Some Really Cool Music

So this week has been quiet on the new release front (Feist Metals, We Were Promised Jet Packs In the Pit of the Stomach, and Zola Jesus Conatus) so I went out to do some research. What I found is pure awesome music.

First off is Crocodiles with their second album Sleep Forever. This is a sweet post-punk pop album with lots of fuzzy guitars, groovy keyboards, and cool reverberated vocals. Check it out here.

Next up is the one-man band Delicate Steve. Wondervisions is an instrumental album with high flying guitars that are so upbeat that it's impossible not to smile while listening to it. With easy to follow drum beats that chug through some tracks, this album is everything happy. So listen to it all here.

Last but not least is Youth Lagoon. They are a more melancholy synth-pop band though just as good as the other two bands. Their debut album The Year of Hibernation is really good, with the synths and bells playing a dream while the vocals come through the haze to add an extra layer to it all. Now it took me a while to find where you can stream for free so if you are reading this, you should definitely listen to it here.

It's Tuesday!

Wow what a big release day today. Wilco's The Whole Love, Blink-182's Neighborhoods, Mastodon's The Hunter, Dum Dum Girls' Only In Dreams, and Sleep ∞ Over's Forever.
The Whole Love is Wilco's seventh studio album and it does not fail to please. Much of the good ol' Wilco sound is still there, but with a new kind of rock energy that comes forth. If you are a Wilco fan, I highly recommend it. Listen to it here.
Speaking of a seventh studio album, Blink-182 is back with Neighborhoods. Though their sound has matured over the years, Neighborhoods has a bunch of punky-rock pop songs on it. I was quite surprised since I thought they were going to put out another sappy pop album. Plus Travis Barker is probably one of the best drummers alive today. Check it out here.
I'm really excited to finally put an actual metal band on here. Yay! Mastodon comes out with their latest The Hunter. Super rock is what I have to say about them, never disappointing. Though I don't know a lot of their older music, I am really enjoying this new album. It's here for a free listen.
With their sophomoric effort, Only In Dreams, the Dum Dum Girls slowed down the tempo just a little bit. Though it sounds more poppy I feel like it's more of a complete album for them. I am in love with the song "Coming Down" so make sure you check that out and the rest of the album here.
Finally last but definitely not least Sleep ∞ Over's debut full length Forever is probably my favorite one today. I think the best way to describe it is ambient meets chill wave meets electronica. The synths lay out the landscape while the vocals paint this amazing picture of the cosmos. Check out the video to the single "Casual Diamonds" below.

Pure X + Veronica Falls

Some really cool music that I came across recently is Pure X. The band's debut album Pleasure came out early July. Their sound is a chilled out, lo-fi minimal garage rock. It borders the likeness of Real Estate. So check out the album on their website for free here.
Another cool band that I forgot to mention last week is Veronica Falls. Their new self-titled album reminds me a lot of the Dum Dum Girls and other post-punk/surfer rock bands of the new decade. I really enjoy the singles off of this album "Come On Over" and "Bad Feeling." Check it out here.

Starfawn + More Music

So this week sees the release of a new duo's EP Starfawn. This EP is one of the greatest this year. There is a lot of great synth work throughout all 6 tracks. This is chill wave at its finest folks, listen to it for free on their website http://starfawn.com/

Some more music that I have recently discovered is this really cool band called The Apples In Stereo. They are part of the original Elephant 6 Collection(Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control) so it's good. They are kind of hippy-dippy a lot of the 70s pop influence. Check out their albums for free here, my favorite is The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone.
Another cool band I have come across is Teeth, their new album, WHATEVER, came out yesterday. It's a really crazy dance album. Lots of rockin' beats with some chaos over the top with keys and synths. Yet they keep their sound fresh even with all that chaos. So check out the vid for their single "Care Bear" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoX1p0Kafo8&feature=colik

The Era of Extraordinary

So this last weekend was MusicFest NW and it was a huge success. There were a lot of great acts from openers to headliners. Bands of note include The Joy Formidable, The Corin Tucker Band, Eleanor Friedberger, and The Olivia Tremor Control. Those were the bands I did not know of before seeing them live and they rocked so hard, my ears are still ringing from them.

                                         (I suggest watching the whole 9 mins)

I also picked up the brand new Neon Indian album Era Extrana, and I must say that it is incredible. I highly recommend that you purchase it, but you can also stream it for free here. It's everything you could ask for in a second album, a little of the old sound with a lot of new sounds and more mature lyrics. So stop reading and go listen to it.