Sweet Bird by Young Hunting. This melancholic love song with its coaxing tropical rhythm and sweet-as-honey harmonies should be on the slow dance list of every junior high school. Follow this LA band on Bandcamp and keep an eye out for their debut album later this summer.
Ivory Coast by Pure Bathing Culture. The first single from Portland duo Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille (aka Pure Bathing Culture) is a sweet and intoxicating piece of gossamer pop that’s the perfect soundtrack for a radiant early Spring morning. From the band’s forthcoming Richard Swift produced EP.
Kill For Love by Chromatics. Portland’s original synth-poppers are back with their first album in five years. The title track is an electro-tinged italo-disco pop gem that features Ruth Radelet’s smoky passive-aggressive vocals and a shimmering guitar solo from Adam Miller. Stream the entire album on the band’s SoundCloud page.
I Am Not Waiting Anymore by Field Report. Field Report is the creation of Wisconsin singer-songwriter Chris Porterfield. Porterfield was a former bandmate of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver fame. I Am Not Waiting Anymore is one of two free-to-download unmastered tracks that Field Report posted recently on their website. The full-length album, which is a collection of songs six years in the making, is due this summer and was recorded at the studio of Justin Vernon in his Eau Claire, Wisconsin studio.
Willow by Richard Buckner. California singer-songwriter Richard Buckner is best known for his poetic alt-country acoustic music. Willow, a Record Store Day exclusive released on Merge Records, is perhaps one of Buckner’s most intimate and hauntingly beautiful songs. Willow will be available on 7” vinyl for Record Store Day on April 21, 2012.
Farewell Decade by Desert Stars. The debut single from Brooklyn’s Desert Stars is a gorgeously produced track that blends cosmic pysch-pop instrumentation, lush harmonies and an infectious melody. Download this track and their other single “Boys I Like” on their Bandcamp page.
When My Name Is Spoken By Spirit Family Reunion. “Spirit Family Reunion has only been a band for three years, but you wouldn’t know it from listening to their songs. All dusty acoustic guitars, wailing fiddles and weeping accordions, with a woozy-yet-skintight rhythm section—and topped off with burr-edged vocals that sound like they’ve been soaked in a Mason jar for generations—it’s the type of music that blurs the line between past and present so thoroughly, and so deftly, that time feels irrelevant.” - Paste Magazine
Stream more of their music on the band’s SoundCloud page.
The Only Place by Best Coast. The title track from Best Coast’s forthcoming album finds Bethany Cosentino in familiar territory — singing catchy surf-pop tunes about sun-dappled beaches and carefree California living. While the subject matter is familiar, the sound is much cleaner (barely a hint of reverb) and more straight ahead than their debut effort. The album drops in mid May.
Everything I Ever Had by Lindsay Fuller. A folk-country singer-songwriter with a deep mournful voice that cuts deep to the core yet somehow leaves you wanting more. From Fuller’s upcoming album, You, Anniversary.
Two Angles by S. Carey. Bon Iver collaborator and drummer S. Carey is back with a new EP, Hoyas, produced by Justin Vernon that is set to release on May 8th. While Carey continues to tread lightly, delighting in the music that lives in the spaces between notes, Two Angles is more expansive and experimental than Carey’s previous work, featuring extended guitar improvisations and even a jazzy horn arrangement.
Asha Gedawo by Debo Band. Get ready to jump up and dance to this Ethiopian-American band’s infectious blend of East African pop and American soul and funk grooves. Debo Band’s debut album will be released on July 10 by Next Ambiance / Sub Pop. The album is produced by Thomas “Tommy T” Gobena of Gogol Bordello.
Myth by Beach House. The Baltimore dream-pop duo of Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally are back after a two year break with the first single from their highly anticipated new album Bloom. There are few bands that can match the sonic sophistication of Beach House. Their music is complex and layered yet highly accessible, their sound is hazy and reverb-drenched yet has a strong emotional directness and their intensity is often stifling and claustrophobic yet their music is expansive and liberating. If Myth is any indication, their forthcoming album will firmly establish Beach House as one of today’s most sonically innovative bands.
Pillow Talk by Wild Child. A simple and breezy love song featuring the endearing boy-girl vocals of Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins and the uplifting and gently swinging strum of the ukelele. Stream the full album on the band’s SoundCloud page. For fans of She & Him, The Civil Wars and Swell Season.
Flutes by Hot Chip. Apparently, Hot Chip’s forthcoming fifth album, In Our Heads, was influenced by ”maxi-12in extended mixes from the 80s”. Flutes, the first single from the album, is testament to this influence moving from looped vocal samples to stylized 80’s synth beats and featuring a range of techno-inspired elements over the course of its sprawling seven minutes.
Sparkly by Young Magic. The opening track on Young Magic’s upcoming album Melt features hazy synths and trance-like vocals layered over a steady tribal percussive beat. For fans of world music influenced indie bands like Yeasayer and Cymbals Eat Guitars.
Hit Me Up by Sean Bones. The breezy, laid back, island funk groove of this song delivers an emphatic middle finger to winter. Roll down the windows, sit on the front porch, put your sundress on and bliss out to the sounds of summer cocktails and beach vacations. From Sean Bones’ lastest album Here Now.
Red by Lost In Trees. A lush and hauntingly beautiful song featuring a rich pageant of string and acoustic instruments and ethereal vocal harmonies that soar and scorch the soul. From this North Carolina sextet’s forthcoming album A Church That Fits Our Needs.
Muziki Asili Yake Wapi by Zaiid.Blending traditional African soukous music, contemporary hip-hop beats and Swahili language and culture, Zaiid hits all the right notes. Check out this excellent article on Zaiid and Tanzania’s hip-hop originators on The Fader.
Don’t Break The Needle by J Roddy Walston and The Business. Gritty, sawdust-on-the-floor classic rock n’ roll from this Baltimore quartet’s self-titled debut.Put on your Lynyrd Skynryd t-shirt and turn this one up to 11!
New Name To Go By by Deportees feat. Lykke Li. Infectious Swedish indie pop, tropical steel drum rhythms and Lykke Li’s indelible pixie vocals. Yes, please.
