9.PWR BTTM – LOL
This is the latest single off their sophomore album Pageant coming out May 12. Champions of the queer punk scene, PWR BTTM is back to glitter, excellent guitar solos, and complicated rhythm back into our hearts once more. Pageant is so named for the duo’s shared interest in high-femme glamor, systems of gender, identity performance, and drag. Their music goes between a cathartic meditation on what it means to be queer, and a rallying cry of pure expression.
8.Bleachers – Don’t Take the Money
Bleachers conjures to mind an upbeat pop song you can sing along to with the windows down and this new track, off Jack Antonoff’s upcoming sophomore album, Gone Now, does not disappoint. The song is co-written with Lorde, whose vocals are hidden later in the song, and as Antonoff’s voice slowly builds and grows to the cathartic release of the chorus, it’s hard not to feel a little better, even if you’re not singing in your car.
7. Bryce Dessner, Sufjan Stevens, Nico Muhly, James McAlister – Saturn
Dessner plays guitar in The National, Nico Muhly is a go to arranger for indie artists, and Sufjan Stevens is….Sufjan! Joined by James McAlister on drums, they are combining excessive talents on a Solar System album called Planetarium, out June 9th. On Saturn, Sufjan is singing about deep space monsters (a familiar subject for him), but his voice is fuller and louder than on any of his records, despite keeping company with a pile of bleeps sent straight from the edge of the galaxy.
6.Local Natives – I Saw You Close Your Eyes
Riding the wave of their third album Sunlit Youth, Local Natives return with an unexpected single, “I Saw You Close Your Eyes”. With their soaring harmonies, intricate rhythms, and sweeping strings, Local Natives have stayed true to their signature style while exploring a more romantic sound. The band recommends taking listen with your eyes closed, saying it’s the best way to focus and experience the song.
5.Girlpool – it gets more blue
On the new single from their upcoming album, Powerplant, this Philly via LA duo shows how far they’ve come: though they have retained their sweet and simple melodies, this track feels much fuller and grander due to the addition of drums. And who wouldn’t melt when someone declares “I faked global warming to get close to you”?
4.Blondie – Long Time
It sounds like they’re just going to play “Heart of Glass” with a bopping intro, but Blondie have a new voice on their latest album “Pollinator” out May 5th. Debbie Harry is still great fun to listen to, but her voice carries a new perspective, one that comes with over 30 years of being one of the best dance bands out there. It doesn’t hurt that Dev Hynes of Blood Orange co-wrote either.
3.Broken Social Scene – Halfway Home
Broken Social Scene return with their first new music in seven years. With “Halfway Home”, the Canadian collective (including members of Feist, Stars, Metric, and more) stay true to form with a lush and anthemic track; it’s essentially all chorus! While no information is out regarding a new album title or release date, we can expect Broken Social Scene to bring the feel good album of 2017.
2.Whitney – You’ve Got a Woman
“You’ve Got a Woman” is a cover of song from Lion, a 70’s Dutch band who are best known for writing the theme song for Transformers: The Movie. The smooth psychedelic rock lends itself nicely to Whitney’s dreamlike sound that’s perfect for the start to the warm weather. Check them out playing at Boston Calling!
1.Mr. Jukes ft. BJ the Chicago Kid – Angels/Your Love
With the early 2016 announcement that, after 10 years as a band, Bombay Bicycle Club would be taking a hiatus, many of the members have begun embarking on their own individual creative journeys. With Mr. Jukes, we see Bombay frontman Jack Steadman taking a soulful and brassy detour from the sound we’ve come to expect from him, and hits it out of the park! Steadman’s solo album, God First, is out June 9.
