Songs You Probably Don't Know That You Should Know

Phantogram

2013-10-11T01:02:00.003-04:00

So I haven't posted on here in quite some time, clearly. I got pretty busy with my current career and just couldn't find time. With 2013 being so ridiculous in musical gifts, I knew I had to figure out a way to create some time to get back to posting some of what this year has offered us.

First up, Phantogram's new EP includes this amazing track "Black Out Days". This may honestly be my favorite song of theirs and I tend to play When I'm Small over and over a few days a week. So here's to Phantogram's new EP and upcoming album. Hopefully they continue to make such amazing music.

Best Albums of 2011

2012-01-01T22:14:00.001-05:00

As I said in the Best Songs of 2011 post, 2011 was a year to remember in music. Some of my most played songs on iTunes have come from 2011, which is a tall task for any new song going against older music with more chances to be played. The mass amount of highly addicting songs were great additions and will be played for many years to come.

Having said all of that, here are my Top 25 Albums of 2011, in no particular order.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead

Tyler the Creator - Goblin

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math

Cults - Cults

TV On The Radio - Nine Types Of Light

The Weeknd - House of Balloons

Foster The People - Torches

Sparkadia - The Great Impression

Givers - In Light

St. Vince - Strange Mercy

Feist - Metals

SUNBEARS! - You Will Live Forever

Bon Iver - Bon Iver

The Roots - Undun

Childish Gambino - Camp

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Florence + The Machine - Ceremonials

Eskimo Joe - Ghosts Of The Past

The Rapture - In The Grace Of Your Love

Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean

The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient

Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Adele - 21

Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, ULTRA

Best Songs of 2011

2011-12-27T11:19:00.000-05:00

This year, 2011, has been an outstanding year for music. There have been more great albums this year than any other year that I can remember. Later this week, I should have my top albums up but for now here are the top songs of this year. These are in random order.

Seryn - We Will All Be Changed

Tyler The Creator - She

Frank Ocean - Novacane

Bon Iver - Towers

James Blake - I Never Learnt To Share

Starfucker - Bury Us Alive

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr - Simple Girl

Grouplove - Tongue Tied

Lupe Fiasco - Words I Never Said

Childish Gambino - Not Going Back

M83 - Midnight City

Wye Oak - Civilian

Boy & Bear - Feeding Line

Eskimo Joe - Echo

Neon Indian - Polish Girl

Manchester Orchestra - Simple Math (arguably the best video of the year)

Cults - Abducted

TV On The Radio - Second Song

Mates of State - Palomino

The Rapture - Sail Away

WU LYF - Dirt

The Weeknd - High For This

Florence + The Machine - What The Water Gave Me

Class Actress - Keep You

SUNBEARS! - Give Love A Try

Feist - How Come You Never Go There

Foster the People - Broken Jaw

St. Vincent - Cheerleader

Givers - Up Up Up

Fun. - We Are Young

The Canon Logic - Howl in the Night

Hhymn - These Hands

Friendly Fires - Blue Cassette

Tapes 'n Tapes - Freak Out

Iron & Wine - Tree By The River

Grouplove

2011-11-24T16:53:00.000-05:00

Grouplove released their debut album, Never Trust A Happy Song, a couple of months ago and it is a fantastic album. It's so good that it's hard to understand how this is a debut album and not their third or so installment. The song below, "Tongue Tied", is one of the few songs where I hear the bass line and get stuck on remembering that. So check it out below and make sure to pick up Never Trust A Happy Song wherever you can. Also head over to their site http://www.grouplovemusic.com/ to keep up with recent news.

2011-11-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't been able to post as much as I'd like to lately, I'm just going to put three videos in this post because I'm not sure if I'll have enough time this week.

We Are Augustines
If you head over to their site, http://weareaugustines.com/, you can grab a free download.

We Cut Corners
Over on http://www.wecutcorners.net/, you can check out another track from their upcoming debut album, Today I Realised I Could Go Home Backwards, which comes out November 11th.

We Were Promised Jetpacks
On http://wewerepromisedjetpacks.com/, you can find more music and videos from their latest album, In The Pit Of The Stomach, and past albums.

Lanterns On The Lake

2011-11-03T10:40:00.000-04:00

Lanterns On The Lake are kind of an ambient post-pop band. Even though it has an ambient vibe, they still manage to create an intense and epic sound. They recently released their debut album, Gracious Tide, Take Me Home, which features the track from below "Lungs Quicken". This song really shows off what I was saying about their ambient yet epic sound.

Icebird

2011-10-29T16:25:00.000-04:00

Icebird is a duo made up of hip-hop producer rjd2 and Philly soul vocalist Aaron Livingston, who has previously collaborated with the Roots. The result is this soulful, hip-hop rock. I know that combination can sound confusing on paper but once you hear the track below, "Charmed Life", you'll understand what I'm saying. They released their first album, The Abandoned Lullaby, a couple weeks ago.

Fun.

2011-10-23T01:01:00.000-04:00

Going into the post, I thought it would be quite difficult to find info and an embeddable video for a band named "Fun.", but I was quite surprised when they came right up in a Google search. So, luckily, I am now able to share them. Fun would be best classified as indie pop and they were formed by Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format. Below is their new song "We Are Young". So check that out and then head over to their site, http://www.ournameisfun.com/, to find out more from them.

Blind Pilot

2011-10-21T19:44:00.000-04:00

About a month ago Blind Pilot released their second studio album, We Are The Tide. It has been three years since their debut album, so getting fresh material from such a great band is a sight for sore eyes, well I guess it'd be a sound for sore ears? Maybe. I don't know. Anyways, to hear more from them check out my previous post on them here, and make sure to go and pick up We Are The Tide.

Class Actress

2011-10-12T22:48:00.000-04:00

Today's entry is of the synth-pop vibe. Class Actress' debut album comes out next Tuesday. Some of it has hit YouTube and the track I keep listening to over and over is "Keep You". It is the opening track of the album, and hopefully it's an indication of what we can look forward to on the rest of it. It starts the album off with this loud and insanely catchy synth beat. Make sure to keep your eyes out for this release next week.

The Rifles

2011-10-09T22:25:00.000-04:00

First of all, I'd like to apologize for the lack of posting over the past week or so. I have started a new job and just haven't had the time lately to get posts out but I will try and get back into posting on a regular basis. So with that out of the way, today's entry are The Rifles.

The Rifles recently released their third album, Freedom Run. They are best described as indie pop rock and have a little bit of folk in them at times. Below is the first single from Freedom Run, "Tangled Up In Love".

Hip Hop Wednesday: Common

2011-10-05T14:12:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't done one of these in awhile but that's because I haven't really found any good hip hop in the last few months. Today's entry is Common's newest single "Blue Sky" off of his upcoming album The Dreamer, the Believer, which is due out November 22nd.

Nothing can really be said about Common that isn't already known. He is easily one of hip hop's top MCs and is a personal favorite of mine because of the material he chooses to rap about. It's nice to have a new album from him after taking a few years off since Universal Mind Control. So without wasting any more time just go ahead and listen below and pick up his 9th studio album next month.

Imagine Dragons

2011-10-01T00:10:00.000-04:00

Today's post is gonna be kind of quick and short just because I have a lot going on (it's Friday afternoon but this may not post til Saturday). That shouldn't, however, make the music posted today any less significant. In fact, today's entry is one of my favorite over the past couple weeks.

Imagine Dragons are a Las Vegas based indie rock band. They released an EP entitled It's Time earlier this year. The first track, and title track, instantly grabs you. "It's Time" and "Tokyo" are two of my favorite tracks off of this 8-track EP, which is quite long for an EP. So check out both of those below and make sure to head over to their site, here, and grab It's Time.

Los Campesinos!

2011-09-28T17:17:00.000-04:00

Los Campesinos translates to The Peasants or The Farmers in English. They are an indie pop band from Wales. They recently released a new song entitled "By Your Hands" which is off of their fourth album coming out in November, Hello Sadness. If you are unfamiliar with this band I'd say to get their previous albums and familiarize yourself with them because they have put out some great music over the years.

A great part of "By Your Hands" is the story the music video tells. It really reminds me of the movie Synechdoche, New York, which if you haven't seen is quite amazing albeit quite depressing and kind of pretentious. Both this music video and that film have lots of similar scenes and have the same vibe.

Bombay Bicycle Club

2011-09-27T20:21:00.000-04:00

Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock and folk band from London. They recently released their third studio album "A Different Kind of Fix" in as many years. It's pretty crazy that they have released three albums essentially back-to-back-to-back. Some people criticize bands for releasing and making too much material, which is understandable I suppose but as a band if you have songs that you want to release why is such a bad thing to give more to their fans? I applaud them for doing so instead of waiting two or three years to release a new record.

While the first single from the album, "Shuffle", is a great track, I find myself coming back to "Lights Out, Words Gone". It is this subdued kind of rock with a nice little guitar riff which maintains that mood. So check that out below.

You Can't Win, Charlie Brown

2011-09-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

Yes, that is the name of the band. I remember telling my friend about them a couple of weeks ago and he thought that I was making some kind of reference to Peanuts and not being serious about an artist to keep his eye on. They are a Portugese band who have some folk and electronic sounds on their debut album Chromatic, which came out a few months ago.

Their first single off of this album is "Over The Sun, Under The Water", which is featured below. It really encompasses their entire sound in one track, so it's a great example to hear what they are like. To keep up with the band make sure to check or follow their tumblr at http://youcantwincharliebrown.tumblr.com/.

Of Monsters And Men

2011-09-23T16:51:00.000-04:00

Of Monsters And Men are a folk band from Iceland. Their song "Little Talks" is what has had me waiting for their debut album. Unfortunately, the album is only available in Iceland as of now and I still can't find a release date on it for anyone outside of there. However, we do have this song to hold us over until then.

It has this great accordion hook that brings a different sound to the song. That is paired with acoustic guitars and a great balancing act of male and female vocals. And when they let their voices get louder is when the track really reaches its greatness. Below is the live version of "Little Talks" because it sounds just as good if not better than the album version, which is always impressive to me.

Neon Indian

2011-09-22T03:17:00.000-04:00

Neon Indian made a huge splash in the indie scene a few years ago and since their debut album Psychic Chasms, fans have long awaited a new album. Finally, a week ago their new album, Era Extrana, was released. The first song to catch my attention was "Polish Girl" due to the use of what sounds like when Mario would collect a coin. It just has this hint of NES that makes the track memorable for me. Not to mention that it is actually just a great track all around. It has that same kind of catchy electronic beat that M83's "Midnight City" has. So if you liked that, you should dig this as well.

They were recently on Jimmy Fallon to perform "Polish Girl" live, so that version and the studio version are below. It's quite remarkable how great it sounds live given the songs remarkable technical intricacies.

M83

2011-09-20T03:00:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to hold off as long as possible on posting this track. I wanted to post it closer to the new album's release date, but since the video is around 300,000 views I figured it needs to be posted already. So below is the first single, "Midnight City", off of M83's new album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. It is insanely good and equally as catchy with its notes. This single will undoubtedly make top songs of 2011.

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is due out October 18th and is a 2-disc release. After hearing this first single, I can't wait for 20-plus tracks of this. It's going to be quite the release. In case you haven't heard of M83 before, they were featured on here before at this link here.

Milo Green

2011-09-19T19:08:00.000-04:00

Today's entry is an indie folk rock group that are starting to make a lot of noise. Milo Green released an album or EP earlier this year, The Hello Sessions. With the release of "1957", the need for more musice from them was quite high. You can listen to all four tracks over on their bandcamp site, http://milogreene.bandcamp.com/.

Just to give you an idea on their sound, it's in the same mold as Kopecky Family Band and Seryn. I assure you that "1957" will live up to this billing and it will become a staple in your music rotation. So listen below and then head over to their bandcamp site to hear more from them.

Mates of State

2011-09-16T02:11:00.000-04:00

The past couple days I've been catching up on some albums. While doing so, there was one track that completely floored me. It stopped my entire process and forced me to put it on repeat. That track is Mates of State's "Palomino". Something about the song sounds so familiar but I just can't place it. It has the feel of a great song in a commercial but I can't find anything for it.

Just in case you aren't familiar with Mates of State, this is their 7th album release and they are a husband and wife duo. You can find this track on their recently released album Mountaintops. In fact, I could probably picture this song being played as someone reaches the apex of a mountain or metaphorically as a high point in someone's life (hopefully that isn't too cliche). I have a strong inclination that hearing this one song will strongly urge you to buy Mountaintops, because I can't recommend it high enough (or maybe I should have inserted another "Mountaintop" pun there instead).

The Canon Logic

2011-09-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

Not much can be found on The Canon Logic. Their website, http://www.thecanonlogic.com/, is promoting their new EP Rapid Empire but there isn't much else on it. The only other info I could find was on their facebook page and it says that they are from Brooklyn. We all know how much great music comes out of there so this is just another band to add to that list.

The one other thing that is on their website is a free download of the track "Howl In The Night". This track is what inspired me to google them and find out more about them. It is a truly great track. Once the song gets going around the 1:30 mark it has a guitar riff similar to that of an Explosions in the Sky melody , which is accompanied by a great alternating snare and tom drum beat. Then to top all of that off, there is some incredibly catchy chanting throughout the track. You can also purchase Rapid Empire on their site for $5, so I'd suggest listening below and then head over to their site.

St. Vincent

2011-09-14T18:03:00.000-04:00

St. Vincent is the project of the very talented Annie Clark. She was part of the touring band for Sufjan Stevens before creating her own band. Her latest album, Strange Mercy, was released yesterday. This would mark the third entry into her discography. The album has pretty cool experimental stuff on it, but that is probably to be expected since she toured with Sufjan.

Even though I've only had one listen, I made it a point to put "Cheerleader" on my main playlist. It starts off slow, quiet, and intimate and then just has this really heavy chorus. But not in the sense that it's metal or anything, just really powerful. After listening to it below, make sure to search for the live version on YouTube just to see how she performs in a very elegant dress. I'd link it but it's kind of poor audio quality. Also make sure to check out the rest of the album.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

2011-09-12T21:17:00.000-04:00

Today's entry is a preview of an album that comes out next Tuesday, September 20th. Which is when Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will release Hysterical, their first album in four years. You can also go over to NPR and stream it in its entirety, here's the link.

CYHSY are best described as indie rock. Nothing too electronic or psychedelic, just good rock. They are out of Brooklyn, NY so you can imagine where their sound came from and where it truly fits in. Below is a live performance of "Same Mistake", which is off of the new album. It's not the greatest of quality, so make sure to go to that NPR link to listen to the rest of it.

Active Child

2011-09-07T00:58:00.000-04:00

This year has been insane for music. Now two thirds of the way through the year and I have downloaded more albums than any other entire year before. Maybe it's just that I'm expanding my horizons more so than ever before or maybe music is just so much more accessible nowadays. I almost feel like there isn't enough time in the day to get as many albums in as I'd like to.

On the contrary, I have made time to listen to Active Child's new release You Are All I See multiple times. This album seems to be in the vein of The Weeknd, Bon Iver, M83 and James Blake, which seems like a praise too high to live up to, but it most certainly does. The third track on the album, "Hanging On", is the track that made me fall in love with the album initially. But as you go through the rest of it, you will find multiple tracks on the same level of greatness. If you head over to http://activechildmusic.com/ you can get a free download of "Hanging On", it is also below.