Pretty Girls Make Graves - This Is Our Emergency

Unfulfillment is killing you
Seems like no one shares the same view
We may have never met but
It might be you who pulls me through

Formed in Seattle in 2001 and named after The Smith's song, Pretty Girls Make Graves was one of my local favorites when I lived there and I've missed them quite a bit since they broke up in 2007. The New Romance, the album from which today's Most Important comes, is a timeless classic and "This Is Our Emergency" is a song I come back to and rock often.

RIYL: Silversun Pickups, Cursive, Sleater-Kinney, The Murder City Devils

Nothing - Vertigo Flowers

Watch out for those
Who dare to say
That everything
Will be okay
Watch out for those
Who want to be
Anything at all

Old folks like me might call this kind of song "easy listening" but hipsters may file it under "shoegaze". Regardless "Vertigo Flowers" is a nice, mellow track that somehow manages to fit some pretty rocking riffs right into the middle of it. Like a nice little rock and roll hump for your hump day. If you enjoy this, check out their latest, Tired Of Tomorrow, for more of the same.

RIYL: Nada Surf, Sunny Day Real Estate, DIIV, Beach Slang

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Fictionist - Manic

I'm thinking of you thinking of me
Thinking of you thinking of me
Always thinking...
Somewhere across town
I know you're having a day
While the shoulders of powerful men
In a casual way
Maybe you don't know
You make me nervous

Well, this act just blew a hole in any hubris I was gaining from my year of deep diving into indie and alt (and pop) rock. How had I never heard of Fictionist before? They're from a place I lived for years, they have toured with bands I like, their references and influences are top notch, they came in fourth in a Rolling Stone poll... WTH? Anyway, thankfully Spotify knew I'd like 'em and added their lead single ("Manic") from their newly released album (Sleep Machine) to my Radar. So fun! I've been able to listen to the whole album a few times through now (it's short!) and it's filled with gems and interesting sounds. I almost chose the dancier "Lazarus" or the title-I-adore "We Can Sleep When We Die" but this track hits those moments and swirls in a bit of chaos and is still pop-radio-ready (which is not a pejorative to me). Seems Fictionist is a band that likes to evolve and change with every album, and it's been fun to go backwards to listen to their 2014 and 2011 LPs, all good.

RIYL: Mutemath, MGMT, Paper Route, Phoenix

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The War On Drugs - Holding On

Once I was alive and I could feel
I was holding on to you
And I redefined the way I looked at dawn inside of you

I went down a crooked highway
I went all outside the line
I've been rejected, now the light has turned and I'm out of time

The War On Drugs has a new single out and it's classic The War On Drugs. It's sophisticated, atmospheric and perfect for a nice lazy Saturday morning.

RIYL: Kurt Vile, Destroyer, The Walkmen, The Helio Sequence, Father John Misty

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All We Are - Animal

How about something a little fun and funky for your Friday? Check out "Animal" the latest from Liverpool indie pop outfit All We Are. They've got a sort of Bee Gees meets Glass Animals thing going on and it's great. Their new album "Sunny Hills" is available 9th June 2017.

The video is pretty classic as well.

RIYL: Wild Beasts, Field Music, Glass Animals, Jagwar Ma

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