Photo credit: David James Swanson

Jack White – “Connected By Love”: An oddly apocalyptic music video heralds the return of Jack White, more vibey than ever and yet still the same as ever. This is a jam, and a dreamy one at that. Jack sounds wistful and more emotional than ever, but still retains his trademark swagger of a voice. I foresee some intense visuals in his live production at the summer festivals this year.

Household – “Don’t Listen to Me”: A band we at TU have a bit of a history with, via booking, interviewing, and otherwise, has released the lead single from their Equal Vision Records debut. “Don’t Listen to Me” is one of the band’s most reserved outputs thus far, but fortunately for us Household has transitioned from hardcore to an alternative/emo band seamlessly. Josh Gilbert has fully embraced his new vocal styling, and fortunately his voice was made for this. When I was watching this music video, I thought to myself that the band could very well cross over into that realm of indie cred where bands like The Hotelier and The World Is… also reside.

Western Scene – “Strange But True”: The band eases into it’s groove on this track, delivering some vocal stylings that feel familiar, layered over a warble of guitar arrangement. The song is rough around the edges, yet still easy on the ears. I’m looking forward to what the Tom Pritchard fronted LA band does next.

Hobbyist – “Teeth of the Shark”: This somewhat abrasive song is driven by a simple bass line, hypnotic vocals and various other elements that seem to interject as much as they are carrying the song. This is something to listen to in the dark. One of the standout elements for me is the mournful way the harmonica comes in toward the end with rhodes building to a bit of a climax.