Summer is in full swing with plenty of new music heating
things up for the next playlist. A single from the much-anticipated Passion Pit
album starts things off with the venerable Hot Chip next in line. Newcomers Deep Sea Arcade, Teen Daze and
Stepdad are definitely worth a listen, while more music from Edward Sharpe
& The Magnetic Zeros, Pomegrantes are always welcome additions. Link to listen here, enjoy!
1. “Take A Walk” –
Passion Pit
Boston area electropop band Passion Pit burst on the scene
with their debut album in 2009, with a youthful embrace of danceable songs and
Michael Angelakos’ soaring falsetto. This is the first single off the quintet’s
sophomore album, Gossamer,
introducing a serious approach to lyrics over the ever chugging beat.
2. “Night and Day” –
Hot Chip
“Night and Day” is off the fifth studio album, In Our Heads, by the U.K. electropop
band Hot Chip. Alexis Taylor’s vocals
float amid a layered dance groove and call backs galore to bring this dance
frenzy to a close.
3. “Brains” – Lower
Dens
Lower Dens is a Baltimore based indie folk band formed in
2010. The quintet just released their
second album, Nootropics, with this psychedelic
tune providing an expanded, ethereal sound for the song list.
4. “Pass Away” –
Pomegranates
Cincinnati band Pomegranates have stayed true to their indie
rock roots since 2006. This upbeat song
with whoops of fun is off their fourth album, Heaven.
5. “How Do I Know” –
Here We Go Magic
6. “Make Up Your
Mind” – Here We Go Magic
Here We Go Magic is an indie rock band based in Brooklyn,
New York. These two infectious songs are
off their fourth album, A Different
Ship.
7. “Dreambeat” –
Peaking Lights
Wisconsin husband (Aaron Coyes) and wife (Indra Dunis) duo
Peaking Lights recorded their latest album Lucifer
in a professional studio, leaving behind the homemade tracks of last year’s
debut release. The experimental nature
of the music is fully intact, however, as “Dreambeat” proudly displays.
8. “Man On Fire” –
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
The Los Angeles band Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros recently
convened to record their second album, Here. Singer Alex Ebert fronts this folksy troupe
of a dozen or so members, a fluid group befitting the casual nature of their
songs.
9. “Girls” – Deep Sea
Arcade
Schoolmates Nic McKenzie and Mick Weaver formed Australian
band Deep Sea Arcade back in their teens.
The quintet’s sound is sun drenched indie pop, as this song off their
first album, Outlands, reveals.
10. “1997” – Saint
Motel
Saint Motel is an indie pop band based in L.A. with a
confident mantra utilizing plenty of outside influences for their first full length album, Voyeur. A/J Jackson’s smooth crooning
vocals lead the charge for this four-piece group.
11. “Must Land
Running” – Stepdad
“Must Land Running” is the audacious single off Stepdad’s
first album, Wildlife Pop. This
electronic pop quintet was formed by roommates ultramark and Ryan McCarthy in
their Chicago apartment in 2009, but are now based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
12. “Endless Flowers”
– Crocodiles
“Endless Flowers” is the title track of the third album by
this indie pop band from San Diego, California.
The wall of sound production brings a sunny vibe to the fuzzy rock
groove, with strumming guitars and a persistent percussive backbone.
13. “Gold Morning
Mend” – Ian McGlynn
Ian McGlynn is a singer/songwriter, producer and
multi-instrumentalist from New Jersey, who just released his third album, Now We’re Golden. The song showcases
McGlynn’s emotive vocals over an intricate indie pop sound.
14. “No. 1 Against
The Rush” – Liars
Liars is a Brooklyn based three-piece electronic dance punk band,
formed in 2000 by Californians Angus Andrew and Julian Gross. This multi-layered song is off their sixth
album, WIXIX (pronounced ‘wish you’).
15. “Brooklyn
Sunburn” – Teen Daze
16. “Hold” – Teen
Daze
Teen Daze is the solo project of music producer Jamison from
Vancouver, British Columbia. These synth
compositions are from his first album, All
of Us, Together, inspired by a book found in a thrift store called Utopian Visions.