The beginning of every year can get a tad lethargic when it comes to new releases. Why have the summer months always been the most abounding time to premier the best music? Well, there’s really not much to it. School is out. Calendars become increasingly marked up with parties, cookouts, and concerts. Daylight lasts longer and this motivates us to go for long bike rides, mow the lawn, or toss the frisbee around. Life is buzzing with communal, partly-auspicious days (it is Buffalo). Word of mouth has always been a huge part of marketing music, especially if it’s independent, and many artists are also attempting to get their records heard and talked about before end of year adulations and holiday retail fever spreads through us all. 


Still, there is the January-February market, which becomes frozen-over with grim anticipation. Many of us find ourselves deprived of new and exciting jams. We long for the snow to recede, and the ground to break forth, frothing with the likeness of springtime tunes to stoke the hotdog-roasting bonfires of  summer. And while I can’t advise you break out your lawn chairs and wayfarers just yet, I do have a remedy that will help thaw out that cold shoulder the music industry gives us this time every year. It’s true. February springs forth with great new music to hear and talk about. Check out these five February releases that will get this year rolling. 

5. Wymond Miles: Earth Has Doors
Miles is the lead guitarist of the San Francisco outfit, The Fresh & Onlys, who are currently priming their new album, and yet he has somehow found the time to put out his first solo EP, Earth Has Doors, due out February 7. The first single off the new release, “Hidden Things Are Asking You to Find Them,” spills out lazy rills of trickling guitar-work, and rolling thrums that is ridiculously easy to listen to. 

     

4. Bahamas: Barchords

I had the privilege of seeing Afie Jurvanen’s project, Bahamas, open for Noah and the Whale in Portland last summer. What first impressed me was his soulful guitar playing, secondly, Jurvanen has an honestly simple approach to songwriting that is both poetic and graceful. His voice is heartfelt, but direct, and this may be why he chose to name his new record after the most simple form of guitar playing: barre chords. He has toured with many different artists, including Feist, and most of the songs from this album were written while on the road. You can listen to Barchords in its entirety streaming at Paste's website.

3. Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks

After the release of a cassette box set, chronicling of Montreal’s entire catalog from 1997’s Cherry Peel to 2010’s False Priest I thought maybe the group were planning to break for a little while. Then in early December the band announced a new album, which would be released February 7. Right now you can hear the album streaming on SPIN’s website. Each song is complete with written commentary from Kevin Barnes, which is always an awesome way to listen to new music. 

2. Sleigh Bells: Reign of Terror

I didn’t discover Sleigh Bells until late last summer, long after their debut album Treats was released in 2009. Tracks like “Rill Rill” and “Infinity Guitars” on that record really exhibit their range of styles, which combine the pop vocals of Alexis Krauss and the hardcore guitar riffs and bass of Derek E. Miller. Listen to their track “Born to Lose” for more of the noise-poppy goodness you can expect on their highly anticipated second effort, Reign of Terror.

1. Memoryhouse: The Sideshow Effect

After releasing two EPs in the last two years, I am pretty thrilled that Memoryhouse is finally making their full-length debut with The Sideshow Effect, which is due out February 28. Started as a way to fuse the aural arrangements of Evan Abeele and photography of Denise Nouvion, Memoryhouse quickly morphed into a full-on band that was not over-anxious to release their first LP. Abeele contends that “there is an unfortunate tendency for bands to rush their first album jumping into a studio without getting a chance to fully develop their voice.” You can download two of their new tracks, “The Kids Were Wrong” and “Walk With Me,” on the band’s website.