Isn’t it just crazy how fast one week blends into another, and then another, and before you know it, another month is almost over?
It’s likely that some of you have missed the Best New Releases for either week one, two and/or week three of August, and as unreal as it seems, August is quickly leading way to September.
The good thing is – as is the case with more than 90% of our playlists mixes – that you can always go back and listen to, and download, the previous Best New Releases playlists. Just in August alone, there have been so many fantastic tracks from a whole range of bands who recently released new LPs, EPs and singles.
Anyways, no time for in-depth profiles of this week’s Best New Releases, but, all in all, it’s a pretty good week for new stuff, but nothing like last week’s BNR mix.
For those of you who have been following and enjoying the Fresh Tracks mix series, it’s been a little over a week since we have put one up, but there is no shortage of noteworthy new advanced singles from upcoming releases to share with you, so we’re going to invest our time in putting that together, as well as getting out another edition of In Dee Mail, and Recent Releases We Almost Missed.
Oh yeah, due to some scheduling problems, and the realities of “real work” responsibilities and busy “life stuff” (excuses, excuses), we were only recently able to actually finish our post for Day Two and Three of San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival – which ended 10 days ago. Yes, lame that we’re so late with that, but we’ll make it up to you.
This week we are starting right off the top with select tracks from the new album by Ganglians.
“Drop the Act” – Ganglians from Still Living
Double-shot: “Sleep” – Ganglians from Still Living
Ahhh, so you want more Ganglians? Well, you’re in luck because we don’t have just one or two tracks from their new album, Still Living, but rather, altogether, three free singles courtesy of the band, and their record label, Lefse Records.
“Jungle” – Ganglians from Still Living
We are digging Little Gold so much that we would have to say they are one of our favorite new-to-us bands of the summer, and the more we listen to their debut album, Weird Freedom, the more we’re convinced that they should be on our upcoming breakout bands of 2011 (view and listen to the Breakout Bands of 2010 series).
“Sisters & Friends” – Little Gold from Weird Freedom
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks return with a new LP and a cool lead track about a senator, in a way that only Malkmus could write and sing about a senator. Although the song kind of flattens out at mid-point, the band recover to make it a memorable track for sure.
“Senator” – Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks from Mirror Traffic
Plus, the magnificent singer and songwriter for one of our favorite bands – The Magnetic Fields – is back with his newest solo album. Stephin Merritt delivers yet another satisfying, mellow dreamscape from his never-ending well of song ideas – even if he does seem to recycle melodies from long ago, he always has the lyrics to forgive him for playing it safe.
“Forever and a Day” – Stephin Merritt from Obscurities
“Playing House” – Active Child from You Are All I See
“Sound of Money” – Banquets from Top Button, Bottom Shelf
“Lazy Bones”– Wooden Shjips from West
“Daylight Moon” – Tim Cohen’s Magic Trick from The Glad Birth of Love
“Swell Window” – Zee Avi from Ghostbird
“Hits Me Like A Rock”(Feat Bobby Gillespie) – CSS from La Liberación (stream)
“2012” – Young Circles from Jungle Habits
“Nevada” – The George-Edwards Group from Archives
“Warm Winter “ (download) – The Moor from The Moor
“Book of James” – We Are Augustines from Rise Ye Sunken Ships
“Nytt Pa Nytt” – Razika from Program 91
“Bicycle Spokes” – Kid Icarus from American Ghosts via BeatTheIndieDrum.com
For fans of esoteric and jam band music, we strung together these last four tracks from new-to-us artists and bands because they just flow so well together, starting with the Beach House-sounding band, I Break Horses, beautiful synth-driven track, “Hearts.”
We’ll definitely be keeping our ears open for more of their music (the only bummer is the song ends way too soon – it’s really strange to us when a band has a great groove, melody or instrumental going and then truncate it. We want to say, “Dude, noooo. Don’t stop you idiot, I was just getting into it. Why are you stopping?” (imagine Jerry Seinfeld saying it)
Anyways, following the too-short but stellar track, “Hearts,” enjoy the nine-minute jam, “Crete,” from Sun Araw, another new-to-us band that we’re really impressed by, followed by P.G. Six‘s “January.” The final track of this mix, “Familiarities” from Albert Swarm‘s EP, Held, seems like a great way to wrap up this week’s Best New Releases. Tell us what you think of this mix in the Comments section below – we read ALL comments, and love it when you guys chime in.
“Hearts” – I Break Horses from Hearts
” Crete” – Sun Araw from Ancient Romans
” January” – P.G. Six from Starry Mind
“Familiarities” – Albert Swarm from Held EP
August 23 Releases
August 23
Barbra Streisand – What Matters Most
Dave Stewart – The Blackbird Diaries DC
Dee Dee Bridgewater – Midnight Sun
Dierks Bentley – TBA
Freddy Cole – Talk to Me
Gabe Dixon – One Spark
Moreland & Arbuckle – Just A Dream
Sonic Youth – Hits Are for Squares (Compilation)
Sunny Sweeney – Concrete
Stephin Merritt (Magnetic Fields) – Obscurities
Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks – Mirror Traffic
Trevor Hall – Everything Everytime Everywhere
Various – Tribute to Bill Monroe
Zee Avi – Ghostbird