Sinai Vessel - Looseleaf

Here I stand, like a tree
Nervous on the edge of a clearing
Limbs afraid to be cut looseleaf
To be cut down
So I’ll cut myself out
Free from bind to branch and felling ground
So here I am

Sinai Vessel's latest release Brokenlegged has all you'd ever want in an emo/indie rock album. It's just emotional enough to have character, yet not so much as to be overwhelming. Great hooks and a nice pop sensibility make it abundantly listenable, as is evidenced by today's Most Important, "Losseleaf", which had me thinking of one of my favorites, Canadian rockers Sloan, the first time I heard it.

RIYL: The Hotelier, Sloan, Pedro The Lion, Built To Spill, Badly Drawn Boy

Upcoming Shows

Dan the Man - Something Good

We dance over rooftops, in my head
As I float off through the night
Your tenors trick me, but I don't care
We're broadcasting love tonight
Won't you broadcast some love tonight
So broadcast some love tonight

Give me something good, oh
Even if it's a lie, if it'll make me smile
Just something good, oh
Give me something good, oh
Even if it's lie, or screaming red lights
If it'll make me feel like a child again

Dan the Man is the solo project of Dan Haggis, the Wombats' drummer/keys guy. His second full album, Circadian Circus (of which this is the premiere single), comes out on the 24th. I think the lyrics to "Something Good" are sweet enough for a Most Important Valentine's Day Song and my dear gal pal Jacqui is the one who first shared this with me, so bonus Happy Galentines to her! I've gone back and listened to his first album and I'd say it sounds a bit... "acoustic carnival" if that makes any sense at all. Interesting, fun and also sincere.

RIYL: Geographer, Ra Ra Riot, Matt & Kim, OK Go

The Staycations - The Enemy

I get home
You've got that look which says there's something more
So we talk
And once again you say there's nothing wrong

A happy discovery for me, this indie quintet from Cambridgeshire, England. They formed in "secondary school" (9th-11th grades in the U.S.), found their drummer in college, and have found enough success and encouragement now to warrant a gap year to concentrate on both performing and writing more music. They released an EP in 2014 and two singles last year. It's this song, "The Enemy", which brought them to my attention. 

RIYL: Bastille, Bad Suns, Atlas Genius

Upcoming Shows

Los Campesinos! - 5 Flucloxacillin

Am I a piggy bank of obsolete currency?
An order of merit from country known for tyranny?
Another blister pack pops, but I still feel much the same
Thirty-one, and depression is a young man's game
Found a fiver screwed up inside a prescription receipt
From the salbutamol (No, a gift from the sertraline)
Hallowed be somnolence brought on by the tramadol
Damned be the knowledge that's it, now you have tried 'em all

One of my favorite SXSW memories comes from Welsh indie kids Los Campesinos!, who piled up on a small stage, cramming it full with smiling faces, a plethora of odd instruments and some seriously fun energy. That must have been about 10 years back and I've sort of lost track of them since. It felt pretty lucky when that I noticed their new cut "5 Flucloxacillin" this week. It's a lot of fun and it took me down a memory lane filled with songs familiar and new. Hopefully, if my luck holds out I can see them again soon.

Bonus! The awesome animated video for "You! Me! Dancing!"

RIYL: The Wombats, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Stars, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Upcoming Shows

The xx - On Hold

I don't blame you
We got carried away
I can't hold on
To an empty space

Now you've found a new star to orbit
It could be love
I think you're too soon to call us old
When and where did we go cold?
I thought I had you on hold
And every time I let you leave
I always saw you coming back to me
When and where did we go cold?
I thought I had you on hold

The xx band members have referenced a long list of influences such as Yaz, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Eurythmics, the Cure, and the Cocteau Twins, but I can't help have this particular song remind me of the Thompson Twins.  In barely two weeks since release of their third studio album, the xx have already had "On Hold" reach #1 on some alternative charts, and sold out much of their tour. 

RIYL (see above, plus): Phantogram, The Kills, Wild Belle

Upcoming Shows