Tennis, “Robin” find it on Young & Old (2012) Tennis is never going to win any awards for variety. They’ll play their la la shit for you anytime, and you’ll like it or…you won’t. But their new album has a little bit more of what the French call production, and said production comes from Black [...]

First Aid Kit, “Emmylou” get it on The Lion’s Roar (2012) We first heard about First Aid Kit (didn’t we?) when the Swedish teenage sisters popped up on YouTube singing Fleet Foxes’s “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song” smack dab in the middle of the forest. Four years later, and we realize that these sisters still love [...]

Tanlines, “Brothers” Is it just me or has the internet had a lot of fun things to offer this week? It seems like every few hours, there’s some great link to a funny or horrifying story. 2012 seems to be picking up. With all the quality the internet was offering, it’s sort of surprising/no wonder [...]

My Morning Jacket, “Outta My System” find it on Circuital I have to say, it’s pretty refreshing to have someone look back on their life of crime and drug abuse gladly. I mean, I’m not endorsing it, but there’s something kind of ridiculous about people like, say, Motley Crue talking about how insane and fun [...]

Los Campesinos!, “By Your Hand” find it on Hello Sadness (2011) It’s a stressful time for us music obsessives. The end of the year means a sudden panic of trying to catch up with the music of the last year before the next year’s new releases start flowing in. And while most of what I’ve [...]

Lana Del Rey, “Video Games” find it on Born To Die Remember the episode in Parks and Recreation where Leslie gives Ann a bunch of books to research and includes Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom only because “I’m dying to talk to someone about Patty”? That’s kind of how I feel about “Video Games”. It’s a song [...]

AlunaGeorge, “You Know You Like It” find it on You Know You Like It (2011) Okay. Now this is more like it. Dubstep with a purpose, neosoul that’s really just neo, and top-shelf, quality pop without the unnecessary sugar. There’s at least four solid hooks in here, and while the vocals verge dangerously close to [...]

Stevie Jackson, “Just, Just So To The Point” get it on (I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson (2011) Pity poor Stevie Jackson. Sure he lives the life of a globe-trotting rock star, but he’s always been in the shadow of Belle & Sebastian’s primary songwriter Stuart Murdoch, one of the best and most beloved songwriters [...]

Florence + The Machine, “Shake it Out” get it on Ceremonials Every now and then, a band comes along that makes you use the phrase “every now and then, a band comes along”. Florence + the Machine (does anyone know the sum of that equation? I’m bad at math) is one of those bands, but [...]

Megafaun, “You Are The Light” get it on Megafaun (2011) Things I’m a sucker for that are present in this song: Horn swells. In fact, if I was to start up a band, I’d probably call it Horn Swells. You can use it on your own band, but only if you’re really awesome. A hymn feel. [...]