Hurry 2012. Hurry.
Category Archives: music
(31) Days of Good: Day 3
Sweden is my personal music mecca. A considerable amount of my favorite bands call Sweden home (Shout Out Louds, The Knife, Lykke Li, ABBA, Acid House Kings…to name a few) and year after year, the Swedes pump out really fantastic music. 2011 was no exception, as we were treated to plenty of new releases from the Kingdon of Sweden and Day 3 features an array of my favorites.
This year, we were treated to the fifth studio release from one of my favorites, Acid House Kings. Music Sounds Better With You was one of my favorite albums of 2011 and it’s packed full of indie pop bliss. Considering how many good tracks are on this album, it was a bit of a challenge to pick just one song. I ultimately went with the first track I heard off the album, but it’s really in your best interest to check out this entire album.
♪ Acid House Kings – Are We Lovers Or Are We Friends? (from Music Sounds Better With You)
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I don’t know much about The Distant Sounds and I haven’t really heard much of their music, but I do like what’ve I heard so far. As far as I know, they’ve only put out the one EP, Blue Night, which the band describes as “an EP filled with love and lust. It is sort of like a bag of candy, there is something for everyone.” The standout track is definitely “Mon Amour”, but it’s worth checking out the entire EP over on their bandcamp page (especially since it’s a free download).
♪ The Distant Sounds – Mon Amour (from Blue Night EP)
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Swedish electronic group, Little Dragon, released their third album, Ritual Union, this year. The album was received generally positive reviews from music critics, but really blew up all over the blogosphere. My favorite Little Dragon track remains “Blinking Pigs” (from Machine Dreams), but the title track from Ritual Union is a close second and one of the year’s best tracks.
♪ Little Dragon – Ritual Union (from Ritual Union)
More Little Dragon:
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I literally just discovered Rebecca & Fiona, but it was love at first listen. The Swedish DJ team, consisting of Rebecca Scheja and Fiona Fitzpatrick, released their debut album last month and while I haven’t had a chance to give it a proper listen, I can’t stop listening to this one track in particular (hint: make sure you have the volume turned up at the 3:15 mark).
♪ Rebecca & Fiona – Dance (from I Love You, Man)
More Rebecca & Fiona:
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I don’t think we’ll ever be lucky enough for a new Postal Service album, but Slottet has done a mighty fine job recreating that particular sound we all miss so much (and don’t worry, this isn’t anything like that Owl City rubbish).
♪ Slottet – Agnostics Nightmare (from Servants)
More Slottet:
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(31) Days of Good: Day 2
Day 2 brings us another smorgasbord of good, featuring tracks from Funeral Party, John Maus, WU LYF, and Yelle. Enjoy and remember to tune in tomorrow for more good.
Funeral Party is a post punk four-piece from Los Angeles. Their debut LP, The Golden Age of Knowhere, featured a handful of good tracks, but my favorite is definitely “New York City Moves To The Sound of L.A.”. If you’re a fan of LCD Soundsystem, you’ll probably enjoy this track as much as I do.
♪ Funeral Party – New York City Moves To The Sound of L.A. (from The Golden Age of Knowhere)
More Funeral Party:
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If you’re a fan of Joy Division bass lines and analog synths straight out of the ’80s, i’d be truly surprised if you disliked John Maus’ latest LP, We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. The LP is chock-full of fantastic tracks, but in my personal opinion, it’s the final track, “Believer”, that stands out the most.
♪ John Maus – Believer (from We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves)
More John Maus:
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I honestly don’t much about WU LYF (World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation), but I really dug their debut LP, Go Tell Fire to the Mountain. I do know they hail from Manchester, England, and a four-piece that specializes in the self-described genre “heavy pop”. WU LYF were one of the biggest “buzz bands” of 2011 and I expect to hear a lot more from these guys in the coming years.
♪ WU LYF – Dirt (from Go Tell Fire to the Mountain)
More WU LYF:
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Safari Disco Club is the second studio album by French electropop trio, Yelle. I was a big fan of their first LP, Pop Up, and Safari quickly became a favorite of mine and staple for dance party playlists.
♪ Yelle – C’est Pas Une Vie (from Safari Disco Club)
(31) Days of Good: Day 1
The 2011 edition of (31) Days of Good is officially upon us! 2011 was yet another good year for music lovers and i’ve got a lot of fantastic songs to cover in a mere 31 days. I’m gonna kick things off this year with healthy handful of tracks that were released in the early months of 2011. With all the good tunes released this year, I easily could’ve forgotten about some of the earlier releases. But not these tracks, they are way too good to forget. So without further ado, I hope you enjoy Day 1 and be sure to tune in daily for more good.
♪ Anna Calvi – Blackout (from Anna Calvi)
More Anna Calvi:
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♪ The Go! Team – T.O.R.N.A.D.O. (from Rolling Blackouts)
More Go! Team:
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♪ The Joy Formidable – Whirring (from The Big Roar)
More Joy Formidable:
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♪ Radiohead – Codex (from The King of Limbs)
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♪ Smith Westerns – Weekend (from Dye It Blonde)
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♪ Tennis – Marathon (from Cape Dory)
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♪ Tristen – Doomsday (from Charlatans At the Garden Gate)
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♪ Yuck – The Wall (from Yuck)
[watch] Lykke Li//Youth Knows No Pain
Anytime something from Lykke Li shows up in my inbox, I pay attention. This little gem was waiting for me today, an acoustic session of “Youth Knows No Pain” (from Wounded Rhymes). Enjoy.