The Mast – “Seas Across Your Mind”: When the violin led off the track I found myself briefly thinking “THIS is the same band that put out UpUpUp?” It all made sense seconds later when the bass drops kicked in, albeit with more of an R&B feel this time around. Look for this Brooklyn duo to break out eventually. The quarter-million plus views of their music video of “UpUpUp” is a good start in this direction. The ethereal “Seas Across Your Mind” ought to continue to lead the duo in this direction, with its synthesized strings and more pronounced vocals.
Flyleaf – “New Horizons”: Flyleaf is finally back with an unusually happy tune. Thus far, the single has had an understandably mixed reaction – Flyleaf has stood out from the crowd with their passionate and frenetic performances, and this song finds them treading closer to Fireflight and Paramore territory. That said, Lacey sounds great and it is a fun song that will probably do well anyway. I say hold your opinions until the full record (of the same name) releases! In the meantime, you can stream the new single here.
Mumford and Sons – “I Will Wait”: The UK quartet makes a triumphant return with this, the lead single from Babel. I guarantee this song will be huge. Yes, this a rare statement and a bold one at that. But one listen to the soaring chorus was all it took for me to arrive at this conclusion. Admittedly, it’s difficult to describe on paper what makes this stand out from other Mumford stuff…it’s just so dang inspiring. And catchy.
Civil Twilight – “River”: In juxtaposition to the other single of theirs, “River” leads with a borderline minimalist acoustic riff as opposed to the muscular bass of “Fire Escape.” This track carries a bit of shoegaze influence that kicks in quickly though. Falsetto exclamations fade in and out of the hook-laden chorus. A bit of xylophone plays us out, to paraphrase Bill O’Reilly.
