New Song by Bear Hands, "2 AM" (New Album Out April 15)

Bear Hands (photo via BearHandsBand.com)

The new kicky tune "2 AM" by Brooklyn-based Bear Hands was an easy pick for my next playlist. Filled with the yore of house parties and a chorus with the parental admonishment of "Nothing good happens after 2 AM," this witty song extols the longing of the ageless. It will appear on the upcoming release You'll Pay for This, due April 15 via Cantora Records.

Self described as both post-punk and indie rock, Bear Hands was formed in 2006 and have two albums plus two EPs to date. The early days began after Dylan Rau and Ted Feldman met at Wesleyan University, forming the band with Val Loper and TJ Orscher. College classmates (and label compadres) MGMT provided a few opening slots which quickly brought the attention of a wider audience. Their song "Giants," from the last album Distraction, appeared on my Winter 2014 Playlist and I can't wait to give a listen to the new album. Check out the video for "2 AM" below as directed by Sami Jano and Steve Meierding, technically a "lyric video" with signage displayed appropriately throughout the scene.

New Song by STRFKR, "Never Ever" (Upcoming Album Due in 2016)

Photo via Polyvinyl Records

STRFKR is my kind of band - proudly creating songs that have an inherent danceability, whether under the guise of indie pop, synthpop or neo-psychedelia. This Portland group began in 2007 as Josh Hodges' musical project but quickly grew into a proper band with Shawn Glassford and Keil Corcoran joining in, along with touring members as needed. I picked their funky tune "While I'm Alive" from the last album, Miracle Mile, for my Winter 2013 New Music Playlist and now they are ready to release another album later this year with the single "Never Ever" ready for a listen below.

Drum machine slaps deliver the intro and the groove begins, as melodic vocals carry things into verses and choruses are announced by instruments dropping out for punctuating pauses. A keyboard solo brings it into a slow build complete with handclaps until a fade out brings a conclusion, leaving this fan eager for more.

My Essential Music - More Fave Band Playlists (Talking Heads, Arcade Fire, Spoon, Moby, Beck, Flaming Lips, Cake, Franz Ferdinand, New Order, Gorillaz, The National & Band of Horses)

Visit wfuv.org for more info 

Last week during the pledge drive for public radio station WFUV, listeners were asked to submit their "essential music," a list of five bands/artists, along with their donation. This is clearly a clever way to survey the audience, but it also got me thinking of sharing more of my personal faves in playlist form. In prior posts, I have linked to my LCD Soundsystem Faves playlist with the news the band will be releasing another album after breaking up in 2011 (and an update: the band has signed with the behemoth Columbia Records!) Plus I posted my David Bowie Faves playlist after this legend's untimely death.

So here are links to some more playlists of "essential music" found on my Spotify account @NewMusicMatters, dig in!

Radiohead Faves

Talking Heads Faves

Arcade Fire Faves

Spoon Faves

Moby Faves

Beck Faves

Flaming Lips Faves

Cake Faves

Franz Ferdinand Faves

New Order Faves

Gorillaz Faves

The National Faves

Band of Horses Faves

Romantic Songs Playlist for Valentine's Day 2016

It's that time again... I've noticed that people have been searching for a Romantic Songs Playlist by clicking on my prior posts from 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 so I better get to this year's line up. As always, it's a mix of old and new songs that deal with the many facets of being in love. I can't help but indulge in some tunes from the 80s, when I was young and in love and NYC served as our playground for late nights with a soundtrack heavy on the synths. Other picks are newer creations of all genres and many moods across the musical spectrum. Link to listen on Spotify here, enjoy!

1. "Space Age Love Song" - A Flock of Seagulls
2. "Temptation" - New Order
3. "Snowden" - Doves
4. "When U Love Somebody" - Fruit Bats
5. "Always Love" - Nada Surf
6. "So Now You Know" - The Horrors
7. "About Today" - The National
8. "Finish What I Started" - Will Butler
9. "If You Leave" - Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
10. "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" - Soft Cell
11. "It's My Life" - Talk Talk
12. "We've Been Had" - The Walkmen
13. "Lips Like Sugar" - Echo And The Bunnymen
14. "Don't Lose Your Love" - Ivan & Alyosha
15. "I Don't Want to Change You" - Damien Rice
16. "Going To A Town" - Rufus Wainwright

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

David Bowie Memoriam & David Bowie Faves Playlist

David Bowie Photo Via KEXP.org (Credit Jimmy King)

I shared my David Bowie Faves Spotify playlist on Friday as a birthday tribute and now post it in memoriam, trying to process the news. He was one of my musical heroes who spoke through directly to me in words and music though the decades. Always a true entertainer, his velvety voice and dance moves on stage communicated a presence larger than life.

I was introduced to the legend when Bowie's "Space Oddity" received constant airplay as an unlikely radio hit in 1970. To my girlhood ears, it was basically a death scene that was sadly tragic and spoke of a longing I could not quite understand. Moving into my teens, he was the one helping me to try and make sense of the world as I wrote out the lyrics and memorized key lines that were woven into conversation. I can still remember the order of every song found on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Hunky Dorky, and Young Americans. Amid hair bands and hippie throwbacks, Bowie's appeal became my own teenage day dream, the suave British chameleon constantly challenging our perceptions of the artist.

With "Let's Dance," Bowie created the dance party that was the 80s. His "Serious Moonlight" tour in 1983 was easily named in the top of Our His & Hers 25 Top Concert Lists with my husband Paul. (I was in the city but Paul was at Syracuse University so could easily walk into a Ticketron to nab some tickets!) He was our everything really. With his wife Iman at his side, Bowie was everywhere. We continually absorbed all that he put his name to while he dabbled in what interested him personally. We even supported his acting efforts on screen, from the director's cut of The Man Who Fell to Earth to the brutal Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence when he played a Japanese prisoner of World War II.

Now we learn that the latest release, Black Star, is actually a parting gift composed after Bowie was diagnosed with cancer. I listened to the entire album over the weekend, thinking how frail he sounded. On "Dollar Days" he tells us in song, "I'm dying too." If only this was simply not true. Here's some of my vinyl collection pulled out in tribute...

Here's to 2016 -- New Releases & LCD Soundsystem News (Plus LCD Soundsystem Faves Playlist)

The best Christmas present I received this year came in the form of a song, "Christmas Will Break Your Heart," a self-described depressing little ditty from James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem (one of my favorite bands ever). Supposedly he'd been singing it to himself for the past eight years, but it landed this year as I struggled through the holidays without my parents who have left the earth within a year of each other. In the vein of "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" which gave rise to the social media term NYILYBYBMD, Murphy's ballad with its emotional build perfectly captured my mood this season.

So here we are in the new year with announcements that not only is LCD headlining Coachella 2016, but heading out on tour in support of a new album after calling it quits four years ago. I was lucky enough to attend the first night of the final week of shows in March of 2011. Our video of the opening song "Dance Yrself Clean" at Terminal 5 still gives me chills to revisit and witness how quickly things kicked into high gear. (That video remains the most popular upload on the NMMatterscorp channel with over 12,500 views - another interesting video is the Red Bull Academy interview with James Murphy explaining why he was disbanding the group!) I'll also include our video for "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House," the first tune I heard by the band and making me a fan forever -- it certainly did not disappoint, amped up in the lineup with the requisite crowd surfing. I'm thrilled by the prospect of the new album, but I'm not sure I want to mess with the perfection of this concert experience. However others that didn't get to see LCD live will now get the chance, as it seems they have become more widely known by their absence. Or perhaps its the music fans' hearts growing fonder, my love for the band has only grown that's for sure. Head over to Spotify and take a listen to my LCD Soundsystem Faves playlist, and there's also plenty of new music I'm looking forward to in the months ahead. See my list at the end of this post.

UPCOMING NEW MUSIC RELEASES IN 2016:
January 22 - Chairlift, Moth (Columbia)January 22 - Eleanor Friedberger, New View (Frenchkiss)

February 5 - DIIV, Is the Is Are, (Captured Tracks)

February 12 - School of Seven Bells, SVIIB (Vagrant)

February 12 - James Supercave, Better Strange (Fairfax Recordings)

February 19 - Animal Collective, Painting With (Domino)

February 19 - Ra Ra Riot, Need Your Light (Barsuk) 

February 19 - Choir of Young Believers, Grasque (Ghostly International)

February 19 - Wild Nothing, Life of Pause (Captured Tracks/Bella Union)

March 4 - Nada Surf, You Know Who You Are (Barsuk)

March 4 - Miike Snow, III (Jackalope/Atlantic)

March 4 - M. Ward, More Rain (Merge)

TBA - M83, Gorillaz, Thee Oh Sees & Beck, LCD Soundsystem!!!