Jay Som - Baybee

Sweetheart, listen
Make up your mind
Whatever helps you sleep
In the night
Pieces won’t mend back together
That's a shame
You shaved off parts of me I must erase
Cause I know
You know
I know

Jay Som got her moniker the same way Childish Gambino got his. Wonder if she'll decide to let it go in a few years as well? Hailing from Oakland, CA (Congrats Dubs!) Melina Duterte has been working on her version of bedroom pop since middle school (and MySpace). With the recent release of her official debut album, Everybody Works, she continues to explore and put her stamp on styles from R&B (like this track) to folk, to grunge, to top 40 pop. Pitchfork praises her, and at least one music blogger (not us, Oh My Rockness out of NYC) ranks this album as a contender for best-of-the-year. So give this track a listen, but don't stop there. 

RIYL: Mitski, Japanese Breakfast, Frankie Cosmos, Alvvays

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Diet Cig - Barf Day

I just wanna have ice cream on my birthday
(Will you be my)
I know that you're sorry, I just don't care
(My birthday date?)
Blow the candles out and wish all of my pain away
(Will you be my)
I know you're sorry, I don't care
(My birthday date?)

I was combing my lists for New York bands, as well as combing my brain for a good birthday song and voilá! Keith's a big fan of little ol' pop-punk duo Diet Cig, they happen to hale from NY, and looky here: a very specifically birthday song on their new album. (He might prefer all 11 of the other songs on the album, I'm not sure but that'd be my luck, and anyway I rather like to be on the nose, or tongue-in-cheek, or something to do with the face. Gimme a kiss and shut me up!) 

RIYL: Cayetana, Lemuria, Tiger Trap

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Alvvays - Adult Diversion

If I should fall
Act as though it never happened
I will retreat
And sit inside so very quietly

When I first heard Toronto-based Alvvays, it was their dreamy, shoegaze cut "Archie, Marry Me", and I quite liked it. Three years later I still listen to their self-titled debut album fairly often as it fills a slot in my rotation. A jangly, dreamy, happy spot. Cleary I don't get enough of that. Ha. Here's to hoping for some new stuff from them at some point.

RIYL: Neko Case, Best Coast, Honeyblood, Courtney Barnett

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Teen Girl Scientist Monthly - Blood On Yr Sundress

Where you going?
There's blood on your sundress
Tanned boys all staring at your necklace
Sunburnt eyes shaking off a reckless bore
Tanned boys all running in the car park
Breaking windows and tell you 'bout new start
Tell you 'bout a new taste
Come and put your fresh face forward

Here's one for your Saturday strolling - or at least for ours! Highs in the mid-80s and I'm going to be exploring Central Park for my first time ever in not-winter, I'm ready to rock! I dug this up looking for lesser-known bands out of NY to celebrate our weekend: a 6-piece rock group from Brooklyn, self-described as sounding "like Ra Ra Riot and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah making out in the bathroom." Here we gooooo!

RIYL: Sleater-Kinny, Charley Bliss, Los Campesinos!

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We Were Glue - Birthday

I could take you walking in the park
And you would tell me secrets in the dark
That suggest that you don't know me at all
And I just smile and nod away
It really doesn't matter what you say
I'm just glad I've got you here at all
I don't want to be another one of your guys
I just want to be your one guy

Fun find - this Liverpoolian quartet that (in their own words) "writes energetic, rousing guitar music about love and gives a shit about making people have a good time." The debut single from We Were Glue was just last fall! (Bonus: video for that tune included below. Clearly bad acting ftw.) Back to this song, it's their latest release and "about the tendency to have absolutely no idea what’s actually going on in a relationship: just doing anything to please the other person and hoping that you don’t fuck up." Haha. I picked it as a Most Important for it's title - despite the lyrics in regard to forgetting your SO's birthday - I'm actually in NYC this weekend to celebrate Keith's. I would never ever forget, babe -- you are my one guy! Let's go have some good times!!

RIYL: Two Door Cinema Club, Sundara Karma, The Strokes

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