Périsélène and Mégadef prove that French people can rock. Mycatisgreen (from Belgium) gave us another ep of life-inspired ditties. Our favorite, “Bicycle,” features the inimitable Eric in the kitchen. Fontaines DC shock and amaze with — sung vocals! Could the British talk rock trend be on its way out? Ned Risely proves folk doesn’t have to be hokey. And bufflehead is fun to say (their songs are pretty good too).
Sweet Life by Frank Ocean
Not that many records have impressed me this year, but there’s something about Sweet Life by Frank Ocean that stuck with me even though lyrically, it’s completely alien to my life. Somewhere between rap and R&B, Sweet Life takes you to a land of milk and honey somewhere in Beverly Hills where happy young people enjoy […]
Spiral by Wye Oak
I’ve been intrigued by Wye Oak for a few years, partly because they’re called Wye Oak (the ancient oak tree in Maryland that died a few years back) and partly because they’re from my old home town of Baltimore. “Civilian” was one of my favorite tracks of 2011 and now they’re back with “Spiral,” a […]
Superfast Jellyfish Are Running Out
First, there were superfast zombies, now it’s jellyfish. What next? I do love this tune, which combines great poppy hiphop with great poppy pop, dedicated to the “water breathers.” It’s great summer music, although maybe not for beach-goers. Thank you, Flux Blog. Gorillaz: Superfast Jellyfish Speaking of FluxBlog, they had another recent favorite of mine, […]