Early Spring 2017 New Music Playlist

Spring has arrived early ­ – and I don’t just mean the recent unseasonably warm spell of weather here in the Northeast. There’s enough new music to fill up another listening session with tunes by indie stalwarts Spoon, Arcade Fire and The New Pornographers, plus Father John Misty, Future Islands and Mew.  Slowdive returns after decades while new band Day Wave drops a single off an upcoming debut. Music also incites action by soliciting donations for organizations jeopardized by the new administration. And check out the new collaboration known as BNQT featuring playlist faves along with bands such as Animal Collective, Goldfrapp and more. Listen up on Spotify or as a YouTube Playlist.

1. “Hot Thoughts” – Spoon

This is the single and title track for the ninth album from Austin’s indie rock band Spoon. The band was formed by lead singer/guitarist Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno back in 1993, but shows no sign of slowing down. Producer Dave Fridmann returns after 2014’s They Want My Soul, continuing to push this group’s gritty approach into a wider experimental arena.

2. “Darling” – Real Estate

New Jersey formed but now Brooklyn based jangle pop quartet Real Estate is ready with a fourth album since 2009, Mind.  This single “Darling” finds the signature layered guitar lines and harmonies intact, like a sunny disposition in song.

3. “High Ticket Attractions” – The New Pornographers

Canadian indie rock seven-piece The New Pornographers will soon release its seventh album since 1999 called Whiteout Conditions (the first without founding member Dan Bejar). “High Ticket Attractions” continues the band’s energetic and full-textured sound that showcases the singers Carl Newman and Neko Case.

4. “I Give You Power (featuring Mavis Staples)” – Arcade Fire

Montreal-based band Arcade Fire released this stand alone single to coincide with the Trump inauguration, with all proceeds donated to the ACLU in protest. “I Give You Power” is highlighted by the powerhouse vocals of Civil Rights icon Mavis Staples, bringing the issue a needed urgency.

5. “Away from Today” – Dan Croll

British singer/songwriter Dan Croll has a powerful command of the pop music idiom, having attended the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts founded by Paul McCartney. “Away from Today” boasts a sweeping melodic structure, complete with horn section, to ready fans for the next album since 2014’s debut.  

6. “Break Apart (featuring Rhye)” – Bonobo

Bonobo is the stage name of British musician, producer and D.J. Simon Green, who brings L.A.’s R & B musical duo Rhye on board to flesh out this lilting tune. It is found on Migration, the sixth studio album since 1999.

7. “Ran” – Future Islands

Synthpop Baltimore quartet Future Islands will release its fifth studio album The Far Field in April, after traveling to L.A.’s iconic Sunset Sound studio to record new songs with Grammy award-winning producer John Congleton (the first collection since 2006 with live drums). This single, “Ran,” leads with a mysterious chord before percussion, guitars and Samuel T. Herring’s distinctive growling vocals.

8. “Ladada” – Dr. Dog

Philly area based Dr. Dog recently offered up an entire surprise album on Bandcamp with proceeds going to the Southern Poverty Law Center – titled Abandoned Mansion, the group’s tenth release since 1999.  The shared vocals of Toby Leamon (bass) and Scott McMichen (lead guitar) impart a musical earnestness to everything the band does in studio or on stage.

9. “Star Roving” – Slowdive

This lush wash in song, “Star Roving,” is English dream pop band Slowdive’s first single in 22 years. Formed by childhood friend Neil Halstead and Rachel Goswell in 1989, the group is currently working on its fourth album.

10. “Peacemaker” – Animal Collective

Experimental pop band Animal Collective just released its eighth EP, The Painters, since forming in Baltimore back in 2003. It serves a companion to the recent studio album, Painting With, as “Peacemaker” challenges the listener to follow down another winding, wonderful musical path in song.

11. “Ballad of the Dying Man” – Father John Misty

Father John Misty (a.k.a.  singer/songwriter Joshua Michael Tillman) is ready with a third studio album in his solo career, Pure Comedy. He recently wrote to fans that it “is the story of a species with a half-formed brain” but his music is always a worthy listen no matter what the subject.

12. “Something Here” – Day Wave

Day Wave is the musical project of Jackson Phillips, who enlists touring musicians for live shows yet the fully-formed tune “Something Here” belies the newly arrived band. It is a single for his upcoming debut album called The Days We Had.

13. “Restart” ­– BNQT

“Restart” is the single and opening track for Volume 1, a debut album coming in April for the new supergroup with Fran Healy (Travis), Ben Bridell (Band of Horses), and Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), along with Jason Lytle (Grandaddy) plus three members of Midlake.  With such a stellar lineup, the song pulls off confident swagger from the opening note!

14. “Anymore” – Goldfrapp

Goldfrapp is the English electronic songwriting duo of Alison Goldfrapp (vocals, synths) and Will Gregory (synths), who record under a mantra that music is a visual experience. “Anymore” struts along with buzzy underpinnings as the single for the band’s upcoming album Silver Eye, its seventh since 1999.

15. “Dear To Me” – Electric Guest

L.A.-based electric pop band Electric Guest is ready with a second album, Plural. (It was formed in 2011, although this easy breezy tune “Dear To Me” served as my introduction.) The group is made up of Asa Taccone (vocals, instrumentals) and Matthew Compton (drums) plus brothers Todd (bass) and Tory Dahlhott (keys and guitar).

16. “Carry Me To Safety” ­– Mew

Danish alternative rock band Mew will release its seventh studio album, Visuals, next month. This gorgeous and expansive composition, “Carry Me to Safety,” serves as the single as well as the closing track, buoyed as always by Jonas Bjerre’s sweet voice.

17. “Fallss” – Bayonne

Bayonne is the stage moniker for Austin’s Roger Seller, who has performed under the name since 2015. He explained that he wrote this delicate song for an upcoming album during an emotional time when he was “striving for growth and getting better as a person and song writer.” 

18. “First Rain (featuring S. Carey)” ­ ­– Teen Daze
Teen Daze is the musical project of Canadian electronic musician Jamison Isaak, who is ready to release his sixth album since 2010, Themes for a Dying Earth. The meditative single “First Rain” recruits the talents of S. Carey  (musician Sean Carey of Eau Claire, Wisconsin).

Late Spring 2016 New Music Playlist

Here is another listening session of new music released this spring, full of heavy-weight veterans such as Radiohead, Travis, The Dandy Warhols and Peter Bjorn and John plus new bands such as LNZDRF, Bayonne and Sofi Tukker. There’s also some country twang found in White Denim, Frightened Rabbit and Band of Horses along with some fuzzed-out indie songs from Autolux, Caveman and Cullen Omori. Listen on Spotify or as a YouTube Playlist.

1. “What You Talking About?” – Peter Bjorn and John

Swedish indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John is ready with a seventh album since 1999, Breakin Point, full of hook happy tunes like the lead single, “What You Talking About?”  With a blast of feel-good synths that sound like a cheery whistle, the song bounces along even while bemoaning issues of communication.

2. “Cinnamon” – Cullen Omori

Chicago’s Cullen Omori (formerly of Smith Westerns) continues on a similar course solo with psych pop leanings for his solo debut, New Misery. The melodic song “Cinnamon” cleverly skims the surface as he sings about the euphoria of finding love.

3. “Get Out” – Frightened Rabbit

Scottish quintet Frightened Rabbit recently released a fifth album, Painting of a Panic Attack, produced by Aaron Dessner of The National.  The band formed in 2003 and took a break after a long tour in support of the last album, 2013’s Pedestrian Verse, but returns to continue the journey with gritty, soulful indie rock.

4. “Casual Party” – Band of Horses

Southern indie rockers Band of Horses will soon release its fifth studio album since 2004, Why Are You OK. The single “Casual Party” is a full on musical love fest as the quintet takes the theme of meaningless social interactions.  

5. “Thank You” – White Denim

Austin rockers White Denim had to reinvent itself after two band members left, so singer James Petralli likens the new album Stiff to a debut release although it counts as number seven since 2006. The song “Thank You” finds the group’s roots rock intact, while the new kicky sound brings a new energy to the music.

6. “Burn the Witch” – Radiohead

English indie supergroup Radiohead lives up to the hype for its first song in five years, “Burn the Witch,” an epic swirl of strings, pulsating rock rhythms and singer Thom Yorke’s plaintive vocals. It serves as the single and title track for the group’s ninth album since 1985, the first in five years after 2011’s King of Limbs.

7. “Styggo” – The Dandy Warhols

The Dandy Warhols, Portland’s alt rock juggernauts, has released its ninth album called Distortland. The tune “Styggo” chugs along with the signature swagger of singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s vocals and confidence galore amid this quartet.

8. “Lates” ­– Bayonne

Bayonne is the music project of multi-instrumentalist Roger Sellers, who likes to call it electronic/minimalist material. “Lates” is a dreamy track off the debut full length album, Spectrolite.

9. “Magnificent Time” – Travis

Scottish indie stalwarts Travis is ready with its eighth studio album since 1990, Everything At Once.   This carefree single, “Magnificent Time,” is fueled by a enthusiasm that other bands might find hard to fathom otherwise.

10. “Ocean” – Rogue Wave

California’s indie rock quartet Rogue Wave has released its sixth studio album since 2007, Delusions of Grand Fur. The zippy tune “Ocean” features the laid back vocals of frontman Zach Schwartz (a.k.a. Zach Rogue).

11. “Selectallcopy” – Autolux

L.A. alt rock trio Autolux returns after six years with a third album called Pussy’s Dead. Eclectic songs like “Selectallcopy” draw from influences such as post-punk, Krautrock and experimental electronic music.

12. “Hey Lion” – Sofi Tukker

New York-based duo Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern has made an impact on the strength of singles such as “Hey Lion,” a funky dance tune with a sparse instrumentation and sexy vocals. A self-titled EP is planned for later this year.

13. “Solitude”­ – M83

M83 is a French-American electronic music band led by Anthony Gonzalez, now based in L.A. The cinematic tune “Solitude” is the second single off Junk, a seventh studio album for the group since 2001.

14. “Beneath the Black Sea” – LNZNDRF

LNZNDRF, a new band touting post-punk and Krautrock influences, was formed by Ben Lanz (member of Beruit and collaborator with The National) and brothers Bryan and Scott Devendorf (both of The National).  “Beneath the Black Sea” is one of eight songs on the self-titled debut improvised and edited down from the recording session’s 30 plus minute jams.

15. “Neighboring in Telescopes”  – Eluvium

Eluvium is the moniker of ambient recording artist Matthew Cooper, who is based in Portland after being raised in Louisville. The floating soundscape of “Neighboring in Telescopes” is found on his eighth studio album of unreleased material from 2009 – 2015 called Curious Things.