Music Related News

       It is not easy to write when you have the flu so forgive me, in advance, for any stupid grammar/spelling mistakes (and for not preparing a bunch of NMM posts for you guys; I'll try to make up for it by stuffing this full of music).

• Foster the People released "Coming of Age" and announced that their forthcoming album, Supermodel, is set for release March 18. After being inundated with the intense popularity of "Pumped Up Kicks", the band did the right thing by taking some time off before giving us any more singles; now this band that is so adept at making a dance-worthy melody play on repeat in your mind has a fresh new sound for us and it might be better than before.
• Tokyo Police Club released "Hot Tonight" which was amazing because they're amazing. They're still the best concert I've been to and their band shirt has been responsible for at least three of my college relationships (seeing someone wearing an awesome band shirt is like that shirt telling you the person is awesome).
• Stoney's More Than Animals will be released tomorrow and you need it. If it can be played for two months and still not be old, it's fantastic (More Than Animals is fantastic). The album switches from good solid alternative rock to fun indie rock and back to those sweet folksy sounds that envelope his eternally great "We Belonged" (watch the video if you still have not seen it, because it's the only clip that can competently support those beautiful lyrics and music). Get More Than Animals tomorrow from Bandcamp for something you'll be okay becoming addicted to.
• While Outkast had been dancing around the subject for the past few weeks, the members announced today, via the band's Facebook page, that they are getting back together for their twentieth anniversary and the band has already booked forty festival dates for 2014 (though Coachella and the New York City's Governors Ball are the only performances they've announced). I'm kind of hoping they'll make their way down to my festival, because I think I speak for everyone when I say that dancing to this live would be fun as fuck. 
• Switchfoot's Fading West will be released tomorrow and while I still can't get into these guys' new tracks as much as their old (something feels like they're holding back and restraining themselves in lieu of letting it out and I just want to reach out and grab the hook that they need and shove it at them because it is so frustrating for me to see them falling short), but the singles are catchy and any fan of the band should be happy with the good lyrics and those melodies that can run circles around other bands their age. Listen to singles "Ba55", "Who We Are" and, for their best from the album thus far, "Love Alone Is Worth the Fight", and get Fading West from iTunes tomorrow. 
• Shakira and Rihanna released a song. Shakira's voice has always annoyed me because it sounds shaky and there's too much vibrato and I am not a Rihanna fan, but it's there if you need a song that feels like summer to help keep you from sinking too far into those winter blues; listen to "Can't Remember to Forget You".
• James Vincent McMorrow's Post Tropical will be released tomorrow and I'm super fucking excited because that piano is the most gorgeous thing happening in popular music right now and his vocals are so light and sweet that they keep honest lyrics from sinking too deep. Listen to "Cavalier", the first single from the album, and get Post Tropical from iTunes tomorrow because it is bound to be fantastic with thought provoking lyrics, gorgeous piano riffs, and lulling chords that will hypnotize you into listening for hours. 
• MisterWives' Reflections EP continues to be the best new EP of the year, thus far, with every song being just as fantastic as the last. Get "Reflections" as the iTunes free single of the week and pick up the EP for six perfect songs, but make sure to listen to "Vagabond" because everything from it's solid piano riff to the swirling melody and those lilting vocals are perfect (plus, those lyrics are awesome; bands now are becoming so great at speaking their mind and producing great and honest lyrics that I'm going to need a new rating system for this type of perfection).
• Timothy Bloom's Timothy Bloom continues to not get the recognition it deserves for those sweet vocals and soulful melodies that carry this wonderfully refreshing album. Check out "Stand In The Way (Of My Love)" then head to iTunes and get the album, or at least get "A Long Time Ago" [featuring Dezi Paige], because it is oh so good. 
• Aer's "Says She Loves Me" is just as addictive as all their other tracks, but it sounds lighter and fuller with a catchy melody and fun lyrics that beg to be played on repeat; basically, it sounds less hazy than their older tracks and I like it a lot when something fun needs to be played.
• Anushka revealed the GoldFFinch remix of "Never Can Decide" and the swirling beats leave it a little more hypnotic than my flu fueled brain can handle right now; it's probably not as trippy as I'm currently perceiving it to be, but it is fun and worth the listen.
• Pompeya released another remix (courtesy of Psychemagik) of their track "Slaver" off their Tropical Remixed album which is set for release January 21; check out the remix here. You can get Tropical from any online store now but feel free to stream the album first. 
• The Melodic will be touring the US with Johnny Flynn in the upcoming months and, if they are going to be performing near you, make sure to check them out because their tracks are truly great. Listen to "Runaway" to become a fan (because that guitar is going to take you away and make you wish this band had always been there). 
• I featured Lost In The Trees' "Past Life" last week but it is so completely and utterly amazing in every corner of the track that it needs to be looked at again. It sounds like the skeleton of a Death Cab for Cutie track was infused with energy and then left to fill itself out in a dream state and the video pulls it all together nicely; listen to their music for something truly fantastic. 
• The Picture Perfect has become a sort of guilty pleasure for me as of late because anyone who describes themselves as a 'piano rock band' is going to get me interested before I've even checked them out. That being said, the songs are sweet and catchy and, while they don't hold the same meaning as songs from Stoney or Lost in the Trees, the lyrics are fun, the vocals are actually good, the riffs are heavy, and the steady piano melody that carries out each track is awesome; watch the video for "Crime Scene" now.
• Aldrey's "La Lista" has a melody which has been running around my head for days and it's so fun that I don't even care. The lyrics are sweet and fun, the vocals are good, and the song is just kind of fantastic, so listen to it now (and turn on the English captions if you need it but, honestly, the song's good whether or not you understand Spanish [and that's the mark of a song that is truly catchy as hell]).

       Essentially (and breaking down this week's Music Related News in one paragraph), I grew up around guitarists so all of these tracks with acoustic feels are completely satisfying, people keep infusing their tracks with so much piano that I'm just falling in love with everything, lyrics across the board sound more honest and perfect, and the combination of rich and scratchy vocals that have been coming out on so many of the tracks lately is making it so difficult to not fall for every single I hear. Check back later this week for an interview with Maggie McClure and a lot more music that I'm going to tell you to buy (it's your prerogative; buy what you love, not what you'll love twice then forget).

- E