The Wrecks - Favorite Liar

I remember weekends
'fore we got too cool for them
And I remember thinking
Maybe we could just pretend tonight
For just tonight

I wanna wake up with you
I wanna wake up feeling tired
I wanna wake up with you
I wanna lay there for awhile

But that don't change that you're a
Liar, a liar
Hold yourself up higher and higher
Cuz I'm not buying the things you wanna say
I've heard 'em all now anyway
You're such a liar
My favorite liar

I knew and liked this song but only caught The Wrecks at SXSW by virtue of venue location. Oh man, that was a happy accident! I was rewarded with a face full of THEY.ARE.SO.GOOD!! They happily, hoppily, confidently filled ~30 minutes with amazing stage presence and top notch original material (that's about 2/3rds unreleased). I really think they could be big. If you haven't heard the story yet, The Wrecks basically snuck into a friend-of-a-friend's recording studio (a perk of being L.A. kids) and made their little 3 song EP in like two days, then released it to the world. That was last year, and it was a great move on their part. "Favorite Liar" has all the right rockin embers to catch fire and bring them quickly to national attention.

RIYL: The Strokes, Catfish and the Bottlemen, SWMRS, Dreamers

Upcoming Shows

Blondie - Long Time

I've been running circles 'round a night that never ends
I've been chasing heartache, in a city and a friend
I've been with you so long, even seen you lose it, but who cares?
Racing down The Bowery, on a crowded afternoon
Tripping from The Davenport above your insecure typhoon
Can you even want me, or is this just a way to keep you safe?

Take me, then lose me, then tell them I'm yours
Are you, happy?

Does it take you a long time?
Does it make you upset?
Does it make you think everybody wants to be your friend?
I can give you a heartbeat, I can give you a friend
I can make you think everybody wants to be your friend

Drinking with your cell phone with a smile on your face
Happy in success, but still a thousand miles away
Is this what you wanted, is this everything you had in store?

Maybe you've already heard that legendary act Blondie was back together and touring with perfect-but-you-never-imagined-it-would-happen 90s band Garbage. But, if you're me, it took you a few beats longer to realize that Blondie was also coming out with *new* music. And it's really, really good. Fitting perfectly in the current alt rock landscape while still sounding totally Blondie. "Long Time", just released a week ago, was co-written by Dev Hynes of Blood Orange and I think it's convinced me I need to make it to one of their tour dates this summer! 

Upcoming Shows

Hippo Campus - South

Three leagues down the soft side of where you left my
Gold rose crown, you broke down, and left me with a
Chest hum, a black gun, and forty dollars
Chest hum, a black gun, and forty dollars

Three weeks down, I drowned myself in whiskey
Came back round, and drowned out, and left me with a
Chest hum, a black gun, and forty dollars
Chest hum, a black gun, and forty dollars

Streetlights talk the same way my mother told me
I walk the same way my father told me
Back straight, chest out, just like a soldier
Back straight, chest out, just like a soldier

Wise men talk the same way my mother told me
I walk the same way my father told me
Back straight, chest out, just like a soldier
Back straight, chest out, just like a soldier

Minnesota indie rockers Hippo Campus are clearly still growing as a band and willing to dig deeper as their popularity has dramatically increased the last year or so. Their first full-length LP (Landmark, just out) has some great tracks worth repeated hearings, but I wanted this to be their first Most Important, as it's is the hit that gained them their label signing IMO, and was my fave when I saw them play at Blackheart during SXSW.

RIYL: Colony House, Bad Suns, Bombay Bicycle Club, Knox Hamilton

Upcoming Shows

Bleached - Can You Deal?

Pretty little child, tell me your tale
How you got the courage to rebel yell
I'm really feeling cheated
Feeble honey, moody coupe
How does it work with a queen like you
I'm really feeling heated

Breaking news, I do what I do
But keep on trying to play this through
Not willing, to feel defeated
Last night you asked me how
I don't wanna keep spelling it out

You may recall Keith sharing a super catchy song by the ladies of Bleached last year, after catching their act at SXSW. So of course we've been following their work since and I am totally delighted that it is my turn this year. I was so charmed by them when I saw them the other night following Beach Slang (ahhh yeah), I had no idea how Go-Go-esque they'd be! (Should've been obvious, in retrospect.) Anyway, these girls slay in the most perfect post-punk-pop way. This new single (title track of the recently released EP) is so good you start signing along immediately (as best you can). Enjoy!

RIYL: Dum Dum Girls, Best Coast, Neighborhood Brats, Honeyblood

Upcoming Shows

Flor - Hold On

You come to life
When all the people on the streets start to rise
And the sun starts to open up our eyes
We can make this moment stay with us for a while

You can count on it, I'm where you left me
I can count on you, to show me the way
We can keep it light, were going somewhere
I won't try to fight it, don't feel like it

In your skin in your hair I'm tangled up
In my head in my mind I can't get out
When you twist and you turn teach me to run
I'd rather hold on
I'd rather hold on tight

Talented band from middle-of-nowhere Oregon, Flor have gotten themselves signed to an awesome label (Fueled by Ramen) and have been getting to tour the last couple years with lots of other artists I think are really great (COIN, Colony House, Halsey, Grouplove) so the future is looking bright for these fellas. I caught them at SXSW as part of the same great showcase where I saw Flint Eastwood, having never heard of them before, was a pleasant surprise.

RIYL: The 1975, Owl City, Night Riots

Upcoming Shows