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“All the Words You Can’t Say Right” |
| Laarks | ||
| The boys in Laarks have found a way to express their emotions without coming across as obvious or cheesy. That is a particularly fine line to walk but perhaps this song sums up their motto — it is in the words they can’t quite say that their point is made clear. | ||
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-Andy DeLoach
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“The Reeling” | |
| Passion Pit | ||
| The perfect opening song to any mix tape, this starts off the only way Passion Pit knows how…awesome. The journey begins slow and before you know it, your foot is tapping to the intoxicating beat. That tap quickly moves to a head bob and by the end of the track you’re in full hipster dance party mode. | ||
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-Julie Gong
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“I Start to Run” | |
| White Denim | ||
| A straight-up rock and roller from one of Austin’s finest shoves its cojones in your face while kicking you in yours. | ||
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-Jon Kjarsgaard
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“No Intention” | |
| Dirty Projectors | ||
| The Projectors are content with a casual walk through the park on “No Intention” and that’s probably for the best because this particular park is shape-shifting with every step. Hand-claps, obscure bass lines, and female voices build a vibrant environment that will envelop you for four minutes — you have no choice but to keep walking. | ||
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-Andy DeLoach
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“Basic Space” | |
| The xx | ||
| A bleak foundation of drum machine beats and stark keyboards carries Oliver Sim’s mumurs and Romy Madley Croft’s coos, giving merit to the adage “less is more.” | ||
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-Claire Tiller
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“Give Blood” | |
| Rain Machine | ||
| Big, emotionally wrought, and suitably intense, the solo project of TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone is one of the best side gigs this side of Jack White. | ||
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-Jon Kjarsgaard
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“Change of Heart” | |
| El Perro del Mar | ||
| An unexpected but thoroughly enjoyable sidestep by the Swedish soundstress, “Change of Heart” createss a sublime Stevie Nicks interpretation of pop melancholy that further proves Sarah Assbring’s almost spiritual connection to American music. | ||
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-Andy DeLoach
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“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” | |
| Cage the Elephant | ||
| This really makes you wonder why more bands don’t use the slide guitar. The band puts it to good use in their modern twist of vintage blues, augmenting and updating the sound by splitting and splicing to create a sort of aural stop motion. Add lyrics belonging to a confessional and a delightfully gritty and fresh blues song results. | ||
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-Claire Tiller
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“Last Dance” | |
| The Raveonettes | ||
| Yet more enjoyable proof that the Raveonettes have their fingers on the pulse of the millennial generation. Instead of protesting or picking on the flaws of the world’s young adults, they embrace them and rejoice. This isn’t a last dance to hang your head over but instead one to dance away your troubles with. | ||
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-Andy DeLoach
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“No You Girls” | |
| Franz Ferdinand | ||
| Tying witty lyrics to muscular melodies has always been Franz Ferdinand’s strength and it is in abundance here. With a twisted guitar riff and deliciously naughty lyrics (“Kiss me where you eye won’t meet me”), it is the kind of kind of song that can get stuck in your head after just one half-attentive listen. | ||
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-Jon Kjarsgaard
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“Microphone” | |
| Coconut Records | ||
| It begins with Jason Schwartzman picking out the melody with a guitar and a toy piano. This humble approach to a beginning quickly makes way for more dynamic instruments and sounds, as this is the sort of dynamic melody songwriters dream about — a melody that’s familiar but not tired. It’s the kind of melody that the West Coast pop stars of the ’60s were so good at producing and, perhaps with the help of Mr. Schwartzman, will do so again. | ||
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-Andy DeLoach
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“The End is Near” | |
| The Fiery Furnaces | ||
| The happy hook here is a strange bedfellow for the doom and gloom lyrics the Fiery Furnaces have written for it. The down-tempo bass and piano song is perfect for a sleepy Sunday morning; rather than the apocalypse; perhaps the Friedbergers were mourning the inevitability of yet another Sunday night succumbing to Monday morning, “such a clear and certain hell of a thing.” | ||
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-Claire Tiller
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“Rich Doors” | |
| NewVillager | ||
| Opening with a drum beat that belongs at a pep rally, “Rich Doors” boldly introduces this bicoastal duo to the world, proudly demonstrating that they have the right sound rich enough to take you down. | ||
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-Jon Kjarsgaard
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“Never Had Nobody Like You” | |
| M. Ward | ||
| Few artists could pepper a chorus with “A, B, C’s” and “1, 2, 3’s” and get away with it the way M. Ward does. Songs like this prove that simplicity can be easily overshadowed by an artist’s unique and brimming sound. Zooey Deschanel makes a guest appearance but sticks to backing up Ward’s raspy vocals and overdriven guitar – with She & Him’s Volume 2 allegedly in the works, we’ll certainly see those roles reverse as they continue to collaborate. | ||
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-Chad Helminak
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“Daniel” | |
| Bat for Lashes | ||
| Natasha Khan’s ghostly voice drifts dreamily through her brooding chamber-pop meets ethereal ’80s electro song. It sounds as intangible as the elusive relationship Khan sings about, as if the whole thing just slips through her fingers. | ||
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-Claire Tiller
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