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.
It's always a nice exercise to review all the gifts of music encountered over the course of twelve months. This year was especially easy to go over the twenty song allotment for this end of year recap of top tunes. It's such a diverse group of artists but the list contains some of my very favorite voices on the music scene: Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Beck, Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses, Hamilton Leithauser, Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, Fran Healy of Travis, Will Sheff of Okkervil River, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, The Avett Brothers and Santigold. Plus I was so thankful for plenty of soaring melodies to carry me away from the neverending stress of daily news during this election year, for example The Boxer Rebellion, Wye Oak and Ra Ra Riot + Rostam.