Stars - "The Theory of Relativity": "Happy new year, everyone! Get the year started off right with this bouncy number. There's some obvious Human League homage with the intro keyboards, before moving into some sharp lyrics from singer Torquil. A good blend of musical nods to the past with lyrics clearly in the present. It's kind of funny to think I started listening to these guys almost thirteen years ago (yipes!), but glad they're continuing to deliver."
Father John Misty - "Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings": "Much like Crooked Fingers' "Bad Blood" before it, it's a bitter, sad and raw rock stomp that I can't stop listening to. It comes in a strange, unique record that perplexes and intrigues me - and, while I learn to love the rest of the album in its own peculiar way, this is the sour jewel that I keep coming back to."
I Break Horses - "Wired": "A cool female vocal leads a track that starts out as crisp British new wave, but eventually tilts into increasingly woozy shoegaze, to the point that the song's speed and key start to fray by the song's end. A nice blend of influences that keep the track from being rote tribute."
Crooked Fingers - "Bad Blood": "It's a simple, streamlined, rootsy stomp with a good, dark rock edge, all of which let the song itself shine."
Red Aunts - "Rollerderby Queen": "This was the first Red Aunts song I ever heard and I was immediately won over by their bad-assness. The song starts off slow and then kicks up the pace - going nice and rough, like a punk spin on Tina's 'Proud Mary'. These ladies want loving but they also want you to stay out of their way, so watch out."
Hospitality - "Friends of Friends": "She's your downtown friend that may sometimes be a bit too artfully playful just for attention, but ultimately you always have a good time and you realize that you're glad that you're friends...which is a doubly appropriate description of this song."
Tanlines - "Green Grass": "A modern take on new wave, even if you could still use it for a montage soundtrack in an 80s movie."
Black Leotard Front - "Casual Friday": "Being in France also makes me think of French songs...or, rather, songs featuring French, like this one. This song also makes me think of my hubby, who I miss right now."
M83 - "OK Pal": "Being in France and staying near the Rue d'Antibes in particular, I can't help but think of M83 songs. (M83's Anthony Gonzalez is from Antibes, for those of you who didn't get the connection.)"
Idlewild - "Readers & Writers": "Frontman Roddy Woomble still can't get past his fascination with writers and poets, but with the music lurching around like a marching band on a joyous road to nowhere, all you care about is wanting to follow along. Yet another great track from the perpetually underloved Idlewild."
True Widow - "Duelist": "This is actually older True Widow than what you may have heard me rave about (last year's As High As The Highest Heavens...). It's also less heavy-sounding, but no less expansive or powerful. I can't be the only one who digs this band."
Helium - "Vibrations": "After the other day's Wild Flag post, it was only a matter of time before I would find myself listening to Helium again...and here we are. I'm happy Mary's back in action in Wild Flag, but could we perhaps get a short Helium reunion too?"
Wild Flag - "Something Came Over Me": "It's got the right melodic elements of classic Helium, but it's sweeter than anything Helium ever did. I love Helium deeply, but it always felt sad, heavy, angry, strange...not light, like this. It still feels like the Helium I missed, but back in a newly structured environment (to its advantage) and not as a 90s retread. A belated welcome back Mary Timony. I'm happy this is also my New Year's Eve post - it's a look back, a look ahead, a mix of old and new, nostalgia mixing with wanting something fresh - which is kind of how I feel today as well. Hope everyone is sending 2011 out in style tonight."
Best Coast - "The End": "I still haven't gotten over this record. I remember being in a London hotel, soaking in a bathtub (I so rarely find a tub that truly fits me, I have to take advantage of them when I find them), right after picking up the album, and listening to the whole thing all the way through. It had been cold and grey outside, plus I was loopy from jetlag, and I just lay there, losing myself in the tunes. It's hard for me not to think of that time when I play these songs back now."
LCD Soundsystem - "I Can Change": "It's a song that's kind of long, particularly for as little as it changes, but its appeal is in its musical simplicity, supporting the directness of the lyrics. I don't want to believe this band is technically done, but I am keeping my hopes up for whatever James Murphy brings us next."
Duran Duran - "Girl Panic!": "I was pretty ambivalent to the new DD when I heard it earlier this year, but this song popped back into my head this week and I haven't been able to forget it since. They're definitely stealing from themselves, musically, but it's so much fun, with crazy Simon lyrics to match, that it doesn't matter."
Modest Mouse - "Convenient Parking": "This song reminds me of driving around in LA, listening to this album (The Lonesome Crowded West) over and over. Hearing it now makes me remember and appreciate those simpler times, but I still enjoy this record in its own right."
Jeffrey Osbourne - "Stay With Me Tonight": "This track this freaking awesome in every way."
Phantogram - "16 Years": "It's appropriate that I first saw these guys opening for School of Seven Bells, since there is a commonality in the pretty female vocals + spacey new wave synths approach, but they each do it so well. I've had this song in my head for a week."
Cults - "Oh My God": "This popped into my head this morning and I realized I had never blogged about it, even though I heard it months ago. Good luck not getting this stuck in your head too, but it's got such a nice, low-key bounce, you shouldn't mind!"
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