Free iTunes Downloads

Can a song be shy? With its tentative, almost hesitant opening of syncopated guitars and hypnotic, subtle changes in percussion, “Push to Freeze” takes a while to come out of its shell. Gradually adding sonic layers while maintaining a spacey, wide-open quality, Sorcerer (a.k.a. Daniel Judd) shows a great flair for creating inviting atmospheres and scintillating textures – and breaking the ice, so to speak. If you like the track, check out the album.

Owl City is the stage name of Adam Young, a Minnesota native plinking out dreamy tunes that meander down clever lyrical sidestreets. “Fireflies” melds a partly-cloudy-with-a-chance-of-clearing attitude to a trance-pop beat. The result: an invigorating, feel-good electro-pop experience. Young has a bit of Death Cab for Cutie in his vocal timbre that, when pressed up against a synthesized beat, is so effervescent it could levitate Stonehenge. “Fireflies” appears on Owl City’s latest album, Ocean Eyes. If you like the track, check out the album which is now available exclusively on iTunes for next two week for just $7.99.

Major Lazer is the dynamic DJ duo of Switch and Diplo, creating a distinct style of future-facing dance music. Diplo and Switch build a feverish pace on “Keep It Goin’ Louder,” chopping up baile funk beats and electro effects, while Nina Sky and Ricky Blaze watch over the packed dance floor doing play-by-play and color commentary. “Keep It Goin’ Louder” is an example of the collaboration-heavy Major Lazer debut, Guns Don’t Kill People Lazers Do. The album is stacked deep with guests like T.O.K., Santigold, Vybz Kartel, Turbulence, Future Trouble, Mr. Vegas, and . . . Andy Milonakis? You’ve been warned. If you like what you hear, check out the album.

One first glance at Empire of the Sun – from their album artwork, style, and song titles, and you won’t be sure whether or not you want to listen to them or stand in line at the theater to watch them on the big screen. They came across as either sci-fi diehards or glam rock warriors from outer space. Let it be known that the mastermind behind the group’s David Bowie-in-Labyrinth style is one Luke Steele. Steele you may know from his one man psychedelic pop project, the Sleepy Jackson. Walking On a Dream is the full-length debut from his newest incarnation. It’s a breezy mix of disco-pop, indie funk, and discombobulated yacht rock. Think MGMT, Phoenix, Alan Parsons Project, Prince – all filtered through Steele’s melody-heavy mind. Check out the title track. If you like the track, check out the album.

This week we’re entangled in the Juan MacLean’s love triangle. A mixed-gender trio of vocalists — ranging from monotone to soulfully falsetto — converse, while an electronic bass line flirts with occasional drum fills and orchestral breakdowns. Drums kick in toward the end, and the smooth, minimal groove slides into a dance-y house beat. If you like the track, check out the EP.

A sonic bed of gorgeous, ethereal electronica sets the swirling foundation for Passion Pit’s mastermind, Michael Angelakos, to unleash manic, falsetto crooning about visions of burning stars and beards growing through doors. The cosmic result is like walking into a bright, hazy dreamland — somewhere between hypnagogia and MGMT. If you like the track, check out the album.

Hercules and Love Affair is basically one Andy Butler, who has invited a variety of people aboard to vocalize his electro-pop experiments. “Blind” is an extraordinary record thanks to the inclusion of Antony (he of the Johnsons), who plays the role of melancholy, amazingly-voiced, electro ingenue like Jimmy Somerville and Alison Moyet before him. The group is signed to James Murphy’s DFA imprint, so you shouldn’t be too surprised when Hercules and Love Affair go global sometime this year.

Click here to visit Antony’s myspace page.

Cut Copy blew us away at South by Southwest. Their new album, in Ghost Colours is an exercise in drawing parallels between favorites old and new and trying to find a meeting point in between – from the vocodered robo-pop of French house to prog’s soaring harmonies to the texture of shoegaze, “Lights and Music” lands at some sort of trans-galaxial intersection between these disparate planets.

You’ve had your mind blown at the Daft Punk show, you’ve been dancing to Justice for months. Now you’re ready to get a little deeper. French newcomer Danger brings together glitchy pop with hard-hitting power chords and tone-pitched vocals. It’s a synth disco/funk overload and it’s pretty much irresistible. Hear it on the right sound system and it’ll likely change your life (at least for about 4 minutes).

If you like the song, check out the EP. You can visit the MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/2emedanger.

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Producer, singer, and violist Kelley Polar made his first mark when he and some fellow performers from New York’s Julliard School added live strings to the classic first album from Metro Area. This track is from his forthcoming new album, I Need You to Hold On While the Sky is Falling (produced by Metro Area’s Morgan Geist), and is more pop than dance, but maintains that crisp, driving minimalist beat (and viola accents) that have made his sound so identifiable.

Bonus: The iTunes store has the entire album available for two weeks prior to the release date. So check it out if you like this track.