MV Monday: Wu Tiao Ren, Sound of the Xity, Cat Learned Dog, Lost Train

Southern fried folk, upbeat punk stylings, indie pop inspiring, and a sneak peek at Beijing’s sole festival survivor. An eyeful and earful for all you lazy city folk out there. Here’s the latest from Wu Tiao Ren, Cat Learned Dog, Lost Train, and a promo for this year’s The Sound of the Xity.

The Guangzhou-based folk outfit Wu Tiao Ren, who hail from Haifeng, Guangdong, who recently returned with their latest, and might I add, exceptional, album Canton Girl, and they’ve got a music video for ‘Good Evening, Miss Spring’. A beautifully put together video, that perfectly captures that nostalgic Cantonese nightlife atmosphere that is so prominent in Hong Kong films. Drenched in color and humidity and that song – there’s something so charming and rustic in the band’s music that I can’t resist.

Mao Xue Wang, or Cat Learned Dog, possibly one of the most inane (and by that I mean awesome!) band names out there, has been a roll as of late, picking up showcases left and right ever since the post 80s influenced punk band released their first EP, Electric Car Boy, late last year. The band kicks off a eleven city tour this Sunday, April 26^th at School and they’ve put together a cute little tour promo video to get you rockers out there excited. It’s basically a bunch of talking heads giving their regards to the band, which, for such a young band, is impressive in its own right. There must be something about these kids.

Annual music industry mashup Sound of the Xity returns for its 2015 edition from April 28th-May 3rd. The \”international music industry expo & festival\” will be held at various venues across town, showcasing a variety of local acts alongside a handful of international names, including artists from the UK, Israel, Korea, Spain, Austria, and more. Curious to see what exactly is in store – well the organizers have been kind enough to drop a seven minute promo which highlights pretty much every act of the festival. A surefire way for me to judge a band on a seven second clip. You’ll be surprised.

Looking to serenade that girl next door with some good old fashioned Mando pop? Well, Lost Train has got you covered. The indie pop outfit, originally from Heilongjiang in the northeast, but now based out of Beijing, has slowly been raising the ranks, headlining shows along the likes of Escape Plan, Residence A, and bands with massive followings. It’s easy to see why – dudes know how to pull some heart strings with their indie pop stylings which is comforting, wistful, and musically, safe. Toss in a trumpet and you got a band that knows what’s it’s doing. The above video is for their latest single \’Calgary Road\’ and is as mundane as one might expect — but surprisingly works quite well as a song on it\’s own. Go figure.