but I would rather be alone than pretend i feel alright

♫ Arcade Fire – Ready To Start

At 16 tracks, Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs will be one of the most bloated albums on people’s best of 2010 lists. You can either take issue that I called the album bloated or you can take issue that I assume it will make the best of cut, but the reality is that both parts are true. In this day of 9 track LPs and running times that barely crack the half hour mark, The Suburbs is practically a double album. Well, thank goodness it isn’t because a, who the fuck likes double albums, and b, The Suburbs works brilliantly as a cohesive 16 track musical examination of life on the outskirts of the city. I have never been a huge Arcade Fire fan but am always curious to hear what they are up to. First taste tracks “The Suburbs” and “Month of May” left me unimpressed but curious of what would follow. Fast forward 2 months and I didn’t need to venture farther than track 2 on The Suburbs before I was thoroughly rocking out to “Ready To Start” (above) and already convinced I was going to like the rest of the album. An hour later I was left more than satisfied and itched to repeat the adventure. It’s all the things that people love about Arcade Fire: anthemic, big hooks, lush instrumentation, but somehow it all fits so much better. While there are a handful of epic tracks, there are a bigger handfull that don’t really standout yet but are nonetheless essential to the experience of The Suburbs. I might not be humming them later but I sure as hell am not skipping them in the moment.

♫ Arcade Fire – Month Of May

Early shoulder-shrugger ”Month Of May” has definitely taken on a new persona while listening to the whole disc. Initially seeming like an awkward attempt at punk rock, it now makes perfect sense and I love hearing it rev up after the 4 relatively calm tracks that precede it. Anyway, I’m sure that at this point 94% of you already have The Suburbs but for those other 6% I encourage you to give this one a chance. It just might change your opinion of Arcade Fire, or at the least, 16 track albums. And definitely go check out their video experience for “We Used To Wait.” It’s interactive in the smallest way but packs a huge punch for the short line of text you will enter. And besides, it’s Arcade Fire set to film, something we can all agree is awesome.

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everything will be better in the fall

♫ Entrepreneurs – Bubblegunk

Fuck yeah. Uv Been Robbed (Joking, But Not), the debut EP from current TBE crush Entrepreneurs is out now for a ‘pay what you want’ price. As if the previously posted “Infinity” and “Revenge Platter” (also on the EP) didn’t convince you that this is the freshness the let me try. This is the freshness. The scuzzy, funky, synthy, rowdy, rock n roll freshness. Got it? Good.

Bury your face in MySpace

i see you lookin up, you want to think about it

♫ The Ting Tings – Hands

I distictly remember my friend Sam asking me: “What do you think about The Ting Tings?” It was the summer of ’08 and he was splayed out in in a hospital bed after tearing his knee to shit. Before I was even able to connect the mental dots to “Great DJ,” the only song of theirs I knew at the time, Sam answered his own question: “I’ve decided I’m not into them.” We talked about it for another minute or so before evolving topics. The exchange always comes to mind when I think about the band because it wasn’t long after that I was giving their album a spin and making a similar decision: “I don’t think I like this much.” But that’s the funny thing about The Ting Tings, their popular opinion is made up of much more decision than reaction, people have to kind of think about whether this kind of spazzy club pop is OK with them. For a band that seems to cause so much thinking, they make music that should really require none. Anyway, after the sever over-exposure of tracks like “That’s Not My Name” and “Shut Up And Let Me Go,” I find it hard to imagine that anyone listens to them on the regular but that may be about to change. “Hands” is their new jam and although it’s still signature Ting, it’s also their most enjoyable and least grating track to date. A bouncy party groove for getting loose on the dance floor! Stop thinking, stop hating and get dancing!

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sweetest taste is never gonna leave you even when it hurts you

♫ Scissor Sisters – Sex and Violence

That cover art pretty much says it all. Scissor Sisters’ third album, Night Work, is music for ass grabbing, flexing, shaking, bouncing and strutting, and if you have ever appreciated any of those activities then you would be wise to get your hands on this package in time for the weekend’s festivities! I just finished a workout/shower combo to the whole album and I couldn’t be more pumped for Friday night! Sure Scissor Sisters are about as flamboyant as it gets and Night Work is their master thesis on the subject but it’s also their best, most cohesive album to date. I’ve traditionally been only moderately inspired by their dance jams only to be left disappointed by the rest of the flimsy album material. In fact, I had even taken all their previous stuff off my iTunes in a recent hard drive cleansing. Then I heard “Invisible Light” and was convinced to give them a second (third) chance. Night Work wastes no more than 8 seconds before kicking things off big and bold. The title track is a straight disco funk jam and is subsequently followed by huge danceability through all 10 tracks. “Any Which Way,” “Something like This,” and “Skin Tight” are other album favorites that pave the way for current obsession, “Sex and Violence.” Jake Shears’ dark and sultry voice glide through the shimmering fog-lit rhythm for a track that is perfect for dancing closer and closer to that special (i.e. random) someone on the dancefloor. Fuck, I can’t keep trying to describe this stuff. It’s too hard to think, type, and dance at the same time. If you are remotely moved by these tracks then you know what to do. Night Work is out now!

Bury your face in MySpace /// eMusic too

no they can’t believe how we can make cash money singing about our fantasy

♫ Surf Party USA – Damn Thang

Any band naming themselves after a 30 Rock line is gonna get my attention and so thank goodness they didn’t tarnish their namesake and have dropped a jam of a track here! Coming from California I never would have guessed that these Idaho inlanders would get their indentured farm party on so hard! You’ve got bouncy synth lines, auto tuned crooning, white-dude rapping, and enough glitchy goodness to keep things funky! The few other Serf Party USA jams I’ve heard are a bit rough around the edges but with only 28 listens on Last.fm these guys are about as fresh as it gets and clearly have time to tighten up their shit between boozy nights in the cornfields. Bump it!

Bury your face in MySpace

cause you never know when you gonna need to go back

♫ Dam-Funk – Hood Pass Intact (feat, MC Eiht)

Dam Funk’s largely instrumental (and large in size) double album, Toeachizown, garnered a ton of praise last year but the little I heard didn’t quire grab me and I never really tackled it. Well, now that Dam-Funk has thrown some vocals on a few of those tracks for his new EP my ears are perking right up. “Hood Pass Intact”‘s premise is about as awesome as it’s throwback 80s funk mega-handclap beat. Dam Funk’s high pitched soul provides a nice contrast to MC Eiht’s gravely flow. If this jam doesn’t make you want to cut the top off your car and put mega hydraulics in then you are lost, my friend. California love, baby. It’s nice to see a guy bringing back a genre and doing it with zero irony. (No surprise that Dam is on Stones Throw, the same label as Mayer Hawthorne)

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so i am a man up in the air and i float around this town

♫ Grouplove – Colours

Did you hear the one about the 5 people from LA, NYC, and London who all met and formed a band on the island of Crete and then stayed in touch before deciding to record an EP in LA? No, you haven’t heard it before, because shit like that does’t happen. Well, it doesn’t unless you are in Grouplove and then that is the exact story of how you got to the point where I am now listening to your single and being blown away. Backstory aside, this jam is a hugely impressive blend of all the things I love! Huge anthemic vocals! Soaring harmonies! Shredding guitars! Foot stomping beat! And most of all, a feeling that I am listening to something real and alive! Emotion and feeling are bursting through the seams of this track! Grouplove’s debut 5 track EP is out now and while I wait for the band to read this post and hook me up with a copy so it can become my favorite EP of the year I suggest you get a head start and pick it up! After all, NME named these guys #10 on the list of best new 2010 bands! They should probably have been higher.

Bury your face in MySpace

i promise i’m a well intentioned explosion

♫ Cloud Cult – Today We Give Ourselves to the Fire

Some of you might know Cloud Cult from them being a band for forever and Light Chasers being their 8th record but I’m being introduced through this anthemic and life-affirming rock jam. A band with that much of a back catalog is waaaay too intimidating for me so I can promise you now that I won’t be giving myself to that fire, if you know what I mean. I have no problem just cranking this up, tying my sweater to my head, and conquering the shit of this couch! I can’t help getting pumped with those grinding guitars and huge harmonies!

Bury your face in MySpace /// eMusic too

you been travelling all alone down that road and all i have is a photo

♫ Barbara – Unicornica (demo)

What the only thing better than stumbling across some nice new jams? Finding out that the people behind that sweetness are also behind one of your favorite music blogs! First there was the out-of-left-field but Kid Cudi approved cover of “Pursuit of Happiness” that was instantly refreshing. Then I got “Unicornica”  in my inbox and instantly fell for it (in demo form, no less!). Such a delicate little beat coupled with those intimate vocals make for some great listening. So after all that “Barbara-ness” I finally read this Audiomuffin post on how how their own Bootsy and Frank are a core part of the band! Hell yeah! So “Unicornica” is still in the oven (hee hee) awaiting a full LP release but their Robopopironica EP is out now and features the fantastic ”Moon Trip.”

♫ Barbara – Moon Trip

Fragile and spacey. Great for winding down before some much needed sleep. I love when Booty’s vocals come in. The shift from husky to sweetness is perfect. It’s so nice to hear some music bloggers making music of their own. Sure make me feel humble. So if you are digging this greatness then support these guys!

Bury your face in their website

rawr! raah!

♫ Baths – Aminals

Baths is the moniker of 21 year old Los Angeleno Will Wiesenfeld whose debut album, Cerulean, is out now and garnering much acclaim. Some of the other tracks I’ve heard haven’t blown me away but “Animals” here instantly jumped out at me. Both delicate and pounding at the same time, its mostly instrumental beat skips and tweaks itself around until it’s some kind of hyperactive mess that is just waiting to burst. If you aren’t feeling this jam then you just need to turn up the volume, turn down the lights, and try again. Although the rest of the album hasn’t grown on me yet I can definitely say that headphones help. Right now I am loving how Baths takes these short vocal samples and streaches and weaves them into the rhythm until they are barely recognizable. “Maximalist” is another recommended jam

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