Future Islands - Balance

| Keith
And the sun will leave a wound
And leave you to the night
And that's alright
Because before the moonbeam comes
There's a certain calm
And then there's light

I woke up this morning with "Back in The Tall Grass" by Future Islands stuck in my head. This is a fairly common occurrence. In talking with Kerri about it (ok, singing it to her) I learned that she wasn't familiar with it, or Future Islands. Which, when I think about it, is fairly unacceptable. So, here we go with today's Most Important, going back all the way to 2011 and "Balance" a bright and groovy example of what makes Future Islands great. I'm not sure where they're at, but hoping for some new music from them soon.

BONUS! Here is a great KEXP live rendition of "Back in The Tall Grass", good luck keeping it out of your head. :)

RYIL: Twin Shadow, The War on Drugs, Passion Pit, Neon Indian, Tame Impala, Warpaint

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Nick Murphy - Stop Me

| Kerri

Keep waking up in the night
When my ears turn red
I heard some shit that I said
You're probably trying to be nice
I'm not cold, I just been through way worse times

I'm not dreaming now
I'm in control
You can't bring me down

You can't stop me, I made it this far
Alright
I can't help it
Got things I need to do
Before I wait on you, oh

Nick Murphy is a conceptual singer-songwriter with an electronic twist. Formerly recording/releasing as Chet Faker, the Australian decided to move forward with his given name instead. Fittingly, the video for his 2014 hit "Talk is Cheap" showed the metaphoric life and death of the artist. "Stop Me" is the first single for the upcoming album by Murphy, and has a double-length version to the one included here, which he says is the yang to the first half's ying. I chose the radio-length version instead, since I often don't have patience for an 8 minute track, but it's really beautiful if you want to go ahead and add it to your personal playlist.  

RIYL:  Glass Animals, alt-J, Jagwar Ma, Flume, Bastille

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Declan McKenna - Isombard

| Kerri
I'll make it clear
You'll make it then
But never here
Never again
So which one hangs
Police with gangs?
It's all the same
It's all the same
I met you here
But then you ran
You ran with fear
You fearless man
So tell your violent and tame
That they will cry
Never again

Declan McKenna is a catchy but earnest songwriter, almost exclusively focusing on heavy (and timely) issues. Starting when he was 15, McKenna says he is merely reflecting what is on the mind of his peers (such as the massive FIFA corruption in "Brazil", or the undeniable tie between religion and hate in "Bethlehem"). For this track, he is taking on right-wing newscasters, with their frequent poor choice of words and frustrating justifications (AND he is attempting to channel e.e. cummings). This is definitely a boy after my own former-angsty-teen/deep-thinking/music-loving heart! I got to see him at his SXSW (and basically American) debut this March and he was adorably endearing, playing all his own instruments, on a tiny stage, with his lonely spotlight, sharing his heartfelt pop. If by chance you don't care for his politics, you can just enjoy the refreshing British indie pop sound - as I'm sure is the case for a good number of his peers as well. 

RIYL: Lewis Del Mar, Day Wave, The Shelters, Simon & Garfunkel, Counting Crows

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The Greeting Committee - Hands Down

| Kerri
Wrapped inside your sheets
Well, I look up to you
Because you look after me
And kiss me till I bleed
I don't want anything
But all of you
I know I swore, I said
I'll never love again
But—man, oh, man—you're my best friend

Baby, you're hands down the best thing about me
And baby, I don't know where I was
But I'm so glad you found me

Baby, you know I love you
More than my words
Know how to show you

Today's Most Important Song is for lovers, or at least the optimistic. Not that I need an excuse to be happy-sappy, but Keith and I are at a good friend's wedding this weekend. Hope everyone listening can grab someone's hand and skip or dance (or imagine doing so, whilst tapping your steering wheel or whatever) to this sweet song, with just the slightest rough edge. Congrats Nishant & Ganga!

RIYL: Honeyblood, HUNNY, FOXTRAX, Finish Ticket

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STRFKR - Open Your Eyes

| Kerri
Lonely eyes and a save me smile standing halfway in the night
'Cross the room in this neon tomb
Let it be the satellite

I wanna take you home, boy
Come with me out in the light
Living as somebody else, boy
Open your eyes
You gotta try, boy
Open your eyes
Who doesn’t need another friend
In these bodies...
We are alone

What could I have changed your mind
Tell me
What good when we’re out of time
Won’t say that I never tried
Will you
Set me free by the river side

STFKR's aim is to be anti-establishment creators of "good pop songs that you can also dance to." They've been more successful than they even intended, and I'd go so far as to say their new album (Being No One, Going No Where released November 4th) is their best yet. Sorry to say, Keith and I missed out on Austin's first SOS Fest this past weekend due to weather concerns (and travel conflicts), and ironically STRFKR, a Portland band (i.e. accustomed to wet days), almost had to miss their set Sunday because of the rain (flood warnings and mud) as well. But they prevailed and I heard it was pretty epic.

RIYL: Neon Indian, Broken Bells, Ghostland Observatory, Miike Snow, Passion Pit

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