London quartet Childhood are another exciting young British rock band as of late, only instead of leaning towards the scrappy, messy relative classicism of tour-mates Palma Violets or the sober, controlled post-punk fury of Savages, the band employs a full, bright guitar sound and propulsive rhythms to deliver their spin on luminous guitar pop and shoegaze-leaning rock. Their newest single is "Solemn Skies," a misleading title if I've ever heard one: this song soars, built on a textbook guitar lead and a backbone of smeared chords. When the band builds to a climax just before a false fade out and again during the final minute, you can almost feel the hot, radiant sunlight on your face.

[from the "Solemn Skies" b/w "Semester" 10"; out 06/10/13 via House Anxiety/Marathon Artists]