https://youtu.be/-EGHUsvE5h8
4. Black Pumas – "Gemini Sun". A Southwest-flavored psychedelic rock-'n-soul jam from just-hitting-their-stride Austin, Texas band Black Pumas. #music

https://youtu.be/vK0-K3KAtBA
3. Fu Manchu – "Hands of the Zodiac". On the one hand, it's hard to take stoner rock bands like Orange County veterans Fu Manchu too seriously once you've heard Cheech & Chong's "Earache My Eye", but on the other, their fuzzed-out post-Sabbath riffage is so fucking cool, who cares? #music

https://youtu.be/-l0IOK7JaMA
2. Haley Heynderickx – "Seed of a Seed". I remain a sucker for the trifecta: folky acoustic guitar, spare but lovely string arrangement, and an angelic singing voice. #music

My Top 5 Songs of the Week (2024 Week 31):
https://youtu.be/EujdsU7scOA
1. CRX – "Mean to be Cold". I get a strong hit of '80s power pop from this song by LA's CRX, maybe from the melodic postpunky bass and propulsive rhythm. #music

My best of 2024 (so far) playlist is updated regularly and can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJeO4dNUaIn2mN9hFpBK1szGAA07d8pq&si=ZVqklnxTIwkgAQKq
#music

https://youtu.be/BHZ77CTBSUI
5. Nightshift – "Crush". Glasgow lo-fi indie pop group hit here with a slight country feel and lyrics like "come and sit beside me / metabolize me". #music

https://youtu.be/fbiLM3kVo3A
4. October and the Eyes – "Rubber Gloves". A scraping, yelping, reverb-drenched postpunk freakout from East London-based New Zealander October. #music

https://youtu.be/mNKdOhUGQW0
3. Yannis and the Yaw with Tony Allen – "Rain Can't Reach Us". Third winning single from Yannis (of Foals fame) and the late legendary Afro-funk drummer Allen (you can hear him kick the groove up a notch around 1:30). Guitars, strings, and flutes transport the track to still further realms. #music

https://youtu.be/g0nG5-NHoqU
2. Radio Free Alice – "Johnny". If I had a time machine I'd take the video for this jangly synthpop song back to 1983, play it for MTV programmers and make this Melbourne, Australia group retroactively famous. Then come back and wonder why my nostalgia for them was so tinged with déjà vu. #music

My Top 5 Songs of the Week (2024 Week 30):
https://youtu.be/XWAXnQlcXnU
1. Starflyer 59 – "909". Huge, cavernous gothic shoegaze from Riverside band that just celebrated its 30th year. I'm especially loving the guitar notes held for a couple seconds while being slowly bent. #music

My best of 2024 (so far) playlist is updated regularly and can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJeO4dNUaIn2mN9hFpBK1szGAA07d8pq&si=ZVqklnxTIwkgAQKq
#music

https://youtu.be/UvroAMlwIh8
2. Emilia Sisco and Cold Diamond & Mink – "Lemon & Lime Sours". I'm definitely a sucker for retro-soul, so the Funk Brothers-style drum intro on this track had me hooked. Did not expect to learn the artists and label are based in Helsinki, Finland, but OK! #music

My Top 2 Songs of the Week (2024 Week 29):
https://youtu.be/sQrek-eogPg
1. A Place to Bury Strangers – "Disgust". Hypercaffeinated, aggro shoegaze from Brooklyn's veteran noise dealers. The adrenaline rush from this could get addictive. #music

My best of 2024 (so far) playlist is updated regularly and can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJeO4dNUaIn2mN9hFpBK1szGAA07d8pq&si=ZVqklnxTIwkgAQKq
#music

https://youtu.be/QaXe9zAa3r4
5. Jessica Pratt – "Life Is". Reminds me (in a good way) of that single Nico recorded with Jimmy Page, pre-Velvet Underground ("I'm Not Sayin' " / "The Last Mile"). Folky but with a pop sensibility. #music

https://youtu.be/WWYjGH6fW5c
4. Wunderhorse – "Silver". The English band sticks with a successful formula on this followup to "Midas" – crunchy indie-rock guitar riff and lyrics that explore trauma. #music

https://youtu.be/bInHFf4NFbY
3. Fcukers – "Homie Don't Shake". Followup to Brooklyn indie club crew's "Bon Bon" is another irony-drenched, hip head-nodder that winks at Beck's "Devil's Haircut" (or is it Them's "I Can Only Give You Everything"?) #music

https://youtu.be/525gClcVEfA
2. Hamish Hawk – "Men Like Wire". Literate, deep-voiced Scottish indie rock in the vein of Franz Ferdinand. Name-checks '80s soul-pop band King ("Love and Pride") and says of its eponymous singer "He was different, that one…he did an uncanny Frankie Valli." #music

My Top 5 Songs of the Week (2024 Week 28):
https://youtu.be/tSeJqLyeCeE
1. Laura Marling – "Patterns". A lovely fingerpicked guitar pattern reminiscent of Nick Drake's "From The Morning" with string accompaniment suggestive of earlier Drake records, and beautifully sung. "Forward leaning at first, abstract / You soon contract into form." #music

My best of 2024 (so far) playlist is updated regularly and can be found here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDJeO4dNUaIn2mN9hFpBK1szGAA07d8pq&si=ZVqklnxTIwkgAQKq
#music