Blonde Redhead will release their second album on 4AD in April. The album titled, 23, will be released on April 10th in the States and the 23rd in Europe.

Named after a song by band, DNA, Blonde Redhead was formed in 1993 in New York City. Current band members, Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amadeo Pace, have continued the refinement of the bands unique sound with their upcoming release. Transitioning from the no-wave influence felt on their early releases, the band has grown into to a sound hard to pigeon-hole. It is both delicate and dramatic, and walks in territory occupied by both indie cred and britpop/shoegaze textures.

Check out a track from the forthcoming release below.

Blonde Rehead resources online: official website, myspace, label, tour dates, itunes

Blonde Redhead - Dr. Strangeluv

Originally recorded for the BBC Radio 1's Leftfield Show, hosted by Rob da Bank, Cansei De Ser Sexy performs the catchy I Wanna Be Your JLo.

Online resources: CSS MySpace, CSS Website, Rob da Bank MySpace, Leftfield Show Website

Cansei De Ser Sexy - I Wanna Be Your JLo

Got a case of the Mondays? Just try and listen to Rachel Sweet's cover of B-A-B-Y and try and not feel better.

Rachel Sweet - B-A-B-Y

Back in 2005 former Propaganda and ACT chanteuse Claudia Brücken, and ZTT label-mate, Andrew Poppy created a unique album of cover songs.

Well before Nouvelle Vague gave 'new wave hits' the Bossa nova treatment, Brücken & Poppy created Another Language. Like the album name implies, the twelve songs are re-presented through Brücken's distinctive voice and Poppy's minimalist style, in way you hadn't heard before: all are a work of voice and solo piano or guitar.

Online resources: Label Website, Andrew Poppy Website

Claudia Brücken & Andrew Poppy - Running Up That Hill
Claudia Brücken & Andrew Poppy - Broken English

New Young Pony Club are a quintet from London. Formed in 2004, they were discovered and signed worldwide by Phil Hutcheon of Modular Records, after just two 7" single releases.

Much in the style of dancepunk's Van She and CSS, the band melds the remnants of Second-Wave and Electro into catchy tunes. They've released a flirtateous, hybrid EP of original and remixed versions. Hopefully when the full-length drops they put out as well as they tease.

Online resources - MySpace, Website, PETA Interview

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream
New Young Pony Club - The Bomb

Pleasure, is the project of 25-year-old London-based, Norwegian artist/producer, Fred Ball. A modern update on eighties minor-key synth-pop, the just released album, Pleasure 2, boasts an unusal team of featured artists including Suede singer Brett Anderson, Elastica's Justine Frischman, and Catatonia's Cerys Matthews, Gus Gus singer Heidrun Bjornsdottir, et al.

Like Stuart Price and Richard X, beside his own projects, Ball is also a talented producer and is created with the forthcoming Brett Anderson full length, as well as working with Bertine Zetlitz, and KT Tunstall.

Ball cites Michael Jackson, Prince, Yes, Van Der Graf Generator and The Residents as his musical influences. Without a trace of irony, Ball announces that “My hero is Rick Wakeman!”

Check out a few tracks below, they are pure bold, pleasure.

Online resources: Website, MySpace

Pleasure (featuring Brett Anderson) - Back To You
Pleasure - Uptown
Pleasure - Finest Thing

Lets talk about boys for a second. Particularly, this one right here:

J'adorable. Hell, half this band is pretty dang attractive, and seems to have a flavor for every taste. They're Je Suis France, a Georgian progadellic indie psych outfit getting ready to drop their latest full-length, Afrikan Majik. This will be their 3rd full length, and the buzz beginning to build suggests that its their most cohesive to date. With 17 CD-R or 7" EPs under their belt between their first two records and the release of Afrikan Majik, they've made sure to spend the time carefully crafting gorgeous Southern fried indie pop and big glammy psychadelic songs.

The two tracks below hopefully serve to show how diverse and solid the new record will be. Whalebone is a 7+ minute long jaunt into very psychadelic territory, keeping a pop sensibility to the vocals that recalls Dump and Yo La Tengo. The second track "That Don't Work That Well For Us" is a short and sweet indie pop jam that shows they have some accesibility to the band as well.

I just hope he comes over to play it for me. Did I mention his name is Darkness? That shit is too cute. And check the tooth gap, because boys with gapped front teeth make my pants tight. Bands, please have more cuteness like this.

Je Suis France - Whalebone
Je Suis France - That Don't Work That Well For Us