A change of season merits a
change in playlists, especially when a bountiful harvest of international songs
appear on the scene. Long awaited releases
from Wilco, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Mates of State anchor the list while
Beirut, Neon Indian and Girls weigh in with solid collections. Singles off new albums are a nice holdover
until music fans can dig into fresh picks from Real Estate and M83. Of course, there’s a welcome addition of new
bands such as I Break Horses and Sister Crayon to keep the ears happy. Listen at link here, enjoy!
1. “Midnight City” – M83
French musician Anthony Gonzalez
formed M83 a decade ago with an unabashed love of electronica to create pop
songs with a dreamy feel. This is the
single off the band’s sixth release, Hurry
Up We’re Dreaming.
2. “Ritual Union” – Little Dragon
This Swedish-Japanese band
gets its moniker from singer Yukimi Nagano’s nickname. The group of high school pals started playing
together in 1996 and this eclectic synth pop tune is the title track of their
third album.
3. “I Might” – Wilco
With a changing line up but
under the leadership of singer Jeff Tweedy, Wilco has been part of the Chicago alt-rock
music scene since 1994. This solid
single is off their ninth album, The
Whole Love.
4. “Souls of Gold” – Sister Crayon
Sister Crayon is a quartet
from Sacramento, California (home of CAKE, another similarly idiosyncratic band). This song is off the
group’s first official release, Bellow.
5. “Santa Fe” – Beirut
6. “East Harlem” – Beirut
Singer/songwriter Zach Condon
began Beirut as a solo project and yet this six-member band is on its third
album, The Rip Tide. The world music influence is from Condon
travels around Europe after dropping out of school, adding distinctive vocals
to make it his own entire universe.
7. “How Deep Is Your Love?” – The Rapture
Drummer Vito Roccoforte and
guitarist/singer Luke Jenner formed this New York City dance punk band in
1998. After five years, the group is
back with a new release, In the Grace of
Your Love.
8. “It’s Real” – Real Estate
Real Estate is a quintet
based in Ridgewood, New Jersey since 2008.
Their take on psychedelic indie rock is revealed in this carefully
crafted single off their upcoming second release, Days.
9. “Polish Girl” – Neon Indian
Neon Indian also began as
solo project by Alan Palomo, who rode the indie pop chill wave movement when it
came on the scene two years ago. His
vocals are no longer buried for this catchy single off the sophomore release, Era Extraña.
10. “Palomino” – Mates Of State
Married couple Kori Garner
(keyboards) and Jason Hammel (drums) has created infectious indie pop under the
name Mates of State since 1997. They’ve
expanded the sound for this swirling single off their seventh album, Mountaintops.
11. “Hearts” – I Break Horses
I Break Horses is a Swedish
indie band recently formed by Mana Lindén and Fredrick Balck.
This shimmering song is off their debut album of the same name.
12. “Same Mistake” – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is a
quintet that met at Connecticut College and they are now based in
Brooklyn/Philly. Their debut album was self-released in 2005, gaining notice
without record company input. Singer
Alec Ounsworth brings an individualistic approach to vocals as usual in this
song off their third release, Hysterical.
13. “My Mistakes” – Eleanor Friedberger
Eleanor Friedberger is also
half of the Brooklyn band Fiery Furnaces with brother Matthew. Here she breaks out on her own with emotionally
charged results. This song is from her
raw and candid solo album, Last Summer.
14. “Honey Bunny” – Girls
15. “My Ma” – Girls
Christopher Owens
(singer/songwriter) and Chet ‘JR’ White (bass/producer) formed this indie rock
band in San Francisco, enlisting other members as needed for touring. These two varied but still rebellious songs
are off their second album, Father, Son,
Holy Ghost.
16. “Year of the Tiger” – St. Vincent
Annie Clark is the avant
garde multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter behind St. Vincent. She has also performed with The Polyphonic
Spree and Sufjan Stevens. The majestic treatment for this song is indicative of
the iconoclastic music on her third release, Strange Mercy.
17. “Dark Into Light” – Shawn Lee & AM
This collaboration formed
through friendship let to the recent album, Celestial
Eclectic. The mesmerizing song
features AM’s wistful falsetto over Shawn Lee’s percussion with lofty themes
contemplating right and wrong.