Quarterlifeparty

Singles:

Evan Voytas – The Yellow World Of ‘83
This reminds me of a less depressing Her Space Holiday song: electronic with background fuzz that sounds like it is about to fall apart if not held together by the smooth vocals. The escalating guitar/synth lines along with the mellow vocals really make for a catchy song. Pretty good stuff for a 24 year old from PA. His EP, Introducing Evan Voytas, comes out today.
Myspace

The Joy Formidable – Austere
Driving guitars, female vocals, all over a super-catchy bass line make this song a standout from this UK trio. Their debut single comes out in June, so will be looking forward to that. Download more from their Myspace page.

Lee Fields & The Expressions – My World
The resurgence of 60’s soul/funk is all the rage these days, just ask Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones &The Dap Kings, and that is fine by me. You can add Lee Evans to the mix with his inclusion in the Truth & Soul compilation Fallin’ Off The Reel Vol. 2. This song sounds like some good old fashioned James Brown-era Soul. Buy here.

Yael Naim – Too Long
The girl behind the breezy soundtrack to the new MacBook Air commercial gets a bit darker in this one; although still waltz-worthy. The guitar strumming is accompanies with various bleeps and blips along with an underlying flow of what sounds like electronic strings. Longing is the general theme of the lyrics, if you couldn’t tell by the title.
Myspace
Buy Here

Walter Meego – Forever
Been keeping my eye on this dance-pop duo for a while now. There has been an EP and some singles (a couple of which i featured in Mobtown Mixes) but finally the guys from Chicago have put together a proper LP, titled Voyager, that is due for release May 27th. This one is pretty much exactly what I would expect from these guys: Catchy as hell and head-bob worthy. Plus they have a unicorn as their picture on myspace…how can you hate that?
Myspace

Hail Social – No Paradise
If this song is any clue, these guys seem to be going in a dancier direction, which is fine by me. This song starts off with an orchestra of synth lines which eventually get taken over by soaring vocals, only to be taken back over by said synths for the chorus. “Don’t you be afraid at the end of the line…let it go, let it go ’cause you know it’s good forever”. Ignorance is bliss, i guess. This is the title track to their new EP, which you can buy here.
Myspace

Langhorne Slim – Rebel Side of Heaven
Organ + Piano +minimal drums + CYHSY-esque vocals +tuba (seriously) = yes please. I can’t count how many bands have used this equation (minus the tuba), but why stop when it’s so comfortable…like that old sweatshirt your girlfriend keeps trying to throw away. This band will be playing Letterman tomorrow night and touring in the coming months in support of their self-titled album which comes out April 29th.
Myspace

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Albums:

The Long Blondes – Couples – Here Comes The Serious Bit
One of me and Brent’s friends LOVED their last album, but i couldn’t say i was too into it. But they seem to be taking a different direction with this one, which comes out April 8th. The album (maybe not this song) reminds me of a more rock-pop version of The Chromatics mixed with The Pipettes.
Myspace
Pre-Order Couples

Kaki King – Dreaming of Revenge – Pull Me Out Alive
A good mix of instrumental only tracks as well as vocals on her fourth album. Which between performing most of the music for August Rush and producing some of the tracks in Into The Wild seems she is having quite the coming out party. Deservedly so.
Myspace
Buy Dreaming of Revenge

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Old album getting new spins:

The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightening, Strike – The Power Is On
Thinking about this recent popularity for soul, funk, and R&B got me to thinking about “new” bands that have been channeling those styles. Instantly I thought of these guys, because they seem to be one of the few that, instead of just rehashing the same-ole (Winhouse, Joss Stone), are taking traditional elements and adding all kinds of new stuff. Somehow this band is able to sound classic and fresh in the same song, and that isn’t easy. This album was the bands first and was released back in ‘04, and still sounds as great as ever.
Myspace
Buy Thunder, Lightening, Strike Here

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