The Joy of Vance Joy: Nation of Two

Sometimes a man just needs some folk music. It doesn't have to be autumn, right? And the artist doesn't have to be from the United States either. Melbourne's own Vance Joy fits the bill perfectly. His new album, Nation of Two, dropped last week and I highly recommend it for those of you who want a cure for the late winter blues.

The 13 track effort drips all the ups and downs of romance in an early Coldplay-type of fashion. It's just bloody magnificent. Go buy it!

Here's the opening track...

The Wombats Just Dipped Me In Honey

I've been a fan of Liverpool's The Wombats for more than a decade. They've made four great records and their latest, Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, is fantastic from start to finish. All of my favorite British bands tell great stories and the lads do a fine job of relaying tales of love, drunkenness, and the universe. All eleven tracks are ready made for pub singalongs and staring all misty like into a loved ones eyes. Here's my fave track, a throwback to psychedelic pop!

Going AWOL with Awolnation

Los Angeles' own Awolnation has just released a corker of a record entitled Here Come the Runts. This album is their third offering and is clearly their best. It's a veritable cornucopia of sonic experimentation. I suppose you could call it "Indie" but that's honestly too narrow of a definition. Every track is a different experience. One might sound like the Killers. Another sounds like Beck. And then the next is a late 1970's inspired acoustic rock pastoral.

Here's one of my favorite tracks but I recommend getting the whole record as it's an experience piece.

An Aural Explosion: I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life by Tune-Yards

A myriad of musical styles combine into a perfect stew on the new Tune-Yards LP, I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life. Is it art pop? World beat? Lo-fi? Indie pop? A perfect mix of all of the above. New Englander Merrill Garbus is the force behind Tune-Yards and for the last 9 years and now 4 records she has completely blown me away.

My "Tune-Yards" pattern usually goes something like this. I buy her new album. I play it. About half way in I say out loud, "This album is really fucking good." And then I play it over and over again, marveling at how amazing she is. Here is a recent performance of the opening track, "Heart Attack"


My favorite tracks are "Home" and "Colonizer" which I could not find on YouTube. Check both of those out and whatever streaming or download service you use. They are mega!