Photos courtesy of edited screenshots from Austra’s video for “The Beat and The Pulse”.

‘Little hope, sing a song of fire’: that lyric from the Joe Goddard remix to iamamiwhoami’s seminal hit ‘y’ is the focus of our first installment of the revamped monthly best of list here at The Sights and Sounds. Featuring tighter sounds, a driven focus and steel-toed heart permeating through each of the tracks, our curated sounds of July 2013 will have you turning towards your life, dancing away your problems like one tough, militant fucking cookie.

Featuring 17 of the best tracks of the month (clearly not a complete listing), we explore what it means to face your life ‘Not as a fool, or as a follower”, to be a dreamer in an age cruel to them, and the ways you have to fortify yourself to face the world. Follow the link to my soundcloud (and favorite me (DiscordBeing) on there as well The Sights and Sounds to keep updated throughout the month) but also grab linkage and other downloadables.

Countries Represented: (6) Australia, UK, Canada, US, Chile, Japan

Become an Indie Music Trivia Nerd:

• Never afraid to court controversy (oh, good on you) Foals’ video for Bad Habits featured a fairly creepy (depending on one’s tastes) montage of Yannis from the band following a naked woman around. Dark shit abounds. I guess, well not for me, but that’s better than the blood and gore featured in their last single. Alex Metric cuts out some of the darkness.
• iamamiwhoami’s video for ‘y’ received 13million hits. Sound like a lot for a tiny little swedish band? Yeah, we thought so, too. Turns out a good portion of people found their music by accidentally typing in ‘y’ in the youtube search bar. Bravo, marketing, iamwhoami.
• Believe it or not, Sailor & I’s hit summer single “Tough Love” has actually been around for a year. Talk about your slow burners.
• DJ Snake who fucking awesomely remixed AlunaGeorge’s “You Know You Like It” also helped produce Lady Gaga’s last album. Guy has an ear for pop masterpieces, no? Check out our review of the track here.
• Ellie Goulding’s new single “You, My Everything” coming right off the heels of “Burn” premiered on the 7th season of Skins in the Effy episodes. No one knows what the new project the singles are associated with, but they are already leagues above anything featured on Halcyon. Kudos to that super talented woman for never failing to excite us and marry indie sounds with the pop mainstream.

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