Barns Courtney - Golden Dandelions

Lay me down in golden dandelions
'Cause I've been waiting for this moment all my life
Follow me into the dark
Ooo-oooh
She said lay me down in golden dandelions
'Cause I've been waiting

Spotify describes Barns Courtney (whose name sounds totally backward in a fun way) as "splitting the difference" between Ed Sheeran and Mumford & Sons. I suppose, for many that might sound terrible. I was a bit intrigued, and I'm happy I gave him a listen. His voice actually reminds me a lot of one of my recent favorites, Sameer Gadhia from Young The Giant. I can't say I like all his tracks, because I don't, but "Golden Dandelions" is fantastic and I think if Barns can avoid the bro-pop trap, he'll be good.

RIYL: Mumford & Sons, Kishi Bashi, Young The Giant, Lewis Del Mar

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Rostam - Bike Dream

You wake up late, you feel your heart begin to work
And now you’re all dressed up of course
And hailing cabs out of your door
On 14th Street I feel my head between my knees
And orange swimming through the trees
And orange swimming through the trees
Where could I go? What could I do?
Put in the state, my lips and eyes give me away
And now there’s nothing, I can say no
I'm pulled away, I see another of myself
Who's found true love and happiness
To sit and smoke there on the chair for

A new something lovely from Rostam - who announced departure from Vampire Weekend last year. He's since released a couple singles and helped a few other artists out (Frank Ocean, HAIM) and of course his collab with Hamilton Leithauser. Now this fuzzy track, which coincides with the announcement of his first solo album, Half Light, due in full release in September. 

RIYL: Vampire Weekend, Hamilton + Rostam, Kishi Bashi

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Delta Spirit - Bushwick Blues

Do you recall that night
We took the L
Out into Bushwick?
It was colder than hell

So maybe there
We should have stopped
'Cause I'm left here
Feeling like a cop

Because my love is strong
And my heart is weak after all

It's a bit of an oldie but a goodie, "Bushwick Blues" recently popped into my head a few weeks back, when I was on the L train out to Bushwick to capture the Bushwick Collective for my street art photo project, Ephemerazzi. It's a great track and I've got hopes we'll hear some new music from them soon.

RIYL: Rogue Wave, Sea Wolf, My Morning Jacket, Langhorne Slim

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SLØTFACE - Nancy Drew

Sløtface is shit that Patty Smith would put up with. Give a casual listen and you'll hear a pop-punk outfit with nice distinctive sound. Good stuff, sure. Pay attention and you'll hear subtle and complicated arrangements that get better with every release, thoughtful lyrics and a point of view that stands out. "Nancy Drew" is the latest single off their upcoming debut LP, Try Not to Freak Out, which comes out soon. Check out previous Most Important, "Sponge State", it's a good one.

RIYL: Honeyblood, Bad Cop, Bad Cop, Wolf Alice, Black Honey

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Tristen - Glass Jar

I don’t have to say goodbye
You don’t get to see me cry
You put me in a glass jar and tap, tap, tap to see how I move

I saw Tristen a while back at SXSW at was intrigued. "Eager For Your Love", an engaging and beautiful song off her 2011 album Charlatans At the Garden Gate, quickly worked its way into my heavy rotation and I became a fan. "Glass Jar", her latest, featuring Jenny Lewis, is a song in the same vein. It's engaging, beautiful and perfect for a Sunday morning.

RIYL: Jenny O., The Mynabirds, Haim, Jenny Lewis, Neko Case

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