So I’ve finally finished my semester, which means I’m taking a week off to go visit the fabulous, exotic, bustling …

Salt Lake City.

Yeah, it’s gonna be baller.  That means I won’t be posting from now until May 20th, but don’t worry, because I’m leaving you with one fantastic song.

What’s that? You didn’t think there were any songs written about Salt Lake City? You are dead wrong. Way back in 1965, the Beach Boys released a little gem called “Salt Lake City” with insightful lyrics like:

Down in Utah
The guys and I dig a city called Salt Lake
It’s got the grooviest kids
That’s why we never get tired of Salt Lake

Nice rhyme scheme, Brian Wilson.  See y’all May 20th.

I’m never quite sure how to describe a band that sounds like Ski Lodge.  With shades of the Smiths, indie pop seems to be the genre name of choice, but that one never sits quite right with me.

I would make up a genre name for it, but no one wants to be the one to inflict another “chillwave” on the world.

So I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it and take a listen to the Brooklyn-based band.  The band already has an EP, but they’ve recently a sweet new single “Just To Be Like You“: 

 
There’s also a slightly disturbing video for the track, which you can watch below:

[Trigger warning: It's got scenes with snow in it. If you're in the southern half of the U.S. headed into a brutal summer, you might want to skip this one to avoid extreme envy.]

They just finished up a tour with Chad Valley – where I caught them on Tuesday – and there’s plans for a full-length sometime in the future.

For now, here’s one more song, “Chandeliers”, this one from their self-titled EP:

new sound is an occasional series featuring new and emerging bands.

Wild Moccasins were always one of my favorite bands to see in Houston.  Fun, catchy songs with the stage presence to back it up.  It’s a band that looks like they’re actually enjoying playing for you.

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten a chance to catch them since moving to Austin.  That is until Monday night, when I saw them open for Of Montreal at the Mohawk, a great example of a bill that actually works together.  If you like Of Montreal, there’s a good chance you’ll like Wild Moccasins.  The bands are on a U.S. tour for the next month and you should absolutely make it out if they’re coming through your town.

Wild Moccasins also released a video for “Gag Reflections”, off their 7″ released last year. Check it out below:

 
Watch for: singer Zahira Gutierrez making some bad health/safety decisions at 1:25.

And if you can’t get YouTube at work, just make up a video in your head while you listen to the audio:

This week, Adult Swim released the latest in their music series, Garage Swim, which features tracks from all your favorite garage rock bands: King Tuff, Bass Drum of Death, Black Lips, and more.

Did I mention its available for a free download? Not even your e-mail required?

Every time one of these corporate-sponsored music things comes up, it forces me to question my stance on these things.  It’s not the idea that bands are taking corporate money – they gotta get paid – but how it affects our consumption of music.  How does Dr. Pepper decide who to sponsor, and is that really how we want to decide what to listen to?

My verdict is usually this: I think it’s definitely probably bad for the scene more generally, but it’s not like my whining is gonna stop anything so you may as well go ahead and grab that free download.

In this case, I’m digging the track from Thee Oh Sees, “Devil Again”, which you can stream below or grab as an mp3:

 
Listen for: the track kicking into high gear at 0:09.

I’m still not quite sure what to make of MS MR after catching them at SXSW, but the verdict has been in on CHVRCHES, so it’s no surprise I’m digging this remix.

“Hurricane” is off MS MR’s debut album Secondhand Rapture, which is out May 14 via and streaming now. Check out CHVRCHES’ remix of the track below:

 
Listen for: the catchy synths that both MS MR and CHVRCHES do so well.
 
[via GvsB]

When two big names in music get together to do a collaboration, there’s a pretty solid chance it’s going to be good.  When those two names are Janelle Monáe and Erykah Badu, you can feel pretty confident you’re gonna have a jam on your hand.

And in this case, that jam is titled, “Q.U.E.E.N”, and it’s off Monáe’s upcoming album The Electric Lady, due out this fall via Atlantic Records.

The track has a funky sound with some biting lyrics, which makes it perfect to get you through your Friday:

 
Lyric to Consider: “I’m tired of Marvin asking me, “What’s Going On? / March to the streets ‘cuz I’m willing and I’m able / Categorize me, I defy every label”

You can also check our their banging video for the track:

If you heard Mikey & the Drags on your friend’s stereo, you’d assume it was a killer record she had snagged from her mom’s collection of 60s garage rock vinyl.

But it turns out these guys – based out of Houston, TX –  are making music in 2013.  And that’s a great thing because it means you can expect more great music from them in the future.

They recently released a 7″ which you can grab over at their bandcamp.  And you need to take advantage of that, because let’s be honest: vinyl is the only way to hear this music.

Take a listen to the A-side, “Spill Your Guts”, below:

 
Listen for: the vocals coming in at 0:17 that will make you nostalgic for a time before you were born.

credit: Ricardo Levins Morales

Today is May Day, aka International Workers’ Day, and AfroPunk has a great list of 10 songs that can serve as the perfect soundtrack for your day.

It’s hard to pick a favorite from this list, but I think I gotta go with a classic, “5 Million Ways To Kill A C.E.O” from The Coup.  Not only does the track have the perfect lyrics for rebellion, but the Coup walks the walk, as Boots Riley has been involved in Occupy Oakland and a host of other radical movements. 

Take a listen to Boots Riley performing the track live at Occupy Oakland a few years back, then go through the whole list over at AfroPunk and remember that the boss needs you, but you don’t need the boss:

 
Lyric to Consider: “Wanna know what this demeanor’s bout? City tried to clean us out / Green is clout, shut ‘em down, they ain’t never seen a drought”

The soundtrack for Baz Luhrman’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby is coming out a week from today (May 6th), and with the big names contributing to that soundtrack, it’s not surprise it’s been all over the blogosphere the last few weeks.

We’ve already heard Florence + The Machine’s track from the album last week, and now you can hear the track the xx have put together for it. It’s got the minimalist instrumentals and emotive vocals you’ve come to love from the band, combined with some really excellent use of strings.Aside from the music, of course, my favorite thing about this has to be the people arguing via timed comments on Soundcloud as to whether or not this is an appropriate track for a book set in the 1920s.    It’s one of those arguments where you don’t want to pick a side because both sides sound so stupid.

Take a listen to “Together” and decide whether or not F. Scott Fitzgerald is rolling over in his grave listening to this soundtrack or just vibing out to it:

 
Listen for: the strings setting the perfect mood at 3:30.

There’s also a radio rip of Beyonce & Andre 3000 covering Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black” that’s been floating around, but I couldn’t bear to post it for y’all since the radio station put their tags all over the song.  As Listen Before You Buy said, “If you like your music talked over and barely-listenable, then boy do we have a treat for you tonight!”.  Head over there if you’d desperate to hear it – otherwise, I’ll post a better version of the track if/when it surfaces.

A Good Night For A Fistfight was recorded last December at Islington Assembly Hall in London, where the band played a 21-song set spanning all of their albums.  The show was particularly noteworthy because it marked the last show with band member Ellen Campesinos!, as well as the appearance of Aleks Campesinos! playing her first show in three years.

While you’re waiting another week or so to be able to hear the album in its entirety, you can download the live version of “We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed”, a song which features some of the most endearingly self-depreciating lyrics out there:

 
Lyric to Scream Out Every Time You Hear It: “Oh we kid ourselves there’s future in the fucking, but there is no fucking future”