March releases from popular, signed, and on-the-radar artists and bands have been combed through carefully to present only the best. In case you have missed any of the top singles from new releases dropped this month, we’ve assembled the first half of the month (the second half coming soon) in detail for you below, featuring streaming (with built-in player) and download MP3s for singles from Purity Ring, Gateway Drugs, Jon Hopkins, Beech Creeps, Fences, Lady Lamb, Moon Duo, Tigercats, Echo Lake, The Stones, Destruction Unit, Lotic, Coastal, Darren Hanlon, Swervedriver, and many others.
If you haven’t listened to past playlists of the Best New Album Releases of 2015, you might want to check them out because there are a bunch of great new albums and singles from them, including ones from Guster, Panda Bear, The Districts, The Do, and many others. Also, the Best New DIY Music of 2015 series is a great spot to find great singles and new bands to watch. And the six part series for the Best DIY Songs and Albums of 2014, receiving over 1,500 Likes in all, are also accessible, featuring over 150 songs.
You can stream the songs individually by clicking on the titles, stream all of the songs on this page continuously without interruption using the small Flash player below.
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Purity Ring Continues To Amaze Fans with Release of Another Eternity
In the world of electronic psych pop, few bands have made as big of a splash in the past few years as Edmonton, Canada’s Purity Ring, helmed by the talented girl/guy duo Megan James and Corin Roddick. Their new album, Another Eternity, and latest single, “Begin Again,” speak for themselves. The album cover art, from illustrator Tallulah Fontaine, is captivating.
“Begin Again”– Purity Ring from Another Eternity on 4AD
Moon Duo and Beech Creeps Strike Hard with Riveting Noise Rock
Buzzing guitar riffs rifle along with manic keyboard jams, a steady, one-two punch drum beat, spooky vocals and distant howls comprise the latest single, “Animal,” from Wooden Shjips‘ guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada, aka,Moon Duo, on their third album, Shadow of the Sun.
“Animal” – Moon Duo from Shadow of the Sun on Sacred Bones
Next, the noise rock continutes with the rattly, punk rock-infused single, “Times Be Short,” from the self-titled debut album by Brooklyn‘s garage rockers, Beech Creeps. These boys can rip it up.
“Times Be Short” – Beech Creeps from Beech Creeps on Monofonus Press
Lady Lamb Drops Debut Album, After, on Mom and Pop Records
Brunswick, Maine pop girl Lady Lamb (who recently dropped “The Beekeeper” from her moniker) gets the blood running with the incredibly infectious, uptempo single, “Billions of Eyes,” featuring endearing, high pitched vocals and choruses, tropical, melodic guitar riffs, and hip-shaking pop rhythms. The single is from the debut album, After, released appropriately by Mom + Pop Records.
“Billions of Eyes” – Lady Lamb from After on Mom + Pop
Chill Session with Jon Hopkins and Retro Prog with Steven Wilson
Appropriately titled, Late Night Tales, is the new album from Jon Hopkins featuring mellow ambient instrumentals like the lead single, “I Remember.” If you’re stressed out like most people, kicking back and melting into this sweet track is medicine. Stunningly calm and rejuvenating.
“I Remember” – Jon Hopkins from Late Night Tales on LateNightTales
So while we’re already into the whole Zen-“Be Calm”-chill mode, it’s not a bad place to insert the very different, but almost as calming track, “First Regret/3 Years Older,” from Steven Wilson. But the calm is shattered between minute seven and minute 10 of the 12-plus minute modern prog rock opera. Wait, is this a flashback? It’s like 1973 again when the original prog rock fad was burning up vinyl sales and filling arenas from New Jersey to San Francisco. Eat your heart out Rick Wakeman.
“First Regret/3 Years Older” – Steven Wilson from Hand.Cannot.Erase. on Kscope
Of Montreal Drops 13th Album; Coastal Gets Melancholy on New Single
Athens, Georgia native band, Of Montreal, continue to establish themselves as one of the most quirky, non-cookie cutter experimental indie bands of the past decade-plus. The band reaffirms their deserved status in the world of underground music with their latest single – the punky-funky, disco-influenced genre-bender blender, “Bassem Sabry,” from their latest LP, Aureate Gloom.
“Bassem Sabry” – Of Montreal from Aureate Gloom on Polyvinyl
LA Band to Watch Gateway Drugs Drop Debut; Swervedriver Release New LP
The breakout Los Angeles band, Gateway Drugs, who just killed it at SXSW last week, consist of siblings Gab, Noa and Liv Niles, the offspring of bassist Prescott Niles of The Knack – the 80’s band responsible for mega hits like “My Sharona.” Blues Williams rounds out the quartet on bass.
Papa bear Niles not only executive produced their debut album, Magick Spells, dropped on March 3rd, but he also reserved the studio time in Dave Grohl’s tripped-out Studio 606. Gateway Drugs follow-up single, “Fridays Are For Suckers,” is streaming below. They are on tour right now with shoe gaze veterans Swervediver, who also released a new LP, I Wasn’t Born To Lose, on the same day, featuring the single, “Setting Sun.”
“Friday’s Are For Suckers” – Gateway Drugs from Magick Spells on Cobraside
“Setting Sun” – Swervedriver from I Wasn’t Born to Lose You on Cobraside
Roots of Lo-Fi Psych Rock Trace Back To Re-Drop From NZ’s Flying Nun
It probably was never a good idea, especially 35 years ago, to call your new band The Stones. Afterall, it’s an unspoken truth today, and perhaps even more so in the late 70’s and early 80’s, that a reference to ‘The Stones’ was simply how a fan referred to rock legends The Rolling Stones. But New Zealand rockers, The Stones, made no bones about the fact that they named themselves after their inspiration – The Rolling Stones – out of respect, not because the short-lived trio weren’t original.
Quite contrary, it should be noted; these Stones made some music history of their own by contributing a few awesome songs to the famous Flying Nun Records‘ 1982 lo-fi compilation, Dunedin Double EP, a seminal release in New Zealand’s alternative rock history. Other bands on the two-disc, 13-track EP included The Chills, Sneaky Feelings, and The Verlaines. The Stones’ reissue of Three Blind Mice includes the standout track, “See Red,” and reaffirms the band’s contribution to the so-called Dunedin Sound, which contributed to the resurgence of psych rock and lo-fi in recent years.
“See Red” – The Stones from Three Blind Mice reissue on Flying Nun
Liked that? Get a much better, longer-lasting fix with Flying Nun’s classic 20-song compilation Time To Go – The Southern Psychedelic Moment: 1981-86 via YouTube
Noel Gag-laher? 15 Minutes+++?
What can anyone say these days about the aging Noel Gallagher that hasn’t already been said over the past two decades? – filthy rich, loud mouth, boozer, ex-cokehead, brilliant, overrated, ballsy, rebel rouser, talented, opinionated, immature, goof-ball, prankster, and on and on.
Well, bollocks, the blabbermouth is back again with his High Flying Birds and a new LP. Yawn. Does he keep turning it out? But isn’t there something inescapably annoying, and repugnant, about a bratty millionaire-one-hundred-plus-times-over who has had way, way more than his 15 minutes of fame? That said, Noel fans check out the High Flying Birds new video single, “Ballad of The Mighty,” from the album, Chasing Yesterday.
New Singles from Artists Coastal and Darren Hanlon
If you’re a sucker for melancholy songs, Coastal’s single, “We Drink To Remember,” provides the necessary elements – slow, quiet notes; sad, whispery vocals, and lots of dead space where somber thoughts are able to linger. The band’s new album, Beneath the Snow and Streetlights, dropped on March 3rd.
“We Drink To Remember” – Coastal from Beneath the Snow and Streetlights on Words On Music
Picking things up a bit, the woody, stringy rhythm, occasional flare of the snare and Darren Hanlon’s nasally, emotive vocals give this song an uptempo, yet organic, feel.
“When You Go” – Darren Hanlon from Where Did You Come From? on Flippin Yeah Industries
Echo Lake’s New Single Celebrates Spring while Destruction Unit Crashes the Picnic
Just Imagine: It’s the first of April and you’re chilling on a park bench in the afternoon – leaf buds are popping out of tree branches, flowers and grass blades are erecting upwards from the ground, the warm sun is shining on your face, and then it happens – an explosion of hazy surf rock pumps into your ears. It’s the new single, “Waves,” from the band Echo Lake . The song gradually builds up into a cacophony of reverb-soaked guitars, keys and percussion – it’s all confirming that spring has finally arrived.
“Waves” – Echo Lake from Era on No Pain in Pop
Thrashing, blazing guitars, reverb, feedback, barely audible vocals, crashing cymbals and stomping drums mix with the musical anarchy of punk meets psych garage rock on the nearly seven-minute ear blistering track, “Bumpy Road,” from Destruction Unit‘s Live in San Francisco release. Nothing remains but the destructed remnants of a happy little picnic.
“Bumpy Road” – Destruction Unit from Live in San Francisco on Castle Face
Jeff Rosenstock Drops New LP and Beer Single; Lotic Go Totally ‘Heterocetra’
Hard acoustic guitar strumming, tambourine rattling, electric guitar notes flying, and big, flourishing choruses are the components of the single, “Beers Again Alone,” from Jeff Rosenstock‘s new album, We Cool?. This track is quickly one of the top new beer drinking songs of 2015. Gulp.
“Beers Again Alone” – Jeff Rosenstock from We Cool? on Side One Dummy
Imagine being encircled by a swarm of mechanical, metallic insects from the future world, trying to swat down as many as you can with a copper coil while thousands of glo worms of many florescent colors crawl on the floors and walls. That’s what Lotic‘s single, “Heterocetera,” sounds like to us (even without shrooms).
“Heterocetera” – Lotic from Heterocetera on Tri Angle
Third Man Records Drops Live Album from Parquet Courts
Make no bones about it: any rock band that gets signed to Jack White‘s record label, Third Man Records, has to have something really special. That’s just the case with New York City rockers Parquet Courts. The label just dropped the band’s first live album, Live at Third Man Records. Is it a mindless grab for easy green or giving PC fans what they want? Who the fuck said rock is dead?
“Sunbathing Animal” – Parquet Courts from Live at Third Man Records on Third Man Records
Lead Singles from Best New Albums Dropped Week of March 10th
Arranging a sweet, irresistible pop melody with a steady, but soft, back beat, jangling, shimmering guitars that interplay with synth keys, and sexy, charming vocals and harmonic choruses, the indie pop band Tigercats crafted one of the most memorable tracks of the month with the single, “Sleeping In The Backseat,” from the album Mysteries.
“Sleeping In The Backseat” – Tigercats from Mysteries on Fortuna Pop
Fucked Up guitarist Been Cook blends big hooks and Prince funkadelics with electro pop and jangle pop on his new album. Recently, Cook shortened his Young Governor moniker to simply Young Guv.
“Wrong Crowd” (Featuring Jef Barbara) – Young Gov from Ripe 4 Luv on Sumberland
Fences Drops Lesser Oceans and Lieutenant Release Long-Titled Album
With a foot-tapping, uptempo beat, power pop guitars bouncing along, melodic keys twinkling and soaring, harmonic choruses, the inde performer Fences fire us up for the warmth and sunlight of the coming summer season on the single, “Sunburns,” from the new album, Lesser Oceans.
Sticking to the same upbeat mood set by “Sunburns,” the shimmering power pop, Big Star-like track, “Belle Epoque,” from Lieutenant, marks the drop of the long, and unusually, titled LP, If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week. ‘Belle Epoque,’ or ‘Beautiful Era,’ was a period of optimism, peace and high cultural and scientific development in Europe between 1871 and the beginning of World War I in 1914. In America, it was referred to as “The Gilded Age.”
“Sunburns” – Fences from Lesser Oceans on Elektra
“Belle Epoque” – Lieutenant from If I Kill This Thing We’re All Going To Eat For A Week on Dine Alone Records
Another Butler Enters the Music Fray and BLSH Do Retro Disco Mixed with Glam and Synth Infusions
Will Butler, the younger brother of Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler, is cutting his teeth with his debut release, Policy. The lead track, “Anna,” sounds like a kick-back to the 80s, complete with a new wave back beat, emotive, smoky vocals, jazzy/bluesy horn infusions and hard-hitting piano key notes. Next, with a disco-like beat, ringing and angular guitars, warped and swooshing synth keys, and soaring choruses, Bright Light Social Hour add a little glam to their pop on the single, “Infinite Cities,” from the new album Space Is Still the Place.
“Anna” – Will Butler from Policy
“Infinite Cities” – Bright Light Social Hour from Space Is Still the Place on Frenchkiss Records
Singles from LPs by Fawn Spots, Black Yaya and Sarah Bethe Nelson
Amped up noise rock on the verge of metal mixed with some hard core punk influences and moments of de-escalation, are some of the main elements that comprise the new single, “New Sense,” from the fresh album release by York, England trio Fawn Spots. With a groovy rock and roll beat and screeching guitars, fuzzy synths, echoey vocals and rocket blast off sound effects, Black Yaya‘s single, “Flying A Rocket,” is the lead track off of their self-titled debut LP.
“New Sense” – Fawn Spots from From Safer Place on Critical Heights
“Flying A Rocket” – Black Yaya from Black Yaya on City Slang
“Paying” – Sarah Bethe Nelson from Fast Moving Clouds on Burger Records