YouTube Playlist of Winter 2014 New Music Playlist Songs

In this YouTube playlist of my latest collection, there were few actual videos produced by the artists.  New music is now just being slapped up on the site as simple promotional previews, but I wish we'd be able to glimpse the band in action instead (whether hanging out or performing?)  In a basic fan to band marketing tool, it'd allow another connection to the people checking out the new tune and wouldn't even cost much by using found footage spliced together.  Ah well.

Link to listen and watch the montage here or click video below.

Winter 2014 New Music Playlist

The ground hog seems to have definitely gotten things right – winter continues with a vengeance for those who are accustomed to such weather or not (looking at you Southeast!)  Why not use the time indoors to check out new bands like Temples, Big Data and Jamestown Revival, along with new releases from Fanfarlo, Cut Copy, Gardens & Villa, Bombay Bicycle Club and more.  As always, the playlist ends in a chill out mode thanks to tracks from Caspian and Hammock.  

Link to listen here, enjoy!

1. "Free Your Mind" – Cut Copy

Australian synth pop quartet Cut Copy has released its fourth album since 2001, with songs promoting the concept of individual freedom. “Free Your Mind” is the title track and single for the collection, using swirling layers to connect the power of positivity embedded in this dance tune.

2. "Colony Glen" – Gardens & Villa

Santa Barbara indie rock quintet Gardens & Villa is back with a sophomore album, Dunes.  Working with DFA producer, Tim Goldsworthy, the song “Colony Glen” relies on a solid synth backbone for a more extroverted sound.

3. “Shelter Song” – Temples
English pysch rock band Temples was formed in 2012 by singer-guitarist James Edward Bagshaw and bassist Thomas Edison Warmsley.  The “Shelter Song” shows this new group’s taste for heavy reverb with a tuneful take on songwriting.

4. "Dangerous"  – Big Data
Big Data is an electronic pop duo (Daniel Armbruster and Alan Wilkis) that uses music as a message to rail against user privacy and other perils of the internet age.  “Dangerous” is a solid pop single from the debut EP, I.O. – EP.

5. “Landlocked” – Fanfarlo
London based indie pop quintet Fanfarlo released its third album since 2006, Let’s Go Extinct. With influences of folk, indie rock and post-punk, the song “Landlocked” highlights Swedish musician Simon Balthazar’s warm baritone over a busy mix of electronic and acoustic instruments.

6. "Tourniquet" – Jeremy Messersmith
Messersmith is a prolific singer/songwriter based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. With an unusual analogy for a love song, “Tourniquet” is a quirky but catchy tune off Murmurs, his fifth album since 
2006.

7. "Shake" – The Head and the Heart
Seattle indie folk rock band The Head and the Heart recently released its second album, Let’s Be Still. The single “Shake” is emblematic of the group’s aesthetic of sunny male/female harmonies over acoustic guitars.

8. "Red Eyes"  – The War On Drugs 
“Red Eyes” is the single off the third album since 2005, Lost In the Dream, by Philly indie rock quintet The War On Drugs. The band’s signature wall of sound via guitars brings an epic jam, for almost five minutes of group swagger.

9. "Forever" – Painted Palms

San Francisco based cousins Reese Donohue and Christopher Prudhomme recently released their debut full album as Painted Palms.  “Forever” is the title track, a multi-sectioned paean to 60s psych pop utilizing the tools of modern electronic production.

10. "Giants"  – Bear Hands

This Brooklyn indie electro quartet released “Giants” as a stand alone single. With the wavering synths, melodic guitar lines and punchy vocal delivery, the song is instantly memorable yet ready for many a replay.

11. "The Letterbomb"  – Milagres

Brooklyn’s indie rock band Milagres relies on the sweeping, artistic vision of singer and songwriter Kyle Wilson.  “The Letterbomb” combines explosive percussion and Wilson’s storytelling vocals as a teaser single for the upcoming sophomore album, Violent Light.

12. "Step Out" – José González

José González of the Swedish band Junip contributed three songs to the soundtrack of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  For “Step Out” he embraces a cinematic approach to his indie folk songwriting, expanding the music palette with orchestral instrumentation and multi-generational vocals.

13. "Luna" – Bombay Bicycle Club

“Luna” is the single from So Long, See You Tomorrow, the fourth album by England’s indie rock band Bombay Bicycle Club since 2005.  The song features singer Rae Morris as a female counterpoint to Jack Steadman’s vocals, amid a swirling soundscape over tabla and mallets in a worldview of percussion.

14. "California (Cast Iron Soul)" – Jamestown Revival

New band Jamestown Revival joins childhood friends Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance flaunting their Texan roots in this song about moving to L.A. Their harmonies and acoustic instruments blend in an easy jam, clearly demonstrating that all ties to home clearly remain intact.

15. "Pulaski at Night" – Andrew Bird

Singer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird recently released a seven song EP, I Want To See, based on this wistful tune referencing his home base of Chicago.  His distinctive, laid back vocals float easily over the eclectic musical arrangement.

16. "Hymn for the Greatest Generation" – Caspian

Caspian, an instrumental post-rock band since 2004 from Beverly, Massachusetts, had to regroup after the sudden, unexpected death of bass player Chris Friedrich last summer. The group went on with the tour in supporting a new EP, Hymn for the Greatest Generation. This title track opens the collection that now has even more depths of emotion.

17. "Then the Quiet Explosion" – Hammock

Hammock is an ambient post-rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed by two guitarists in 2005, Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson.  They craft larger-than-life songs with live instruments, electronic beats and haunting electric guitar lines, such in “Then the Quiet Explosion” from a sixth album, Oblivion Hymns.

Winter 2012 New Music Playlist

Here’s to the New Year and the new music to be investigated as always.  Many of the picks for this playlist were found by investigating annual lists of top songs from 2011, revisiting bands if needed.  The end of the year brought new releases from The Black Keys and Florence + the Machine to explore along with many other diverse groups on the scene. Link to listen here, enjoy! 

1. “Don’t Move” -- Phantogram

2. “16 Years” – Phantogram

Phantogram hail from upstate New York, a band consisting of two friends since middle school in Saratoga Springs.  Keyboardist Sarah Barthel’s vocals flow over electronic beats and guitar parts by Josh Carter. The band name, referring to psychedelic optical illusions, could also allude to the rich, multi-layered sound by this indie pop duo.  These songs are off their EP, Nightlife.

3. “Black Hills” – Gardens & Villa

Gardens and Villa are a quintet of college friends from Santa Barbara, California, who pledge to play all parts live to achieve the laid back jam sound.  Vintage synth keyboards, guitars and percussion of all sorts combine with an occasional bamboo flute on their self-titled debut release.

4. “Gold” – Delay Trees

This lush creation is by a quartet from Finland, shoegaze pop in its finest form.  The song continues along a slow build to maximum effect.  “Gold” is off the band’s self-titled debut release.

5. “Lonely Boy” – The Black Keys

6.  “Gold On the Ceiling” – The Black Keys

These two songs are from El Camino, the seventh studio release from The Black Keys.  Patrick Carney (drums) and Dan Auerbach (guitar) collaborated with Danger Mouse for this harvest of tightly wound compositions.

7. “Top Bunk” – Gauntlet Hair

Gauntlet Hair is led by two high school friends from Chicago, Andy Rauworth and Craig Nice. They supposedly used Rauworth’s grandmother’s house to record songs while she was away from vacation.  The self-titled debut is full of noise pop songs with a spacious grandeur of their new home near Denver, Colorado.

8. “Thankful” – Caveman

This New York quintet uses handmade guitars to mold the blurred sound of shoegaze reverb but pop vocal melodies keep things on track.  “Thankful” is off their debut release, CoCo Beware.

9. “Amazing and Wonderful” – Peaking Lights

Peaking Lights are a psychedelic noise pop duo from the Madison, Wisconsin area, having relocated from San Francisco.  This husband and wife team of Indra Dunis and Aaron Coynes concoct free-form home recordings to fill this sophomore release, 936.

10. “When I Was Young” – Nada Surf

This song is a free download off the New York trio’s website from the upcoming seventh release, The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy.  The mellow storytelling is a hallmark of the alt rock band, now creating music for two decades.

11. “Shake It Out” – Florence + The Machine

London’s Florence + The Machine released their second studio album, Ceremonials, with a continuation of powerful indie pop led by Florence Welch’s standout vocals.  “Shake It Out” amps up the sound with confidence, as recorded at Abbey Road Studio with Paul Epworth (also producer for Adele).

12. FFunny FFriends –Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Unknown Mortal Orchestra is the home studio project by Ruban Nielson, a New Zealand native who moved to Portland, Oregon with his band Mint Chicks.  It allowed an indulgence in mixing psychedelic past with a pop sensibility for quirky fun, as found in this lead off track from the self-titled debut.

13. This is Not the End (featuring Luciana Villanova) – Gui Burrato

Brazilian electronic music producer Gui Burrato has now three releases of his own compositions, the newest one titled III.  This dreamy song closes out the mostly-instrumental collection, with Luciana Villanova’s wistful vocals calling, This is not the end.