Hop Along - Not Abel

A casual listen of Philadelphia's Hop Along might give you the impression that they're a fiery, but fairly straight-ahead indie rock outfit putting out punchy, poppy indie rock tracks with polish and passion. And you'd be half-right, but there is more going on here. There's another, deeper and more sophisticated layer to their work that's very much on display in today's Most Important, "Not Abel", from their forthcoming album Bark Your Head Off, Dog, a complicated, eclectic track that shows off their depth.

RIYL: Eisley, Cayetana, Slingshot Dakota, Rilo Kiley

Upcoming Shows

Runaway Brother - Conscience in Tumult

New Pocket from Cleveland's Runaway Brother is another fantastic release from the amazing Tiny Engines. I've been jamming it non-stop for a week now and can safely say it's an early favorite for 2018's best. If you give a casual listen, I'm pretty sure you'll easily understand why they're often compared to Built To Spill. Listen deeper and you'll see songs builds on each other and a lot of inventive, eclectic rock packed into each track. Ok, yeah, kind of like Built To Spill. :)

RIYL: Sinai Vessel, Built To Spill, Grandaddy, Modern Baseball

Upcoming Shows

Frank Turner - 1933

Frank Turner is back with another happy-sounding, thought-provoking protest anthem. This one inspired by anger and frustration around the "the idea that Breitbart or Steve Bannon think they have anything to do with punk rock..."

He's coming to Austin for SXSW and then back again in June and I can't wait to be there singing along.

RIYL: Brian Fallon, Dave Hause, Hot Water Music, The Smith Street Band, Skinny Lister

Upcoming Shows

She-Devils - The World Laughs

Montreal duo She-Devils have a dreamy, U.S. 60's psychedelic-meets-80's U.K. shoegaze that is perfectly mid-oughts indie. I was hoping they'd pop up at SXSW but they're not on any official lists I've seen. Still, a lot of the states (and some of their native Cananda) can catch them on tour this spring. 

RIYL: Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, Bleached, Slowdive

Upcoming Shows

Yaz - State Farm

A fun throwback track that floods me with memories. Definitely worthy of a Most Important Song, although not in the band's top 10. This song was never a hit in the U.S. but I must've been friends with some people who had cool older siblings because we used it to choreograph one of our high school competition routines. I don't think I've heard it in 25+ years, and even then it was at least 10 years old. Yazoo holds a special place in the amazing music history of Vince Clarke. If you don't know: he penned and played on Depeche Mode's debut album before leaving them to create this brief (2 album) duo with Alison Moyet, and then went on to partner with Andy Bell and form the everlasting Erasure. Love all that original new wave synthpop awesomeness.