Kevin Bronson on May 26th, 2011

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Letting Up Despite Great Faults sneaked up on everybody in 2009 as Michael Lee’s bedroom-project-turned-pop-darlings, the band’s self-titled debut ranking as good as, or better than, myriad artists reviving the infectious synth-pop of the Sarah Records crew. Since then, Lee must have been pumping a lot of iron in that bedroom – Letting Up’s February show at the Echoplex and March’s excursion at the Buzz Bands LA showcase at SXSW revealed a beefed-up live sound and new material whose fuzzy melodies and harmonies cut through the haze like a beacon. Letting Up announced today that they have a new EP, “Paper Crush,” due Aug. 2 on Old Flame Records. On “Teenage Tide,” Lee and bandmates Kent Zambrana, Chris Gregory, Matt Salas and Caitlin Dwyer find the sweet spot between urgent rhythm and woozy dream. Let summer commence.

||| Download: “Teenage Tide”