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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Katy Perry - Firework

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed
So you can open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the Fourth of July

I'm going full-on honey badger with today's Most Important Song - just don't care if anyone doesn't like it. I love it. This 2010 pop anthem always makes me happy, makes me sing along, leaves me feeling inspired, and it's perfectly suited to the Fourth. Sorry not sorry!

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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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Cape Cub - All I Need

I couldn't start a war,
So I turned to face the sun
6am, still dark,

But I can see clearly
I can see clearly
I can see clearly
I can see clearly

Everything that meant something to me,
Fell out of reach
Fell out of reach
Everything that I just couldn't see,
So far out of reach
So far out of reach

You are all I need

Cape Cub is the moniker for Newcastle man Chad Male. I've seen him compared to Dan Smith of Bastille, but he's a slightly different flavor of UK indie - maybe just more indie. This track is from his latest EP, 6am which I've been listening to in regular rotation since it came out. 

RIYL: Bastille, Flor, Nightly

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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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