Youtube Playlist of Early Summer 2013 New Music Songs

With the redo (or upgrade if it's fine by you) of YouTube channels, I had a bit of a learning curve putting together another playlist for my latest collection of new music.  Again, I never know what I'll find online there to check off the list of sixteen songs.  There are some live, some officially live and some videos with the recorded music showing live concert video.  All of my fave online radio stations are represented this go around, from KCRW and WFUV to KEXP.  Plus there are a few other outlets that were new to me and a fan's entry in this visual representation of my Early Summer 2013 New Music Playlist. Link here to the YouTube page or watch below.

Early Summer 2013 New Music Playlist

With Memorial Day the official start of summer, it’s time for another playlist to indulge in over the long weekend (along with the long awaited, new episodes of Arrested Development).  Highly anticipated albums by Vampire Weekend and The National, were released this month, along with new music by Deerhunter and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.  Newcomers such as CHVRCHES and Hands fill out the list with new tunes from Yo La Tengo, Foals and Telekinisis and more.  Time to fire up the grill and crank the tunes.  Link to listen here, enjoy!

1.  “Varsity” – Smith Westerns

Chicago-based band Smith Westerns returns with their sophomore album in June, called Soft Will.  This teaser single “Varsity” shows the songwriting chops of brothers Cullen and Cameron Omori, as they embrace a classic pop ethic with their indie rock quartet.

2.  “Argonauts” – The Little Ones

The Little Ones is a six-piece indie pop band based in L.A. “Argonauts” provides a quirky, memorable tune for their sophomore album, The Dawn Sang Along.

3. “Ghosts and Creatures” – Telekinesis

Telekinesis is the musical project of Seattle native Michael Benjamin Lerner.  For his third album of indie rock, Dormarion, he traveled to Austin, Texas to record with Spoon drummer Jim Eno. (Eno’s studio is on Dormarion Lane.)

4. “My Number” – Foals

English indie rock band Foals recently released a third album, Holy Fire.  Singer Yannis Philippakis leads the charge over tightly wound layers of percussive instruments in “My Number.”

5. “Penny” – Hanni El Khatib

Hanni El Khatib grew up skateboarding in San Francisco and wrote music on the side while working at the skateboard fashion label HUF. Now a singer-songwriter based in L.A., he continues a cool skater vibe for his second album, Head in the Dirt (produced by Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys).

6. “If You Didn’t See Me (Then You Weren’t On the Dance Floor)” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Detroit’s indie pop songwriting duo, Daniel Zott and Daniel Epstein, expand their band to a four piece for their Patterns EP.  This single showcases their vocal harmonies and electronic embellishments plus a welcome sense of fun.

7. “Diane Young” – Vampire Weekend

NYC’s alt rockers Vampire Weekend released their third studio album this month, Modern Vampires of the City.  The four-piece made a deliberate decision to expand into other genres for drawing influences, evidenced in the rockabilly attitude of “Diane Young.”

8. “Never Seen Such Good Things” – Devendra Banhart

Prolific singer-songwriter and visual artist Devendra Banhart has released his eighth album of folk-inspired rock, Mala.  His minimalist approach showcases the vocals and carefully edited instrumentation.

9. “Trouble” – Hands

Hands is an indie rock band from L.A. formed by Geoff Halliday and Ryan Sweeney in Philadelphia, before switching coasts.  “Trouble” is the catchy single for their debut full-length, Synesthesia, full of swirling synths and intertwining melodies.

10. “Demons” – The National

Indie rock royalty The National just released its sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me, with “Demons” showcasing Matt Berninger’s melancholy baritone.  Backed by two sets of brothers, Berninger and band are now based in Brooklyn after finding each other in Cincinnati in 1999.

11. “Holy Roller” – Thao & The Get Down Stay Down

“Holy Roller” is the stand out single from San Francisco-based Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s fifth album, We the Common. Thao Nguyen’s eccentric vocals playfully provoke within the alt folk/rock continuum. 

12. “The Missing” – Deerhunter

Deerhunter’s sixth album, Monomania, contains a collection of ambient noise rock along with shoegazing tunes such as “The Missing.”  The indie band was founded in 2001 by drummer/keyboardist Moses Archuleta and singer Bradford Cox (who also has a solo project, Atlas Sound).

13. “Recover” – CHVRCHES

Scottish electro pop trio CHVRCHES (pronounced Churches) has already made an impact with their debut EP, Recover.  The song "Recover" charges along with breathy vocals by Lauren Mayberry, with bandmates Iain Cook and Martin Doherty to complete the sound, recorded in a Glasgow basement.

14. “Before We Run” – Yo La Tengo

Indie rock stalwarts Yo La Tengo released its thirteenth album since forming back in 1984, called Fade.  “Before We Run” provides closure as the last track, a floating meditation sung by Georgia Hubley, sweetly building with percussion, horns and strings.

15. “Here I Am” – Adam Green & Binki Shapiro

“Here I Am” is the first track from the duet album by Adam Green (of the Moldy Peaches) and Binki Shapiro (of Little Joy), appropriately titled Adam Green & Binki Shapiro.  Their minimalist approach recalls a 1960s baroque pop, their voices melting together effortlessly.

16. “Plastic Cup” – Low

Indie rock band Low formed in 1993 with a “slowcore” mantra of slowed down tempos and minimal instrumentation, manifest here in “Plastic Cup.”  Based in Duluth, Minnesota, the group has released their tenth album, The Invisible Way (produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco).

Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist

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.