dnak
Springtime means music festival season is in full swing. There are a lot of new releases and a whole collection of strong bands & tracks to discover. I’m also loving the return of the music video form. Not that they ever disappeared, but there definitely was a lull ever since MTV pretty much abandoned the space in favor of non-music reality TV. I appreciate the creativity I’m seeing out there by musicians and directors who see onilne videos as a great way to promote their art and attract new listeners. In particular, see the new videos below from MGMT, OK Go, and Hot Chip.
This playlist is available on Lala below (after the jump) as well as in an iTunes iMix. Check it out, and I hope you enjoy.
-Dave
The list is below….
| Artist | Song Title | Album | |
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| 1. | Fang Island | Daisy | Fang Island |
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Joyous anthem pop meets progressive rock in this stand-out track on the self-titled album from Fang Island out of Brooklyn
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| 2. | MGMT | Flash Delirium | Congratulations |
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Probably one of the most anticipated albums of 2010, Congratulations has already evoked a lot of fan reaction both positive and negative. When it was leaked online, the band reacted by streaming their entire album on their site, so you can preview it now. While there’s not an obvious big track like “Kids”, I’m enjoying the whole album with repeat listens. Definitely checkout the super trippy video for “Flash Delirium”. |
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| 3. | Gorillaz | Stylo | Plastic Beach |
| The British collaborative group is back with its third album. With this solid release, maybe they’ll stop pretending to be a virtual animated group. | |||
| 4. | Rogue Wave | Solitary Gun | Permalight |
| After a three-year absence during which the band suffered the death of their bassist, Oakland’s Rogue Wave is back with their fourth LP. Tragedy doesn’t seem to have impacted the upbeat pop apparent in this leadoff track. | |||
| 5. | Frightened Rabbit | FootShooter | The Winter of Mixed Drinks |
| Frightened Rabbit’s third LP is out, and you can tell that the Scottish group has expanded to a quintet with a fuller sound and bigger ambitions. | |||
| 6. | jj | You Know | jj nº 3 |
| Swedish duo jj keeps their breezy pop vibe in their sophomore album | |||
| 7. | Seabear | Cold Summer | We Built a Fire |
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Another beautiful track from Seabear out of Iceland. Close your eyes and listen to the strings.. |
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| 8. | Portugal. The Man | The Dead Dog | American Ghetto |
| I’m going to ignore the fact that this band originated in Sarah Palin’s home town (Wasilla, Alaska) since they’re now based in Portland, OR, and more importantly, I like this lead off track of their 6th studio album. | |||
| 9. | OK Go | This Too Shall Pass | Of the Blue Colour of the Sky |
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These guys from Chicago deserve an award for their commitment to creating viral music videos. Famous for their treadmill video for “Here It Goes Again”, they may have topped it with their latest video. The crazy thing is that their original video featuring a marching band for “This Too Shall Pass” is actually pretty great too. But if you haven’t witnessed it yet, you must experience this Rube Goldberg Machine epic. |
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| 10. | The Besnard Lakes | Albatross | The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night |
| Montreal’s Besnard Lakes brings ghostly vocals over an atmospheric reverb in this track from their newly released third album. | |||
| 11. | The New Pornographers | Crash Years | Crash Years – Single |
| I’m a long-time fan of this Vancouver, BC group, and I was excited to hear this new single from their upcoming album Together. We get Neko Case’s lead vocals, whistling, and an infectious hook. What’s not to like? | |||
| 12. | Dan Black | U + Me = | UN |
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You may remember Dan Black from the Passion Pit remix of “Symphonies” that I featured in Dnak 32 last year. You can get his original version of that song along with this great electronic track on his LP. I encourage you to listen to his electronic version as well as his acoustic performance from a live performance in the video below.
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| 13. | Broken Bells | The Ghost Inside | Broken Bells |
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Now that the Danger Mouse/James Mercer collaborative album has been released, it looks to be more than a simple side project. Tickets have just gone on sale for a tour. Check out this live performance on Fallon of “The Ghost Inside”. |
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| 14. | Broken Bells | October | Broken Bells |
| More goodness from the Broken Bells | |||
| 15. | Hot Chip | I Feel Better | One Life Stand |
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Bizarrely hilarious video for another elctro-pop hit from London’s Hot Chip. I’d describe the video as Zoolander meets Zardoz. I’m looking forward to seeing them perform live. |
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| 16. | Surfer Blood | Floating Vibes | Astro Coast |
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Guitar-driven, hazy reverb surf music from Florida-based Surfer Blood. As you can tell from the live KEXP performance, these kids are young! |
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| 17. | Midlake | Bring Down | The Courage of Others |
| It’s dark, it’s melancholy, It’s beautiful. More from Midlake’s latest album. | |||
| 18. | Kaitie Miller-Heidke | The Last Day On Earth | Curiouser |
| It’s impossible not to be reminded of Kate Bush when you hear this Australian’s voice. I would never have guessed that she was a classically trained opera singer, but before she turned to indie pop, she performed onstage in both operas and musicals. A beautiful track. | |||
| 19. | Turin Brakes | The Sea Change | Outbursts |
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This London duo gives us acoustic guitar-driven folk rock on the lead track from their brand new album.
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| 20. | Yeasayer | I Remember | Odd Blood |
| Definitely one of my favorite albums so far in 2010… I’m closing out this list with this wonderful Yeasayer track from Oddblood. | |||
