Mating Ritual - How You Gonna Stop It?

Pick me up in your Monday suit and tie
Grab a drink in the lobby before 9
You complain about your weight and waking up on time
You need to chill out and follow me tonight

Waking up in a place I've never been before
It smells like piss and olives
Getting drunk never used to be this difficult
I hear the graveyard calling
Stop talking 'bout your work you know you're not gonna go
Might as well kick the bucket
Yeah it sucks getting old but how you gonna stop it?

Fast-paced, tongue-twister-ing, and just right for Friday night Mating Ritual (aka Ryan Marshall Lawhon) has just convinced me to take a chance on following him, musically. This is supposedly the early released first single from his forthcoming full album. His debut EP is just as fun and dancy so I believe we're in for a treat. 

RIYL: Miike Snow, Passion Pit, Day Wave

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Mitski - Your Best American Girl

If I could, I'd be your little spoon
And kiss your fingers forevermore
But, big spoon, you have so much to do
And I have nothing ahead of me
You're the sun, you've never seen the night
But you hear its song from the morning birds
Well I'm not the moon, I'm not even a star
But awake at night I'll be singing to the birds

Don't wait for me, I can't come

Your mother wouldn't approve of how my mother raised me
But I do, I think I do
And you're an all-American boy
I guess I couldn't help trying to be your best American girl

You're the one
You're all I ever wanted
I think I'll regret this

Mitski says this song was intensely personal to her; she didn't expect it to resonate with anyone. And yet it's by far her biggest hit. Mitski was raised in the Congo, Japan, Turkey, and attended college in New York -- I can imagine it would be easy to feel like you don't fit in. How lucky we are that she decided to make music.

RIYL: Waxahatchee, Diet Cig, Cayetana

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Bad Suns - Disappear Here

I kiss the bend of the canyon road where
I find your ghost again
You found the sky through the moonroof topless
You were so happy then

I'm right, I'm wrong
I'm everything but sure
My blazing head, my freezing heart
Your five words walk out the door

Would you run after me?
I feel I've stood here once before
Would you run after me?
Would you run or do we disappear?
Oh, disappear here
Would you run after me?
Would you run or do we disappear here?

L.A. indie band with a surprise big hit ("Cardiac Arrest") from their first album in 2014, Bad Suns released their second rather quietly last year. With smart, Cure-esque lyrics and catchy, current, alt-rock sound, I think they deserve more attention. 

RIYL: Atlas Genius, Night Riots, Bleachers

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Big Jesus - Lock & Key

Don't, don't
Leave me loveless

Big Jesus have sort of a fuzzy shoegaze take at rock that comes off a bit dreamy at times and a bit raucous at others. "Lock & Key" feels a bit like a mashup between Torche and Silversun Pickups, and while it's strange to think of a metal-esque song as pleasant, that's what we've got.

RIYL: The Dirty Nil, Silversun Pickups, Torche

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Hamilton + Rostam - In a Black Out

Midnight where we used to dance
Underneath the ugly halogen lamps
Oh, it all went away so fast
In a black out

We’ll wait for the year
When the tide comes
Rolling over the rails
From here 'til the end
Of the island
Washing away

I rent a room with all our stuff
When you come home I’d lift you up
And there’s only the two of us
In a black out

I've heard at least part of "A 1000 Times" about a thousand times since it's release back in July, and vaguely knew there was significant hype around this newly formed duo, but I must confess to not having seen the Apple commercial (has gone viral I guess?) that features this track, nor knowing exactly who these guys were, until yesterday. In case you're in a similar boat, I'll catch you up. First, this song was number 9 on Sirius XMU's top 41 indie songs of the year (that was my introduction). Second and more interesting, Hamilton is the former lead singer from The Walkmen and Rostam is the producer who recently exited Vampire Weekend. So yeah, their pedigree deserved the buzz I was noticing (but not paying attention to). Finally, I chose this as today's Most Important Song because it is a perfectly mellow way to come down after a packed couple of weeks. It's my holiday hangover cure. 

RIYL: The Walkmen, Car Seat Headrest, Angel Olsen, Parquet Courts

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