As far as the quality of the individual lead singles from this week’s Best New Releases, this is a great mix of fantastic tracks – the type of singles that make you want to hear the whole album. In fact, we partly put them in the order we have below to highlight the best singles. Of course, Wilco’s “I Might” gets the top spot for all of the obvious reasons, but more so because it’s such a killer song. Listen to a few other tracks live from Wilco via Yahoo.
Not only are we stoked to finally have Wilco‘s fantastic new album, The Whole Love, but there are a bunch of new releases this week from so many hot indie bands, like Dominant Legs, Young Lagoon, Twin Sister, Young Man, VHS or Beta, and Warm Ghost. At the end of this post, don’t miss new singles from lesser-known bands who sent their tracks to us directly.
It’s practically impossible to contain yourself listening to Dominant Legs‘ incredibly uptempo track, “Hoop of Love,” from the band’s sophomore album, Invitation, which you can stream in full for a few more days via Spinner. Next, blaze it for a few minutes with the dreamy, hazy verses of Youth Lagoon‘s ode to the ‘silver and gold’ state on the lead single, “Montana.”
Radiation City channel the sounds of 1960’s girl-group blues choruses with a heavy bass line and tambourines on the lead track “The Color of Industry.” Plus, the Dum Dum Girls offer up two singles from their latest album – the power pop song “Bedroom Eyes” and the more somber, fittingly named “Coming Down”. Interestingly, the next two tracks from Vanish Valley and The Gift both revolve around the central theme of racing, and each is a fantastically upbeat song, perfect for listening to while you’re driving, jogging or biking. While we have heard, and covered, before The Gift, this is our first exposure to Vanish Valley, and we’re guessing the same is true for most of you as well.
Dan Mangan‘s new single, “Post War Blues” continues to add value to his talents as a well-respected songwriter and musician. The track is almost spoken prose for the first half of the song, but the choruses and climaxes are gorgeously uplifting and delivered with gusto. You can listen to the entire album via Spinner for a few more days.
The mood mellows out a bit for the next single by Alessi’s Ark, but not for long because Kasey Anderson and The Honkies rip it up with a blistering, Kills-style garage rocker, “The Wrong Light.” But that’s not all, this mix also features lead singles from
“I Might” – Wilco from The Whole Love
Double-shot: “Art of Almost” – Wilco from The Whole Love (via Visible Voice)
“Hoop of Love“ – Dominant Legs from Invitation
“Montana“ – Youth Lagoon from The Year of Hibernation
“The Color of Industry” – Radiation City from The Hands That Take You
Double-shot: “Park” – Radiation City from The Hands That Take You
“Coming Down” – Dum Dum Girls from Only in Dreams
Double-shot: “Bedroom Eyes” – Dum Dum Girls from Only in Dreams
“Races” – Vanish Valley from Get Good
“Race Is Long“ – The Gift from Explode
“Post-War Blues“ – Dan Mangan from Oh Fortune
Wire – Alessi’s Ark from Time Travel
“Nothing” – Young Man from Ideas of Distance (album stream)
I Found a Reason – VHS or Beta from Your Light Like White Lightning, Your Light Like A Laser Beam (album stream)
The Wrong Light– Kasey Anderson and The Honkies from Heart Of A Dog
Geeshie – The Mekons from Ancient & Modern
Double-shot: “Space in Your Face” – The Mekons from Ancient & Modern
“Breakers – Gem Club from Breakers
“Gone, Gone, Gone”– Nikki Lane from Walk of Shame
“Opium” – The New Division from Shadows
“Whatever Leads Me To You” – Geoffrey O’Connor from Vanity Is Forever
“Come Rain, Come Sunshine” – Pallers from Sea of Memories
” I’ll Down” – Sóley from We Sink
“Bad Street” – Twin Sister from In Heaven
Double-shot: “Peaches” – Twin Sister from In Heaven
“Eyes Like Pearls” – Van Hunt from What Were You Hoping For? (album stream)
New Releases from In Dee Mail – The Janks, Little Fish
Los Angeles indie rock band The Janks sent us a couple of tracks from their new release this week, Hands of Time. The band has been featured in People magazine, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications and blogs such as The Deli, The Acorn, and now, Indie Rock Cafe. The Janks have opened for bands such as Hot Hot Heat, The Shivers, Carney, and Fishbone.
“Dead Man” – The Janks from Hands Of Time
“You Can’t Give Up” – The Janks from Hands Of Time
From Oxford, UK, Little Fish dropped a new single this week, “Wonderful,” with engineering help Gaz Coombes of Supergrass. The B-side “Invisible Dreaming” was also sent out by the band just for IRC Best New Releases mix. Little Fish have opened for some rather big fish in the music world, including Blondie, Them Crooked Vultures Placebo, Hole, Alice in Chains and Eagles of Death Metal. They’re major influences include Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Velvet Underground, and Jack White in his many incarnations.
“Wonderful” – Little Fish from single
“Invisible Dreaming” – Little Fish from single
