INDIE ROUNDUP: Benatton, GNO & M.O

Apols for being a bit dead to the world, ya'll. June was a hectic one for me. Shortly after my 26th birthday smack dab in the middle of the month, my laptop (aka my gateway to you all) crashed and burned (I live such a glamorous life). But everything is back to normal now and it's a good thing, too -- 'cuz I got so much to squee about.

BENATTON - "Mute Mula"

Jay, ToNe & Parlay have been no strangers to my column -- I've been #TeamBenatton since I first saw them perform live a year and a half ago (can't believe it's been that long!). They may be an indie group but you wouldn't guess it -- they continue to crank out quality tunes that should make the majors jelly. The most recent is "Mute Mula", an aggressive and stark (but still dance-floor friendly) statement about doing the damn thing and giving everyone "post traumatic swag disorder" in utter jealousy. If you like the sounds you hear, you can download a bunch of Benatton tracks for free here and make sure you follow 'em on the Twitters and tell 'em Melismatic sent you.

GIRLS NITE OUT (GNO) - "Love Somebody"

The five ladies of Girls Night Out continue to reap the rewards of being one of the most promising new American girl groups -- their cover of Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive" (featuring new member KJ on primary lead) was nominated as one of Ryan Seacrest's "Songs of the Summer" (vote for them to win the title here). They recently served up another cover on their YouTube channel, going with Maroon 5's latest single "Love Somebody". The wait for their upcoming original single is literally killing me.

M.O - "Come Let Me Show You"

Another day, another fab British girl group. I've been so psyched about the M.O project that I totally neglected to take the time to give 'em a blog mention but that ends today. M.O is a Brit trio in the vein of Brick & Lace meets Stooshe meets 702, and get this -- one of it's members, Frankee, was formerly known as 1/2 of epic Xenomania duo Mini Viva. Obviously, I would already be hands in based on this alone, but the tracks speak for themselves. Single "Ain't Got Time" sounds like a forgotten Xscape masterpiece but they switch gears for their most recent cut in "Come Let Me Show You" -- a dance banger with a serious groove.