Lots of great releases this week for your Spring soundtrack: L.A. duo Best Coast return with what KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes as a "consistently strong set of ‘90s-influenced power pop, featuring a big, punchy sound with fuzzy guitars, energetic rhythms and Bethany Cosentino’s honeyed, often multi-tracked vocals and emotive, often-melancholy lyrics, along with an abundance of sparkling pop hooks."
My Morning Jacket also re-emerge with their seventh album that "bounces from epic prog-rock to soul-tinged ‘80s rock and plaintive, acoustic-oriented ballads." UK group Palma Violets share "another strong set of ramshackle garage-rock with buzzing guitars, droning organ, shifting rhythms, anthemic song hooks and rowdy gang sing-along choruses." Django Django bring "a smoother, more polished take on the band’s blend of electro-pop and psych-pop, combining propulsive dance-friendly rhythms with trippy song textures and sunny harmonies."
Other Lives release "their most adventurous set to date, featuring a moody, densely layered prog-pop sound with atmospheric synths and guitars, piano, horns, strings and other instrumentation accompanying Jesse Tabish’s ethereal vocals." And Sub Pop band METZ share "another excellent set of blistering post-hardcore with scuzzy, angular guitars, pile-driving rhythms, anguished vocals and dark lyrics of loss and alienation."
Best Coast – “California Nights”
from California Nights on Harvest / Virgin EMI
Chris Stapleton – “Traveller”
from Traveller on Mercury Nashville
Coliseum – “Sunlight In A Snowstorm”
from Anxiety's Kiss on Deathwish Inc.
Death and Vanilla – “Arcana”
from To Where the Wild Things Are on Fire Records
Django Django – “First Light”
from Born Under Saturn on Ribbon Records
Downtown Boys – “Future Police”
from Full Communism on Don Giovanni
Gacha – “Let Me Love You”
from Send Two Sunsets on R&S
Giant Sand – “Hurtin' Habit”
from Heartbreak Pass on New West
Grave with No Name – “I Will Ride A Horse”
from Feathers Wet, Under the Moon on Lefse Records
Hiatus Kaiyote – “Breathing Underwater”
from Choose Your Weapon on Flying Buddha
Ivan & Alyosha – “All This Wandering Around”
from It's All Just Pretend on Dualtone Music
Jacco Gardner – “Find Yourself”
from Hypnophobia on Polyvinyl
Kamasi Washington – “Re Run Home”
from The Epic on Brainfeeder
King Tuff / Ty Segall – “Queen Lullabye”
from Live at Pickathon on Easy Sound Recording Company
Knxwledge – “Jstowee”
from Hud Dreems on Stones Throw
Lindstrøm / Emil Nikolaisen / Todd Rundgren – “Put Your Arms Around Me”
from Runddans on Smalltown Supersound
Mac McCaughan – “Lost Again”
from Non-Believers on Merge
Marshmallow Coast – “Hash Out Cash Out”
from Vangelis Rides Again on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records
METZ – “Acetate”
from II on Sub Pop
Michael Rault – “Suckcess”
from Living Daylight on Burger Records
Mikal Cronin – “ii) Gold”
from MCIII on Merge
Mumford & Sons – “Believe”
from Wilder Mind on Glassnote
My Morning Jacket – “Under The Waterfall”
from The Waterfall on ATO / Capitol
Nosaj Thing – "Cold Stares" feat. Chance The Rapper
from Fated on Timetable
Oddisee – “That's Love”
from The Good Fight on Mello Music Group
The Orange Peels – “Head Cleaner”
from Begin the Begone on Mystery Lawn Music
Other Lives – “Reconfiguration”
from Rituals on Play It Again Sam
Palma Violets – “Danger In The Club”
from Danger in the Club on Rough Trade
Penguin Prison – “Show Me The Way”
from Lost in New York on Downtown Records
RJD2 / STS – “Hold On, Here It Go”
from STS X RJD2 on RJ's Electrical Connections
Rose Windows – “Strip Mall Babylon”
from Rose Windows on Sub Pop
Shelby Lynne – “I Can't Imagine”
from I Can't Imagine on Concord / New Rounder
Super Furry Animals – “Ymaelodi Â'r Ymylon”
from MWNG on Domino
Superheaven – “I've Been Bored”
from Ours Is Chrome on Side One Dummy
Torres – “Cowboy Guilt”
from Sprinter on PTKF
Twinsmith – “Alligator Years”
from Alligator Years on Saddle Creek Records
Van Hunt – “The Fun Rises, The Fun Sets”
from The Fun Rises, The Fun Sets on Godless-Hotspot
It's another jam-packed week of great releases! San Diego duo Crocodiles return with their fifth album, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "was recorded in Mexico City with production by Martin Thulin (lead singer of Mexican band Los Fancy-Free), and he brings some occasional Latin rhythms …
It's been twelve long years, but there's finally a new album from UK pop giants Blur out today! KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes their eighth album as "a strong return-to-form incorporating everything from classic-sounding, crunchy Brit-pop to excursions into spacy electro-pop, brooding, dub…