Late Fall 2021 New Music Playlist

 Listen on Spotify, enjoy!

1. "Wake Me Up"  –  Foals
2. "No Choice"  –  Tame Impala

3. "Moment to Change" – Mano Le Tough

4. "Dreaming of U" – Oberhofer

5. "Where Do You Go" – Day Wave

6. "Sunrise/Sunset" – The Dodos

7. "Dream Never Dies" – Lo Moon

8. "Otomo" – Bonobo, O'Glynn

9. "White Fence Round House" – Vetiver

10. "Fisher Island Sound" – Beirut

11. "Goodbye Vista" – Deserta

12. "G2G" – The Antlers

13. "Somethin' More Than This" – Wajatta

14. "Welcome" – Jon Hopkins, 7RAYS

15. "Superstar" – Beach House

16. "Six AM" – The Album Leaf

Romantic Songs Playlist for Valentine's Day 2021

Filled mostly with songs from the past year beyond a trip down memory lane to acoustic soul baring songs by Damien Rice, Ray LaMontagne and Devendra Banhart plus an old gem by Radiohead. Give a  listen to my Romantic Songs Playlist for Valentine's Day 2021 on Spotify here.  

For further inspiration, visit my posts from past years:  2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.

1. "Never Tear Us Apart" – The National

2. "Guess Again" – Jeff Tweedy

3. "The Animals Were Gone" – Damien Rice

4. "Within You" – Ray LaMontagne

5. "Never Seen Such Good Things" – Devendra Banhart

6. "As the Sun Sets" – Sorry

7. "Crush" – Day Wave

8. "Pattern 17" – Jamison Isaak

9. "Love is All We Share" – Cut Copy

10. "Moonlight" – Future Islands

11. "One More Second" – Matt Berninger

12. "My Heart Bleeds" – Rhye

13. "Hurt" – Arlo Parks

14. "Fire for You" – Cannons

15. "Feel You" – My Morning Jacket

16. "Fake Plastic Trees" – Radiohead

17. "Apes & Children" – Lane 8

18. "Dawn Chorus" – Jon Hopkins

Summer 2020 New Music Playlist

Listen on Spotify, enjoy!

1. "Crush" – Day Wave

2. "The World" – Pete Yorn

3. "Dear Stranger" – STRFKR

4. "Disco Kitchen" – Gardens & Villa

5. "Forced Convalescence" – Bright Eyes

6. "A Ghost" – Travis

7. "Motion Pictures (for Carrie)" – Steve Gunn

8. "The Wall & I" – Nation of Language

9. "Serpentine Prison" – Matt Berninger

10. "She's Stronger" – Nana Adjoa

11. "Knuckleduster" – Muzz

12. "Never Come Down" – The Neverly Boys

13. "Kyoto" – Phoebe Bridgers

14. "Running Red Lights" – Avalanches featuring Rivers Cuomo and Pink Siifu

15. "Reality Refresh" – Teen Daze

16. "Wandering" – The Album Leaf
17. "Exhale" – Jónsi
18. "Pattern 17" – Jamison Isaak

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).

Winter 2017 New Music Playlist

Here’s a playlist to get caught up on recent releases as well as others on the horizon. Check out new tunes from The Shins, Elbow, the xx, and Animal Collective along with up and coming bands like Day Wave and the latest collab of artists called LIV. There are also tunes from new musical projects by Michael Nau, Peter Silberman and Joshua Ostrander plus a cover by Nada Surf. Listen up on Spotify or as a YouTubePlaylist.

1. “Name For You” – The Shins

Songwriter James Mercer confidently returns to earlier Shins form with this swinging single “Name for You” appearing on an upcoming album, Heartworms.  This is the fifth album for the Albuquerque band since 1996.

2. “Here in Spirit” – Jim James

“Here in Spirit” features the plaintive vocal stylings of Jim James, the primary songwriter of Louisville band My Morning Jacket.  The song is off his second solo album since 2010, Eternally Even.

3. “Wasting Time” – Day Wave

Day Wave is the musical project of Jackson Phillips in Oakland, California, enlisting touring musicians as needed. “Wasting Time” is a lush indie pop tune off his second EP, Headcase.

4. “Follow the Leader” – Foxygen

“Follow the Leader” is another overblown but irresistible song by L.A. band Foxygen, created by Sam France and Jonathan Rado in 2005. It serves as the single for their third album of psych pop, Hang.

5. “On Hold” – the xx

London band the xx is back with a third album since 2009. It veers away from what The New York Times once called "miserabilist," thanks to band member/producer Jamie xx’s infusion of beats to up the mood. Co-members Oliver Sim and Romy Madley Croft coo the lyrics back and forth in this single “On Hold” from the new release Trio.

6. “Noise Pollution (featuring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Zoe Manville)” – Portugal. The Man.

Portland based band Portugal. The Man. is ready with its eighth album since 2004, Gloomin + Doomin, with Mike D of the Beastie Boys producing.  This explains the new sound for the group, as a gritty dance groove permeates the single “Noise Pollution.”

7. “Sweep Me Off My Feet” – Pond

Australian psych rock band Pond, a collaborative music project, shares members with fellow Aussies Tame Impala. This stand alone single, “Sweep Me Off My Feet,” begins in a buzz of synths to expand into a meandering sonic journey of wavering melodies over a percussive landline.

8. “Shine” – Mondo Cozmo

Mondo Cozmo (a.k.a. Joshua Ostrander) is an L.A. based musician, visual artist and human rights activist who has released a series of songs. This cathartic single “Shine” imagines a worry-free world, complete with an uplifting sing along chorus.

9. “Dream Awake” – liv

Liv is the Swedish word for life, and this supergroup of musicians from the country (Lykke Li, Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, and Pontus Winnberg, along with Andrew Wyatt, of Miike Snow) churn out a grand vision for pop songs like “Dream Awake.” Li has described the vibe as a lovechild of ABBA and Fleetwood Mac.

10. “Love Survive” – Michael Nau

Guitarist Michael Nau, formerly of the Cumberland, Maryland, indie folk outfit Cotton Jones, has embarked on a new solo project writing songs like the lilting “Love Survive.”

11. “One Eye Open” – Trentemøller

Trentemøller is the musical moniker of Danish producer and multi-instrumentalist Anders Trentmøller, based in Copenhagen. “One Eye Open” showcases the haunting vocals of singer Marie Fisker – the first track Trentemøller worked on for the fourth album since 2006, Fixion.

12. “Mountain Game” – Animal Collective

Animal Collective was formed in Baltimore as an experimental pop quartet that would eagerly crisscross genres and bend many rules. After ten albums since 2003, the atmospheric “Mountain Game” was released as a single after somehow being rejected for a video game.

13. “Laura Lee” ­– The Besnard Lakes

Montreal’s six-piece The Besnard Lakes recently released its sixth studio album since 2003, when it was formed by the husband and wife musical team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas. “Laura Lee” is a prime example of the ambitious sound of the band’s expansive songs.

14. “Magnificent (She Says)” – Elbow

English alt rock band Elbow will soon release its seventh studio album since 1997, Little Fiction. The elegant comfort of Guy Garvey’s vocals return in full force for the single “Magnificent (She Says).”

15. “Distant Shore” – Porcelain Raft

NYC- based Italian musician and producer Mauro Remiddi is releasing the third album of his solo career, Microclimate. The gauzy sonic structure of “Distant Shore” is emblematic of Remiddi’s alluring compositions.

16. “Where Is My Mind” ­– Nada Surf

Nada Surf singer Matthew Caws brings an enigmatic yet casual take on this cover of The Pixie’s “Where Is My Mind,” which was recently snagged to soundtrack a Samsung ad. The NYC indie band has released eight albums since 1992.

17. “Slips Away” – Peter Silberman
Peter Silberman of The Antlers has a new solo project with a debut album called Impermanence. He has brought the same restraint to songwriting after dealing with severe hearing problems, displayed here in the single "Slips Away."