To most people, the
Memorial Day weekend is the start of summer so why not explore some new music
for your own personal soundtrack. With a
mix of recent arrivals and established artists, releases abound for the
listening to heat things up. Notes are
provided with background info for further discovery. Link to listen here, enjoy!
1. “Disparate Youth” – Santigold
This solid single is off Santigold’s second album, Master of My Make Believe. With a mix of reggae, jazz and new wave
influences, she continues to forge her own distinctive pop path.
2. “Happy
Home” – Onuinu
Onuinu is the musical project of Portland multi-instrumentalist
Dorian Duvall, combining an electro pop past into a new genre he likes to call
“Disco-Hop.” This shimmering romp of a song
is off his upcoming full-length debut, Mirror
Gazer.
3. “Heaven” –
The Walkmen
The Walkmen are ready to release album number seven after a
decade together – this title track highlights their unique sound, featuring Hamilton
Leithauser’s passionate vocals over a steadfast foundation. The band members
are now living in New York City, Philadelphia and New Orleans, but still present
an unwavering united front for indie rock fans.
4. “Bad for
Me” – Brendan Benson
This tuneful song is the single off Benson’s sixth album, What Kind of World, which was recorded
entirely in analog. In the middle of a busy career as a musician, songwriter
and band member of The Racounteurs, he now also has his own record label called
Readymade Records.
5. “Good as
New” – Vacationer
6. “Trip” –
Vacationer
These groove-based songs bring a feel good summer attitude via
the new chill wave band Vacationer, embracing all things sunny and cool in the
debut release, Gone. Listeners may
recognize Kenny Valosi’s fun time vocals from his punk pop band, The Starting
Line.
7. “Warbeth” – The Magnetic North
This U.K. band is an alt music collaboration between Simon Tong
(Gorillaz, The Verve), folk artist Erland Cooper and prolific Irish songstress
Hannah Peel. “Warbeth” is a mesmerizing multi-part
composition off their debut album, Orkney:
Symphony of The Magnetic North.
8. “Act On
Impulse” – We Were Promised Jetpacks
We Were Promised Jetpacks is a quartet from Edinburgh, Scotland,
generating buzz with their take on indie rock.
This building jam is off their second release, In the Pit of the Stomach.
9. “Alpine” –
Hands
This single from Australian band Hands will be featured on their
upcoming full-length release. Six band members
combine to create quirky songs with Scandinavian sounding indie pop
sensibilities.
10. “Heart” –
Oberhofer
Founder and frontman Brad Oberhofer moved East from Tacoma,
Washington to study music at New York University and now his band is based in
Brooklyn. He writes and records all the
music himself, gathering a tour band to support this second release, Time Capsule II.
11. “Montauk”
– Rufus Wainwright
American-Canadian singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright recently
released another album of intensely personal songs featuring his signature
tenor and virtuosic piano playing. (He has seven albums of original music, ten
if you count compilations and other contributions). This one, called Out of the Game, focuses on his new stage of life finding the
wonder in marriage and fatherhood.
12. “Higher
Palms” – My Best Fiend
This Brooklyn based quintet embraces the psychedelic ways of
fuzzy indie pop. Singer Fred Coldwell
provides spaced out renditions of melodic vocals for this single and lead track
on their second release, In Ghostlike
Fading.
13. “Hey Jane” – Spiritualized
14. “So Long
You Pretty Thing” – Spiritualized
Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J. Spaceman) has had a tough seven years
battling health problems such as double pneumonia and going through chemo for
liver disease. So it’s no surprise that the new release for his U.K. band, So Long You Pretty Thing, is full of
soul searching songs contemplating the highs and lows of human existence.
15. “Saint
Nothing” – Daniel Rossen
This quiet, solemn song is off Daniel Rossen’s solo EP, Silent Hour. Rossen is originally from
Los Angeles, traveling east to study at New York University and then becoming
part of the indie bands Department of Eagles and Grizzly Bear.