Animal Collective – “Today’s Supernatural”: The trippy music collective is back with the first single from their forthcoming record. I personally didn’t find this to be as enjoyable as their huge song “My Girls” but it still stands out as being more accessible than most of their work. My favorite description of the work thus far has appeared in the comment’s section of a Stereogum article, where a user describes the sound as “alien caveman thrash pop.” You laugh, but I think it’s actually a pretty accurate description of this. Listen for yourself:
Eleventyseven - “Long Way Down”: The pop punk turned electropop trio is exploring a new genre…folk. Baffled yet? However, “Long Way Down” is a solid track. You can still sense some rock music-like production here (i.e., I’m not used to the drums being this crisp on a folk record). Matt Langston’s vocals take on a considerably less shrill tone, and maintain the catchy vibes from the band’s pop days. Some pop influence is still present, just in a less cliche way. All in all, this experiment seems to be a success! I’m just confused by the band’s identity…unless it lies in the lack of one musically (which actually isn’t all bad).
Come Wind – “Rend Your Heart”: This Canton, OH quartet has been described by AbsolutePunk as The Graduate meets Ivoryline. I’m not familiar with the former so I cannot say how accurate this is, but I can clarify that this is a solid track! I can definitely hear a bit of Jeremy Gray (Ivoryline) in the vocals. The entire song reeks of passion and a hint of desperation. New intricacies emerge with each listen. The soaring chorus creates a mood that will stick with you long after the song is over. Look for this to be the band’s breakout single. Listen here.
Snoop Lion – “La La La”: Yesterday news swept the media in a big way about Snoop Dogg’s transformation into the alleged “reincarnated Bob Marley.” “La La La” is the first single from Snoop Lion. The weird news aside, it is a solid reggae track. It isn’t super memorable, but its produced well (but why wouldn’t it be when your guy is Diplo?) with a gritty, unpolished feel. Snoop stays in tune and even though he’s singing you can tell it is definitely him. At times its more talk-singing than full one belting tunes out.
