Winter 2016 New Music Playlist

With the East Coast bracing for a major snowstorm, it’s handy to have my next playlist ready for consumption. New releases by Cage the Elephant, GIVERS, and The Decemberists are ready to heat things up while a stand-alone single by The Dandy Warhols, “You Are Killing Me,” fits the mood as things grind to a halt. There are also teaser songs from albums dropping soon: Chairlift, School of Seven Bells, Ra Ra Riot, Animal Collective, Pete Yorn and more. Plus check out new bands Knox Hamilton and Sheer along with a pick off the official debut from Car Seat Headrest. Listen via Spotify at this link or as a YouTube playlist. 

**ANOTHER CHANCE FOR EXTRA CREDIT IF YOU CAN NAME EVERY BAND WITH FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE LINEUP (ANSWER AT THE END OF THIS POST!) 

1. “Badvertise” – Dr. Dog

Philly area band Dr. Dog recently collaborated with Pig Iron Theatre for a performance, Swamp Is On, which included this energetic frenzy of a song. The band is also revisiting songs from their debut back in 2001, a cassette release known as Psychedelic Swamp transformed into an official studio album.

2. “Heart Is Full” – Miike Snow

Swedish/American indie synthpop band Miike Snow dropped this single from an upcoming third album, III. The group was formed in 2009 by producing team Bloodshy & Avant with singer Andrew Wyatt, carving out pop hooks and expertly crafted tunes.

3. “Bent (Roi’s Song)” – DIIV

Zachary Cole Smith’s band is ready with a sophomore album, Is the Is Are, since 2012’s debut, Oshlin. The Brooklyn shoegazers released the single “Bent (Roi’s Song)” in a hazy dreamscape that is their signature sound.

4. “Water” – Ra Ra Riot & Rostam

Ra Ra Riot is an indie rock band formed in 2006 at Syracuse University, now based in Brooklyn. The group collaborated with Vampire Weekend’s Rostam Batmanglij for the songwriting and production of this single from the upcoming fourth album, Need Your Light.

5. “Romeo” – Chairlift

Synthpop duo Chairlift is releasing a third album since 2005, entitled Moth. With a pulsing beat, “Romeo” is off to the races with layers of Caroline Polachek’s enchanting vocals.

6. “Hightimes” – The Big Pink

The Big Pink is an electronic rock band from London, a quartet of multi-instrumentalists that has been creating music since 2009. “Hightimes” is the anthemic opening track from the upcoming EP Empire Underground.

7. “You Are Killing Me” – The Dandy Warhols

Portland rockers The Dandy Warhols released this single featuring the band’s signature chug of electric guitar.  With singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor’s deadpan delivery, irony ensues once again.

8. “Record High, Record Low” – GIVERS

Tiffany Lamson’s golden vocals return for this swinging tune off GIVERS’ sophomore album, New Kingdom. The band was formed in Lafayette, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina displaced Lamson and guitarist Taylor Guarisco from their apartment in New Orleans; they continue their musical path together.

9. “Why Would I Now?” – The Decemberists

This fall The Decemberists released an EP Florasongs, after seven albums since 2000. The earnest vocal stylings of Colin Meloy convey the obvious retorts in answer to the question, “Why Would I Now?”

10. “Summer Was a Day” – Pete Yorn

Singer-songwriter, guitarist and drummer Pete Yorn will release his seventh studio album since 2000 in March, entitled Arranging Time. He is returning to solo work after performing as The Olms with J.D. King, and this single finds his artistic introspection intact as the poetic visions pour forth.

11. “Confusion” – School of Seven Bells

NYC’s synthpop band School of Seven Bells was creating music during a dark time—founding member Benjamin Curtis was being treating for lymphoma; he died in 2013 despite a positive prognosis. The resulting material is part of a fourth and final album, SVIIB (as the name of the band is often abbreviated). The heartbreakingly sweet single “Confusion” is a tribute to the strength of all involved.

12. “Work It Out” – Knox Hamilton

Knox Hamilton is a quintet from Little Rock, Arkansas, influenced by 70s rock as evident in the debut EP How’s Your Mind. The melodic vocals carry the listener along for a fun ride throughout this optimistic tune of reconciliation.

13. “Trouble” – Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant recently relocated from Kentucky to Nashville where its fourth album, Tell Me I’m Pretty, was produced by Dan Auerbach (Black Keys, The Arcs). Matt Schultz’s gritty vocals provide the perfect conduit for their blend of pop and punk rock.

14. “FloriDada” – Animal Collective

Animal Collective is an experimental pop quartet originally formed in Baltimore in 1999. This wacky opening track for its tenth album, Painting With, is actually inspired by the detractors of state of Florida, which the band says gives the area a certain charm.

15. “Something Soon” – Car Seat Headrest

Car Seat Headrest is an indie rock quartet based in Seattle, an outgrowth of Will Toledo’s musical project in his native state of Virginia. He has produced fourteen albums since 2010, but debut album Teens of Style contains older songs like “Something Soon” reworked by a full band as well as new material.

16. “Girl from Conejo Valley” – M. Ward

Portland’s singer-songwriter and guitarist M. Ward is also a member of She & Him plus Monsters of Folk. His ninth solo album since 1999, More Rain, finds tuneful ballads such as the single “Girl from Conejo Valley.”

17. “Believe Your Mine” – Nada Surf

NYC alt quartet Nada Surf also has a ninth album coming out soon, titled You Know Who You Are.  The warm vocals of Matthew Caws have carried this band along into a blissfully mellow territory since 1992.

18. “Monochrome” – Sheer
Sheer is a L.A. four-piece with a fondness for 90s buzzy production since forming in 2010. “Monochrome” is the opening track for the band’s debut album, Uneasy, and as the first song the band ever wrote together, it immediately finds the sweet spot of collaboration.

DID YOU GUESS THREE BANDS?

1. CAGE THE ELEPHANT – BROTHERS Matt & Brad Schultz

2. KNOX HAMILTON – BROTHERS Boots & Cobo Copeland

3. SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS – TWIN SISTERS Alejandra & Claudia Deheza

Late Fall 2011 New Music Playlist

Here’s a new music playlist to indulge in before the onslaught of holiday music starts dancing in our heads.  Strong releases by Atlas Sound and The War on Drugs provide the backbone while newcomers Future Islands and The Drums serve as bookends.  See notes below -- listen at link here, enjoy!

1. “Stay Gold” – The Big Pink

English electro-pop duo The Big Pink has just released this single from their second album due in January, Future This.  The synth-heavy sound lends itself to the dance floor, while the straightforward lyrics create an instant sing along.

2. “Money” – The Drums

3. “Days” – The Drums

The Drums are an indie band from Brooklyn.  Singer Jonathon Pierce explained recently in a KCRW interview how they like to write short, sweet, simple pop songs and certainly shows in these two tunes off their second album, Portamento. Their somewhat derivative compositions are still hard to ignore, especially with such earnest intentions.

4. “Speaking in Tongues” (featuring David Byrne) – Arcade Fire

This is a bonus cut off the deluxe version of alt band Arcade Fire’s recent release, The Suburbs. It includes vocals by David Byrne, a natural nod to the Talking Heads who created an entire album with the same title.

5. “Come to the City” – The War On Drugs

6. “Come for It” – The War On Drugs

7. “City Reprise” – The War On Drugs

These three tracks are off the second full-length album, Slave Ambient, by this indie rock band from Philly.  Adam Granduciel’s vocals call out over a traditional rock structure with synths to bolster the texture of songs that quickly become anthems.

8. “Tell Me What You Want” – Pajama Club

This band was formed by empty nesters Sharon and Neil Finn (of Spit Enz and Crowded House fame) after their kids left home in New Zealand to pursue their own musical passions.  With fun, funky undertones, the song off their first self-titled release is a sexy tribute to life after child rearing.

9. “Your Eyes” – Bombay Bicycle Club

This song is from the third release by the U.K. indie rock band, titled A Different Kind of Fix.  As the group continues to polish and expand its sound, singer Jack Steadman’s earnest vocals keep things grounded.

10. “Te Amo” – Atlas Sound

11. “Mona Lisa” – Atlas Sound

Atlas Sound is the solo project of Deerhunter’s prolific musician Bradford Cox. These two songs are off the third release, Parallax, but Cox recently explained to SPIN that he writes every day to fill a avoid, referring it to thumb-sucking.  “Mona Lisa” features the vocals and piano playing of Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT.

12. “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything”– MGMT

This Bauhaus cover was included in a mix album, Late Night Tales: MGMT, recently released by the alt band.  It is a loving tribute in a compilation of “post-punk, cult indie and counter-culture figureheads” as hand picked by the group.

13. “Somebody That I Used to Know”  (featuring Kimbra) – Gotye

This newcomer to the U.S. scene is the stage name of Belgian-Australian Wouter “Wally” De Backer, a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter.   His international flair is making waves for this folksy tune with New Zealand singer Kimbra, a stinging musical attack on an ex-lover. The song is off Gotye’s latest release, Making Mirrors.

14. “Balance” – Future Islands

15. “Where I Found You” – Future Islands

This band from Baltimore took inspiration from the Outer Banks of North Carolina for their third full-length release, On the Water. From the sounds of waves to rolling melodies, these two songs tug at the heartstrings with singer Samuel T. Herring’s emotive vocals.

Late Fall 2009 New Music Playlist

Link to listen here.

1. The Reeling - Passion Pit

Found this one on Alt Nation driving my husband's car w/Sirius radio. I couldn't believe the unabashed 80s sound, reveling in it really! This American band from Cambridge, MA call themselves 'electronic' with their love of synths, why not.

2. Dominos - The Big Pink

With cringe-worth lyrics this song stays i my head and won't let go. One of the members produced The Klaxons at his own record label so there's the catchy tune reference.

3. Mistake - Moby
4. Shot In the Back of the Head - Moby

5. Pale Horses - Moby

6. Division - Moby

This new CD from my homie Moby (he grew up in the Big D of Darien before calling himself a New Yorker) was hailed for it's introspective nature but it still has some funky grooves to please the dance crowd. Had a hard time wittlling down the songs listed!

7. I'm a Pilot - Fanfarlo
8. Ghosts - Fanfarlo

9. Harold T. Wilkins - Fanfarlo

10. The Walls Are Coming Coming Down - Fanfarlo

My fave new band (meaning I bought their entire release and enjoy it often) though sometimes they plod along with way too much going on -- it's always interesting at least. Had to throw a few tunes on the list...

11. (If You're Wondering If I want You To) I Want You To - Weezer

The first single off the new Weezer release, blasting another romp that is still irresistable. Holding out for the rest of the CD that'll be under the tree with the Weezer snugglie and with the band going off a cliff in their tour bus traveling icy roads recently, I'm ever the more thankful for the new release.

12. Out of the Blue - Julian Casablancas
13. 11th Dimension - Julian Casablancas

Lead singer of The Strokes strikes out on his own to sound like The Strokes which isn't exactly a bad thing. I'm thinking I need that Christmas song he recorded too, but I have to buy the entire album which doesn't offer much of a variety in its offerings.

14. The Right - Lou Barlow

I actually remember his Sebadoh band in the 90s -- BUYING A CD to be able to hear a fav song of the time. He's also a member of Dinasaur Jr. Like the easy feel of this track, sticks with you.

15. Say Please - Monsters of Folk

Proclaimed as and American 'Supergroup' with Jim James of My Morning Jacket bleating out the vocals, this song rocks along nicely.

16. His Master's Voice/Monsters of Folk

Another track to indulge in and contemplate the lyrics as well.

17. Wicked Blood - Sea Wolf

Not exactly brand new, but hadn't gotten this dreamy tune on a playlist yet. It's led by NYU Film School grad Alex Brown Church who's now making L.A. his home. Also a founding member of late 90s band Irving.

18. The Getaway (U.S. Radio Mix) - Athlete

Looked hard for a track I liked on their new release since this band is usually too accessible in taste. But you gotta like how the band has been friends since 14 as I can imagine the band that practiced in my basement might travel the same course!