four Year Strong

Pop punk supremos, Four Year Strong, have confirmed a string of UK dates to coincide with the release of their heavily anticipated third full length album, Enemy of the World. The album will be released in the UK on Defacto/Island Records on May 31st.

The band, Dan O’Connor (Vocals/Guitar), Alan Day (Vocals/Guitar), Josh Lyford (Vocals/Synth), Jake Massucco (Drums), and Joe Weiss (Bass), was formed in Massachusetts in 2001 after O’Conner, Day, and Massucco met through mutual friends. With influences like Lifetime, Saves the Day, Gorilla Biscuits, and New Found Glory, FYS has always strived to create music that they themselves would enjoy as listeners. Their motivation has manifested itself in a fluid mix of everything from punk pop to hardcore to indie rock.

Their distinct sound and incredibly energetic live shows has led to their inclusion on countless tours and also caught the attention of Fallout Boy’s Pete Wentz, who signed FYS to his label Decaydance Records in February 2008. The band’s heightened profile hasn’t stopped them from working non-stop as they continued a hectic touring schedule last year as a part of the Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour and co-headlining a summer tour with Set Your Goals in the US. The band have recently been touring in the US with Every Time I Die.

The band worked on EOTW with legendary producer, Machine (Lamb of God, Cobra Starship, Armour for Sleep).

UK DATES AS FOLLOWS:

Friday 28th May BOURNEMOUTH ACADEMY Slam Dunk By The Sea

Saturday 29th May HATFIELD UNIVERSITY Slam Dunk South

Sunday 30th May LEEDS UNIVERSITY Slam Dunk North

Monday 31st May GLASGOW ACADEMY Slam Dunk Scotland

Tuesday 1st June WOLVERHAMPTON SLADE ROOMS (Headline Show)

Wednesday 2nd June LIVERPOOL ACADEMY 2 (Headline Show)

Thursday 3rd June LONDON ISLINGTON ACADEMY (Headline Show)

Support acts for headline shows will be confirmed shortly. Pre-sale tickets are available from today, Wednesday 7th April and tickets go on general sale on Thursday 8th April for all headline shows.