The Faint - Young & Realistic

| Keith
Your lows were low, I was familiar
Bulgarian choirs in your head
The clouds were black but not forever
You'll wake up better like I said
Remember how it was when we first met
It was impossible to know what you were thinking
Every other girl, afraid of the world
Second-guessing every movement that they're making

You're not the type to go looking for flaws
You don't have to skewer somebody's passion
Competitive cats can fight cats
While you're in a deep conversation

I'm a big fan of The Faint's work, but, sadly I guess, they've been mostly slipping past my radar for years. I've given their last few albums a cursory listen, and I've seen them a couple times. Which is always a blast. But I felt they've never been able to capture the fun, late 80's awesomeness they had with Blank Wave Arcade, Danse Macabre and, maybe a bit less so, Wet From Birth.

Still, feeling nostalgic, I checked out their retrospective album Capsule:1999-2016 for fun. And look what I found! I a couple new songs that DO, very much so, capture that sound. First up, our Most Important today. "Young & Realistic" is Danse Macabre The Faint, striking a great balance between song and dance. It's got all the bells and whistles; a lilting bassline, pew-pew synths, robo vocals, dark wave breakdowns, etc. Red Flag would be proud to have released this one. 

BONUS TRACK

Then there is "Skylab1979" that hits on a more straightforward industrial sound, that might not quite ring as true as "Young & Realistic" but makes for a fun throwback, for sure.

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Neon Indian - Polish Girl

| Kerri
With heat struck afternoons long through
Those idle dreams go back to you
The echo's seem somewhat displaced
Ever further from your face, I'm drifting off to
Bored of mere flirtations
That's what's made of constellations that I've sought
Was this only in my head
Just like most things go misread
When overthought

Mexican-American Alan Paloma grew up just down the street, so to speak, in San Antonio. He was making music under a couple of other names/bands before and concurrent with Neon Indian, which was the most successful. (Pitchfork listed the debut album in the top 20 of that year.) But "success" isn't always the goal of artist, we know, and Alan is on the fence about continuing to record as Neon Indian... he'd like to pursue filmmaking. So, let's check out his direction in this retro-look video for "Annie", which is also my fav single off the most recent album

Oh, but I'm super stoked to be seeing him (and band, including his brother on bass) tonight at the Mohawk! Glad they haven't quit the scene just yet. 

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Lewis Del Mar - Loud(y)

| Keith
Can you please
Sit the fuck down
Protesting in your
Paper crown
You love to feel offended
Fighting from computer trenches
You got a semi-automatic mouth
Go easy now
And you're so loud
And you're so loud

In "Loud(y)", which has been in my heavy-ish rotation for a little while now, New York-based Lewis Del Mar sum up how I often feel about social media, especially anonymous, or semi-anonymous, commenting. Hidden behind a computer screen, with almost no personal risk if nobody knows who you are in "real life" you can pretty much say what you want, and when you can do that, you tend to do it loudly.

The electro-funk-rock-acoustic-indie duo released their self-titled LP just yesterday and it's pretty solid. Mixing many styles and influences filtered through a well-produced combination of electric grooves and beats paired with acoustic vocal and string stylings. They're also solid live. We caught a good chunk of their set last weekend at ACL and I thought they were very entertaining.

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Sylvan Esso - Radio

| Kerri
Now don't you look good sucking American dick
You're so surprised they like you
You're so cute and so quick
Singin' I've got the moves of a tv queen
Folk girl hero in a magazine
Faking the truth in a new pop song
Don't you wanna sing along

If you didn't know, Sylvan Esso is comprised of a bonafide Appalachian folk singer and an electronic music producer. Symbiotically, they make something better, more interesting, than the sum of their parts. This is their first single since their debut LP came out in 2014. I love the unique sound and provocative lyrics. Excited to keep hearing more from this North Carolina duo.

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Cash+David - Alright Now

| Kerri
Put on your bathing suit, lets dive
Into the deep ends of our mind
Our memories remain dry
And we are strangers in the night

Slightly reminiscent of Grimes, enigmatic electropop duo Cash+David say they make their music when called upon by the mothership, and that's how the 4-song EP Side 1 came about. Oookaay. However it happened, I enjoy listening to the kind of lonely, clunky, electronic chill of this track. 

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