Click here to view the embedded video.Cold War Kids’ second album, Loyalty to Loyalty, was critically received as a huge drop-off from their immensely successful debut, Robbers and Cowards, and at first, I agreed. The album moved slower and had much more filler than the first. But after repeated listens, I developed a profound respect for Loyalty, which demonstrated the Cold War Kids’ creative depth and expansion and presented some truly haunting blues melodies.But after repeated ... Read Full Story

When I initially heard “Brothersport,” before the rest of Merriweather Post Pavillion had been released, I was hooked for about a minute. But then that wacky noise kept whining; the song went into some weird place I didn’t expect. I quickly dismissed it as “typical Animal Collective,” which, until this year, I had a hard time getting into.Then Merriweather came out. I revisited the song. And revisited it again. And again. And again. Until I realized it might just... Read Full Story

You sure have changed Sia. Sorry, that was lame. Let’s start all over.Sia, who happens to be one of my favorite artists ever, decided to give her fans a taste of what she’s been working on to follow up 2007’s Some People Have Real Problems. So yesterday, she Tweeted a download link of “You’ve Changed”, which will appear on her forthcoming album, We Are Born.The first thing you will notice about “You’ve Changed” is that it is danceable (!!)... Read Full Story

Click here to view the embedded video. I personally find it rather frustrating when a band member decides to launch a solo career but simply ends up sounding like the original band he/she was originally a part of. It makes me wonder: what’s the point? But of course, that’s the fan talking in me and we all know fans have no regard for musicians lives or feelings and only want our music tastes to be satisfied. Nevertheless, I can say I am satisfied with “Give Blood,” Kyp... Read Full Story

Photo by Sarah Murphy JuradoHoly crap is “ River of Love” cheesy. I mean, it’s called River of Love, seriously, by the group United State of Electronica – a band that self identifies as “disco pop.” Completely, unabashedly, poppy and over the top – the little snare hit, the snappy guitar riffs, and of course the alternately auto-tune-crooning and soaring-coed-chorus vocals.From the first twenty seconds of this song you know exactly what the next three and a half minutes are going to sound lik... Read Full Story

Photo by Sarah Murphy JuradoHoly crap is “ River of Love” chessy. I mean, it’s called River of Love, seriously, by the group United State of Electronica – a band that self identifies as “disco pop.” Completely, unabashedly, poppy and over the top – the little snare hit, the snappy guitar riffs, and of course the alternately auto-tune-crooning and soaring-coed-chorus vocals.From the first twenty seconds of this song you know exactly what the next three and a half minutes are going to sound lik... Read Full Story

Click here to view the embedded video.Funnest music video of the year? Probably.We are giving away the Cousins 7″ single. Entries will be accepted until the December 15th release date. Enter here.Contra is out 1/11 via XL. Pre-order it at InSound or at Amazon. Tags: Vampire WeekendWhile I Was Gone (5)Vampire Weekend plus Ra Ra Riot equals Discovery (12)Vampire Weekend – Horchata (8)Vampire Weekend – Cousins (Live in Guadalajara!) (3) Read Full Story

Photo by meik meik So a few weeks ago, CMJ was happening, and we were all running around like dance crazed party girls. Now that the dust has more than officially settled, we can tell you that some pretty cool shit went down. We talked to some folks. We caught some shows.One of the people we talked to was Lucas Guerin of electro funk rock band Casxio. Emerging on the scene quite effectively with their EP Seventeen (released on The Hours Entertainment records) the video for the single views li... Read Full Story

Photo courtesy of Little Dragon’s Myspace Page.Is there something in the water in Gothenburg, Sweden? The Knife, The Tough Alliance, Jose Gonzalez, Jens Lekman, and now Little Dragon – those damn Swedes just keep pumping out irresistible pop melodies in a variety of weird incarnations.Little Dragon’s track “Runabout” is certainly a slice of quirky pop, but it is uniquely, wonderfully sun-soaked; the soundtrack to a leisurely bike ride on the nicest day of summer, when you’re head... Read Full Story

Don’t forget to rate the album at the end of the post.Welcome back to Blinded By The Hype, the PMA feature in which we revisit albums once the hype has died down. In today’s world, music is released at a machine gun pace. It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type scene, and “lately” usually means this week. Rarely do we stop to smell the roses. Even good albums get overlooked as time passes. And we almost never – aside from year end lists – take a look backward. Hindsight is 20-20, a... Read Full Story