photo by leslie simon

I’ve been in the processing of moving and had over 800 viruses cleaned off my computer (thanks, Spotify), so haven’t had a chance to listen to any new music in a few weeks. Things are now settled and I spent all morning dancing around to bouncy sunny off kilter beats, and here are ten of my favorite new songs to listen to this weekend:

French Style Furs “Solitary Life”- Cold War Kids side project with lead singer Nathan Willett singing poems written by 20th century monk Thomas Merton. Using found materials and putting them to a Latin groove, “Solitary Life” takes elements from David Byrne’s playbook as Willett’s distinct vocals sound more pleading than ever courtesy of Merton’s philosophical thoughts.
https://soundcloud.com/frenchstylefurs/solitary-life

Old Smokey “All the Way Slow”- Composed of veterans from the Athens, GA scene, Old Smokey make catchy songs with a perplexing AM sound that has elements of Bollywood and spaghetti western throughout the onslaught of beautiful strings. “All the Way Slow” has a great psychedelic extended bridge with a fitting public access looking video.

La Femme “Welcome America”- French electro-surf powerhouse brings the frenetic energy with uptempo synthesized clapping and a ridiculously bouncy bass line.

Sylvan Esso “Hey Mami”- Overlapping the crystal clear vocals of Mountain Man’s Amelia Meath, producer Nick Sanborn creates a perfect sweet pop song that gets harder and more complex with every measure.

Tyson Meade “Nihilists Need Love Too”- legendary 90’s alt-rock former Chainsaw Kittens member loved by the Flaming Lips shows that weird never dies in his new single.

BOSSK “Albatross”- This Fleetwood Mac cover maintains the beautiful dreamy mood of the original and is best heard over and over.

Yonatan Gat “Escorpiao”- mesmerizing guitarist from Tel Aviv now residing in NY spends time in Portugal and tweaks his fuzzy psychedelic unhinged sound.
http://yonatangat.bandcamp.com/album/iberian-passage-2

Teleman “23 Floors Up”- incredible songwriting and melody from a UK group who sound like they listen to a lot of Bowie.

Cretin Stompers “Eye of the Storm”- super fuzzy light as a beignet deliciousness. So fuzzy I thought a speaker had blown out. Yum.

Ariana Grande featuring Iggy Azalea “Problem”- I’m sure Ariana Grande is a nice girl, but I go straight to Iggy’s part in this song. Reminding me of Lady Gaga’s “Teeth”, saxophone and marching drums never sounded so good with Iggy as the perfect Drum Major.