The Drums.

Those infectious surfer vibes are back this month with the release of The Drums second album "Portamento." The drums have a knack for disguising their song's more sombre undertones with light, jangly guitar riffs and potent vocal hooks, however the new album does a little less to get you up and groovin. It chooses to remain a more downbeat version of it's younger brother. However, the first single off the album titled 'money' is possibly the band's best to date, would you agree? we certainly agree with us . . . 

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs.

These two Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs are also known as Orlando Higginbottom and Edmund Finnis. Far from extinct, these lads from Oxford are fresh new faces on the dance scene but are already stirring up as much hype as a dinosaur playing the sharpest beats at your local discotheque. They are apparently working on a full length album so get excited for more from these boys very soon. In the mean time here is our favourite tune by them it's titled 'Household Goods'. . .

Beirut.

The third installment of the worldly sound that is Beirut was released this month to keenly awaiting tunemonkeys. Having had a large fascination with the band for a few years now it has been hard not to have high hopes for the new album. We heard murmurs of a stripped back record with a barer sound than the band's successful sophomore album "The Flying Club Cup", this however was not successful in deterring our excitement as we were confidently met by an upbeat indie record with Beirut's trademark European flavour. The single 'East Harlem' is a perfect example of this . . .

Dananananakroyd.

We went and saw these Scottish Scallywags in Sydney the other week to find that we were not just seeing a band but rather a group of entertainers who just happened to be awesome at music. Their new album "There Is A Way" was released back in June and it features some brilliantly catchy tunes. The single off the album 'Muscle Memory' is a fun romp that will have you screaming the lyrics in public with five of your mates, other noteworthy tracks off the album are 'Think And Feel', "Make A Fist' and 'Time Capsule'. Take a listen . . .

Junior Boys.

If you're like us and have no clue who the Junior Boys are, you might be interested to know that they are a Canadian electro-pop duo who are surprisingly amazing. Their fourth release which landed in our ears only a few days ago was originally set upon the public earlier this month to very positive reviews. The 80's inspired dance style is revamped on the new album titled "It's All True" with stellar tracks such as 'Banana Ripple' and 'The Reservoir'. We'll give you a sneak peek of the latter. . . 

The Paper Scissors.

We've been huge fans of the under-appreciated rock band from Sydney for a long time now. They have the goods to be impressive venue fillers, they just need a breakthrough hit in our opinion. Could this be it? Likely or not we dig the heck out of it. In typical Paper Scissors form the deep base lays a groovy platform from which talented drummer Ivan Lysiak can let loose. The purely unique vocal style from frontman Jai Pyne is unmatched anywhere in music at the moment and it gives the Paper Scissors a fresh sound to stand out from the rest. This track is called 'Taller Than You Then' . . . 

Yuksek. 

A few months old now, we realise we're a bit late on the Yuksek train but the debut single from the Frenchman's new album is an undeniably catchy electronic song. The track titled 'On A Train', well complimented by its film clip of an unlikely train journey, is a well structured dance song that is very vocal driven in both verse and chorus to keep you groovin throughout the whole train trip. . . 

Gotye.

Featuring possibly the two best voices in Australia at the moment the new track from Wally De Backer called 'Somebody I Used To Know' pleases our ears. Whilst featuring the sensual sounds of Kimbra, the new single follows that trademark Gotye style by incorporating a plethora of curious sounds and slowly building on these until we hear Wally's spine tingling voice reach its upper register. Gotye's album is set to release around mid august, we're preparing our ears for more of this please. . . 

                                     

Bombay Bicycle Club.

The latest release from the bicycle club incorporates a jangly sounding piano to create an interesting direction for the boys but to be fair they haven't really ever followed a logical sequence as a band. Their first album was a tunemonkey favourite, but rather than try and follow it up, the Bombay Bicylce Club released a very melow, almost folk-ish, acoustic album. So, as a seemingly trademark gear shift, the boys have kicked it up a notch with their new single 'Shuffle' which we think may be aptly titled to encourage you to do just that. . . 

Gross Magic.

Gross Magic is Sam McGarrigle, a hip dude out of Brighton in the UK whose music is being described as a take on grunge but with a pop vibe and fuzzy low-fi edge. Imagine a less erratic Wavves with catchier hooks and you've got Gross Magic. His first Ep 'Teen Jamz' is set for release in August but Sam has been kind enough to put up his single 'Sweetest Touch' for free download on his Bandcamp site, seriously go get it . . .

WU LYF.

Proving to be somewhat of an enigma, Manchester boys WU LYF are quickly becoming a name outside of internet chatrooms. The name WU LYF is an acronym for 'World Unite, Lucifer Youth Foundation', which means . . . something alternative and cool we're guessing. Regardless, these guys make some sick music. The raspy vocals compliments distant echoing guitars that deliver a sound that is neither indie nor grunge. WU LYF see themselves as more than just a band, they dabble in film making and general anarchy raising and it shows through their film clips. This one's called 'Spittin Blood' . . .

Bon Iver.

For those who have not yet met Bon Iver and his music, don't stress. But if you do choose to stress, Bon Iver has the remedy for stress and it comes in the form of ten new songs each individually wrapped by Justin Vernon who wanted to add a whole lot more ingredients to this recipe. The self titled album, the follow up from 2007's "For Emma, Forever Ago", is a sophisticated release that harnesses a range of elements previously undiscovered by Bon Iver. Vernon expressed his intentions for a purely creative sound on this album absent from any past influence. This is the result . . .

Battles.

"Gloss Drops" the new release from New York's Battles is an impressive record. Known for their experimental sound and beat driven compositions, Battles have kept with their abstract formula but added a few nice touches. There are many standouts on this album, none more exciting than the cameo from Gary Numan on the song 'My Machines', however our favourite of the bunch goes to the track 'Ice Cream featuring Matias Aguayo', here's why . . .
            

Oscar + Martin.

Oscar+Martin are an exciting prospect out of Melbourne that have flown under our radar until now. The duo formerly known as Psuche, utilizes off beat drum loops on top of key samples to produce a minimalist hip-hop sound. But it is the crisp vocals of both Oscar & Martin that gels the elements together and creates at product dubbed 'wonky pop'. The song 'Recognise' is not only our favourite off the album "For You", released back in April, but it is accompanied by a very hip video. check it out . . .

My Morning Jacket.

Sometimes the best songs are the most simple. "Moving Away" by My Morning Jacket is an endearing track that plays a sleepy melody with your heart strings. The Jim James falsetto gets us every time as the song is [for lack of a better word] beautifully written, like that of The Beatles softer endeavours. It's a big wrap for a song that is just one of many great tracks off the new album "Circuital"; a very diverse release that still harnesses that Morning Jacket country twang. So if you are very much inclined on a mature record from this quality outfit we would recommend it without question . . . 

White Denim.

Believe it or not we've already posted on White Denim this year. Someone should tell these lads to space out releasing solid gold songs. The latest from the Austin trio is the rhythmic exploration known only as "D" and it takes the band's style of experimental groove rock to a new place. The album is ten tracks of pure good time jams and we are very glad to be on the receiving end. The single off the new album is titled 'Drug', a song Cream would be proud of . . . 

Arctic Monkeys

Gone are the days when the monkeys would make songs that had more lyrics than beats per minute.  Four albums deep, it's understandable that Alex Turner has toned down the sheer amount of words in each song. The latest album "Suck It And See" follows the same path of their more recent releases but for those who still claim they want the cheeky teenage Arctic Monkeys back, we believe you should stop whining and appreciate what is actually put out here. It is definitely possible that "Suck It And See" is largely influenced by Turner's side projects but if anything it keeps the band from going stale. Here's one of the newies that is way to fresh to go stale . . .

Mr. Little Jeans.
We heard this cover on the radio and immediately thought it was brilliant. Not only would it be hard to pay homage to Arcade Fire but to also attempt an interpretation of an already immaculate song is quite a feat. Mr. Little Jeans, who we believe to be a Norwegian by the name of  Monica Birkenes, channels the ambiance of  Lykke Li and mixes it with a simple but very effective hip hop beat to create a lethargic version of 'The Suburbs'. Take a listen, the lass has done a good job. . .

WIM.

WIM will take you deep into a glam folk coma. Their style of music is hypnotic. It is very melow but not so much that it becomes drawn out. Each song feels like it is building towards some form of psychadelic climax. The band's self titled album was released this month and we're hoping it gets the recognition it deserves. We hate to do this to you but we have a live version of the song 'Diamond' for you to listen to and it isn't the best quality but it's all they have available on the internet at this stage, so bare with it. We thoroughly recommend checking out the real version on itunes or better yet buy the album, we did. . .

Foster The People.


We've all had our kicks pumped, some may say a little too much. Admittedly it is a stellar tune, but could it be possible to hear more good stuff from Foster The People? We think so, although we also feel it may not be what you're expecting from the Californian trio. The debut album "Torches" features some more up-tempo songs built to get you on the dance floor and staying there. Here's an example it's called 'Miss You' . . .