Music, Musings & Meanderings

The Reins To Your Heart by New Shouts. Carefree retro soul grooves from this Pittsburgh band. From their effervescent debut EP, “Sing New Shouts”. 

I Found You by Alabama Shakes. “Bless my soul”, pleas Brittany Howard on this soul stirring, foot-stomping R&B revival track that will transport you straight to The Shoals. And blessed you shall be if you head over to their Bandcamp page and download their debut four track EP. 

Art of Almost by Wilco. The epic 7 minute Radiohead-influenced opening track to Wilco’s latest and greatest album, “The Whole Love”. 

Oblivion by Grimes. I love this review from NME: 

Imagine Kraftwerk teaming up with Blondie for a rework of ‘Heart Of Glass’ and performing it several hundred leagues under the sea. That goes some way to explaining the brilliant otherworldliness of Grimes’ new single –celestially pie-eyed with Claire Boucher’s child-like “la la la”s, and feeling genuinely like a vision from the future. 

Dry Ice by Pure X. A hazy, underwater guitar gem from this Austin trio’s latest album, “Pleasure”. 

DIY by Keep Shelly in Athens. A slow building downbeat song that features brooding piano keys, densely textured melody, dubby samples and is punctuated by tension-easing brass horns. From this Grecian duo’s upcoming 12”, “Our Own Dream”. 

Don Juan by Terrible Truths. Laid back grooves, reverb guitars and an infectious surf rock sound from this trio from Adelaide. Stream their debut EP on their Tumblr page. 

Mg 333 by Richard Swift. A raw, kinetic track featuring hip-shaking retro drum grooves and Swift’s yearning R&B falsetto. From the recently released EP, “Walt Wolfman”. 

Sing In My Meadow by Cowboy Junkies. Oh, yeah. Gritty, bluesy, distorted guitar goodness from the Junkies’ latest release. 

Miss Maris Morris by We Can’t Enjoy Ourselves. A Brooklyn band with a definite brit-pop vibe (Morrissey and Belle & Sebastian immediately come to mind) with a little Vampire Weekend thrown in for good measure. From the band’s free to download album, “One Belongs Here More Than You.” Enjoy!

Chair by Big Deal. Fuzzy guitars, boy-girl vocals, tight harmonies and a killer chorus from this UK indie duo. From their debut album, “Lights Out”. 

Sewer Girls by Romantic States. A lo-fi pop gem from Baltimore’s Romantic States. Check out their free to stream and download sophomore album, “A Shell is Born” which includes an amazing robotic-synth cover of Johnny Cash’s classic, “Ring of Fire”. 

Make My by The Roots (featuring BIG K.R.I.T.). The first single from The Roots’ new album, “undun” due out December 6th. A slow deep groove that builds from an extended instrumental intro and launches into a symphonic track and narrative that is punctuated by Mississippi rapper BIG K.R.I.T. 

Common Burn by Mazzy Star. California alt-folk duo Mazzy Star are back with their first new music in 15 years. Listen and enjoy Hope Sandoval’s hazy, melancholic vocals and Dave Roback’s gentle acoustic strumming and occasional slide guitar. Nice to have you back Mazzy! 

O Holy Break of Day by Waters. Van Pierszalowski is clearly steeped in the traditions of folk and Southern rock. Sounding very much like a young Neil Young or even Phosphorescent, Pierszalowski manages to pay homage to his forerunners while clearly setting his own path with crashing drums, pealing electric guitars and a great sense of melody. From the recently released debut album, “Out in the Light”.

Belly of the Beast by Howth.

From Howth’s Bandcamp page: “The song Belly of the Beast was written by Carl after attending the Occupy Wall Street protests at Times Square on 10/15/11 with Blake and Mecca Lecca Recording Company founder Jonny Leather. 

After the protests, a General Assembly was held at Washington Square park where Professor Gayatri Spivak of Columbia University gave a speech stressing the importance of political action by Occupy Wall Street demonstrators because they are in “the belly of the beast.”  

Last Night by Niki & the Dove. A clangy, eery and amazingly catchy song from the Swedish synth-pop duo’s recently released EP, “The Drummer”. Featuring Malin Dahlström’s evocative & idiosyncratic vocals (sounding equal parts Cindi Lauper and Kate Bush) and the killer chorus: “last night we got married in a back seat”. 

Bad As Me by Tom Waits. Tom Waits doesn’t write songs. He creates aural wormholes that transport and hurtle his listeners towards a fantastically surreal and manic spacetime that is equal parts vaudeville and Hell’s front door. On his first full album in seven years, Waits takes us on a musical journey that includes Depression-era blues, Southern gospel, New Orleans R&B and Elvis-era rock n’ roll. 

Who Are You by Twerps. From Stereogum: “Australian indie rockers Twerps play mellow, reverb-heavy guitar jams accented by warm, laid-back hooks. Songs like “Who Are You” definitely remind of the Black Lips’ more mellow stuff. Their debut is out today and is streaming now down below.”