MP3: The Deep Dark Woods - "West Side Street"

Canadian folk rock outfit The Deep Dark Woods are apparently releasing their third record in less than two weeks, on August 2, something I had completely missed. The record is called The Place I Left Behind and it's the follow-up to their excellent 2009 record Winter Hours. Here's a teaser track from it in the form of "West Side Street", thanks to Captains Dead, so go ahead and download it below.

MP3: Kanye West & Jay-Z - "Otis" (feat. Otis Redding)

The long-awaited Kanye West and Jay-Z collaboration album Watch The Throne seems to finally get its release on August 1 after many delays, and a few days ago they released another track from the album. The track in question is "Otis" and it features samples from soul legend Otis Redding's cover of "Try A Little Tenderness". Listen to and download the track below, and check out the single artwork above.

Introducing...Kakkmaddafakka

Today I'm introducing another Norwegian band; Kakkmaddafakka. 6 young guys from Bergen who have made music since 2007 and toured Europe several times in past few years, including festivals like Iceland Airwaves and Melt! festival in Germany. This year they have released their second album "Hest", produced by their friend Erlend Øye (Kings of Convenience/Whitest Boy Alive). Their witty lyrics and catchy music are for rock lovers and you can listen to them here. Be sure to catch them once they announce their next Europe tour!

Introducing...Razika

I would like to introduce you to a Norwegian girl band that has been performing throughout Europe with Kakkmaddafakka, and they have even opened for Arctic Monkeys. The four bandmembers Marie, Marie, Maria and Embla are all around 20 years old and have been friends and made music together since they were kids and their music is catchy and powerful girl rock with lyrics in English and Norwegian.

Video: Black Lips - "New Direction" (official music video)

The Black Lips released their sixth studio album, Arabia Mountain, in June and before it's release they'd shared three tracks; "Go Out And Get It!", "Modern Art" and "New Direction". With the release of the new video for "New Direction" all three tracks have been given the video treatment, and you can watch the Jake Burghart-directed video for "New Direction" below.

Full album stream: Portugal. The Man – In The Mountain In The Cloud

I've been hearing mentions of Portugal. The Man for a year or so but I hadn't actually heard them until a two weeks ago, or so, when I listened to their new album In The Mountain In The Cloud. Judging by this album I've definitely been missing out, it's a very good album in the psychedelic pop vein, with great production and good songs - it's highly recommended for anyone into psychedelic pop and recommended to everyone. Listen to it using the widget below.

MP3: The War On Drugs - "Come To The City"

Adam Granduciel's The War On Drugs are set to release their second album, Slave Ambient, on August 16 via Secretly Canadian, and back when the album was announced in May we got "Baby Missiles", which received a video last week. Now they've decided to share a second track from the album, namely "Come To The City", which you can listen to and download below and it should certainly raise your expectations for the album even more.

Video: Deer Tick - "Funny Word"

Deer Tick will release their fourth album this fall, and so far no details have been released, but a few days ago Welcome To The West premiered a video of Deer Tick performing the track "Funny Word", being the first proper recording of a song from the album. As Welcome To The West points out there's a certain The Replacements-ish feel to the track and it's more straightforward rock than what we're used to from the band.

Hopefully we'll receive an album announcement pretty soon, and personally this is one the album's that I'm the most excited about right now. The "Funny Word" video was recorded in late June during the Sled Island festival in Calgary, Alberta, and you can view it below.

Laura Marling share album details for A Creature I Don't Know

British singer-songwriter Laura Marling announced her long-anticipated third lp, A Creature I Don't Know, a couple of weeks ago and earlier this week she shared the album details for the record. A Creature I Don't Know will be released on September 13 via Virgin Records and it'll be produced by Ethan Johns, and you can view the tracklist below and album cover above, and head over here to view the album preview video.