As summer approaches, the number of new releases from a variety of well-known, and some lesser-known, bands and artists, will begin to increase. This week is sort of one of those weeks because it’s still early enough in the spring to get a good roll started and ride it through the summer. IRC’s top releases this week include new albums, and the singles that accompany them, from the funky, genre-bending Los Angeles singer/songwriter and British producer/multi-instrumentalist duo, AM & Shawn Lee, and another highly regarded duo, actress Zooey Deschanel and Portland singer-songwriter M. Ward with She & Him‘s third installment of the Volume series; plus, dig the raw, psychedelic garage rock forays of Deerhunter, and the crunchy, melodic power-pop of Ty Segall collaborator and San Francisco Bay Area musician, Mikal Cronin.
“Two Times” – AM & Shawn Lee from La Musique Numerique on Park the Van
“I Could’ve Been Your Girl” – She & Him from Volume 3 on Merge Records
“Shout It Out” – Mikal Cronin from MCII on Merge Records
“Monomania” – Deerhunter from Monomania on 4AD
Lead Singles from Savages, Mother Falcon, Way Yes, Fitz and Tatrums
The rising UK buzz band, Savages dropped one of the most anticipated debut albums of 2013 this week, Silence Yourself, via Matador, fronted by the single, “Shut Up.” Interest in the debut by many music lovers was fueled by Savages appearance at Coachella last month.
Following Savages is the new track from Mother Falcon, who are, it’s fair to say, one of the buzz bands (more like collectives) of 2013, thanks to three widely praised appearances at SXSW in March. The fact that the band is based in Austin made it much easier to transport their 21 member troupe to their shows at SXSW. Mother Falcon relies solely on acoustic instrumentation – from the guitar and vocals to drums and the violin – to produce their enticing sounds. During SXSW, the band test-piloted some of the material from their sophomore album, You Knew, and launched a triumphant IndieGoGo fund-raising campaign to fund the production of the LP. And there’s more: stream new songs from freshly-dropped albums by Noah and the Whale, Fitz and Tatrums, Way Yes, Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds, The Child of Lov, Lana Del Rey and Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds.
“Shut Up” – Savages from Silence Yourself on Matador Records
“Dirty Summer” – Mother Falcon from You Knew
“Heart of Nowhere” – Noah and the Whale, featuring Anna Calvi from Heart of Nowhere on Mercury
“Out Of My League” – Fitz And The Tantrums from More Than Just a Dream on Elektra
“Broken Record” – Little Boots from Nocturnes on On Repeat Records
“Give Me” – The Child of Lov from The Child of Lov on Domino Records
“Young and Beautiful”– Lana Del Rey from The Great Gatsby soundtrack on Interscope
“Get Healed” – Way Yes from Tog Pebbles on Lefse Records
“Western Town” – We Are Loud Whispers from Suchness on Hardly Art
“Conjure Man” – Kid Congo & the Pink Monkeybirds from Haunted Head on In The Red
“The Road” – A Tribe Called Red from Nation II Nation on Tribal Spirit Music
“The Caustic Light” – Shannon Wright from In Film Sound on Ernest Jenning Record Co