Friday marks the first day of meteorological summer (the solstice is June 20). School is out (or almost out). Memorial Day festivities have been had. It’s been in the 70s and 80s all week. The living is particularly easy. If you’ve ever spent a summer in Buffalo you know full well that this city doesn’t mess around when it comes to great weather. If there’s a sunny day, we’re taking full advantage by either cooking out or going for a bike ride. And that’s the attitude I’ve taken with this list of June releases to be psyched about. Each one of these albums has the potential to be that perfect summer day, equipped with headphones and ice cream cone. So lather on that SPF 45 and turn these beats up loud.
10. The Welcome Wagon - Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices
Imagine you’re walking through Brooklyn and you stumble upon a quaint little church tucked away in Williamsburg, the doors are open, and there’s a faint acoustic lull of folk hymnals being sung. Now imagine you’re brave enough to leave all the sunday school baggage you’ve acquired over the years at the door, and you walk in to see the thirty-something-year-old Reverend Vito Aiuto playing guitar, his wife Monique harmonizing, Sufjan Stevens on banjo, and a small chamber singing and hand-clapping along to these lovely songs. Now imagine they go from playing a Puritan hymn like “I Know That My Redeemer Lives” to a cover of “High” by The Cure. Still with me? No? That’s because The Welcome Wagon take the boring old church songs of your youth (along with some others) and make them surprisingly fun to listen to. I know it’s hard to believe, but even if you have no faith in the God they sing about, it’s hard to doubt their ability to render a catchy folk tune. Still skeptical? Read more about the record here. It’s called Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices and it’s due out June 12 via Sufjan’s label, Asthmatic Kitty.
In keeping with the theme of husband and wife duos and Biblical imagery, Peaking Lights are next on the list with their new album, Lucifer, which is to be released on june 18 via Weird World. While you wont find this couple singing child-like folk tunes, you will experience them rocking a style of lo-fi dub-pop that pleasantly bleeds out through narcoleptic speakers. A good example is their first single off the record called “Lo Hi”, which features spattered drum processions blanketed with the soft cooing vocals and unitelligable baby talk. Trippy.
Together for the first time since 1996’s Broken Arrow, Neil Young and Crazy Horse will release a concoction of old and new folk songs, fittingly entitled Americana, on June 5. The record will feature covers of traditional folk tunes like, “Oh Susannah” and “This Land Is Your Land”. In what sounds like a seemingly unnecessary explanation for the album, Neil Young likes to set the record strait saying, "What ties these songs together is the fact that while they may represent an America that may no longer exist, the emotions and scenarios behind these songs still resonate with what’s going on in the country today with equal, if not greater impact nearly 200 years later.”
Liars will release their sixth LP WIXIW (apparently pronounced “wish you”) on June 5 via Mute. Coming off their strom-cloud shrouded 2010 release Sisterworld, the New York art-rockers you’ve come to know and love haven’t changed much sonically. Have a listen to the first single "No 1. Against The Rush" below.
Dntel is the nonsensical self-given sobriquet of electronic artist Jimmy Taberello, better known as the other half of The Postal Service, although he has released more titles under the former moniker (7 LPs, 2 EPs). On his newest project Aimlessness, Taberello has gotten some help from fellow electro-maniacs Baths and Nite Jewel. The first cut from the record, “Still”, features spoken word vocals fused with pulsating vocal samples, which all meld together with a foot-stomping metronome and soft cymbal crashes. Aimlessness is out June 5 via Pampa.
Formerly known as The Morning Benders, POP ETC know how to write a great indie pop record. Having toured with the likes of Broken Bells and Grizzly Bear, the Berkeley trio had found a way to combine their influences to produce a sort of hazed-out, retro Cali-pop album. Their new self-titled endeavor may look to go in another direction with the lead single, “Live It Up”, sounding more R&B influenced with a thick hip hop beat layout and auto-tuned lead vocals galore. It seems that The Morning Benders have dropped their all-too obvious name for a more ambiguous alias, but all pseudonyms aside, these beats sound pretty dope and are due out June 12. Check out the video for “Live It Up” below.
Electro-pop darlings, Hot Chip, were due for an album. Although it’s only been 2 short years since the acclaimed One Life Stand, 2012 has been waiting for that awesomely dance-tastic album to hit, and Hot Chip’s latest In Our Heads has potential to be that summer doozy we've been waiting for. With groovy tracks like “Night and Day” blowing bubbles of whismsical bass and keys there’s a high chance that this album could be a party time success. The record is out June 12.
3. DIIV - Oshin
I recently saw the video for the new DIIV track, “How Long Have You Known?” and I thought it was pretty brilliant. It’s basically some dude throwing all these different elements of civilization (a light bulb, a compass, a piece of a clock, a crucifix, lava lamp) into a blender, mixing it, and stuffing it into a capsule at the end to take as a metaphoric dose of sorts. Yes, the symbolism is a bit heavy-handed. Yes, it’s sort of like a “Will It Blend?” video. Yes, it’s an awesome song. Formally known as Dive, the side project of Beach Fossils' Zachary Cole Smith will release Oshin on June 26 via Captured Tracks.
Vancouver rockers Japandroids are back with their second studio album after releasing the teen-pop favorite Post-Nothing in 2009. The group follows the same guidelines that made Post-Nothing so popular, with tracks like “Fire’s Highway” and “The House That Heaven Built” wrought in glorious summer-guilded, road-tripping, keg-tipping fashion with just a tinge of maturity in the songwriting department, which only makes this record that much better than its predecessor. The album is officially out June 5 via Polyvinyl.
Swedish folkie Kristian Matsson’s style of songwriting has left a lasting impression on me. As a Dylan devotee, it’s tempting to make comparisons, especially with The Tallest Man On Earth’s signature grunt and astute fingerpicking, but there is something still so much more innovative and interpretive about Matsson’s ability to lead even the staunchest of urbanites to the Scandinavian field and stream, that it would be an act in futility to place him prematurely beside the folk legend who has not stopped making music since 1962. Instead we need to evaluate tracks like “Troubles Will Be Gone” and “A Lion’s Heart” from 2010’s The Wild Hunt and realize that they both transcend and instill everything about folk music in the way that they take particular images and span them across an ethereal landscape. The music is sonically organic as the ideas are alive and kicking and The Tallest Man on Earth does this by sifting his ideas through a barbaric yawp-colored filter. But there’s no doubt that there would be no Tallest Man without Bob Dylan, and there would be no Dylan without Woody Guthrie, and so on and so forth; so goes the family tree of musical influence. “1904” off his latest There’s No Leaving Now is entirely prepossessing and entrancing. The record comes out June 12 via Dead Oceans. And even though you can't hear all of the music just yet, you can still check out a complete track listing accompanied with lyrics to every song here.
Many of these clearly written by someone who doesn't listen to the band that they wrote the blurb for. Good job.
what do you mean by that?
I think he means that some of the key details when speaking about the band are a little off. It comes off as well written, but only with cursory knowledge of the groups being discussed. For example, the "some dude" in the DIIV video is Zachary Cole Smith. Also, calling Liars "the london trio" might get you punched in the face in some circles.
thank god I'm not in those circles, those people sound like jerks.
Can't wait for that Dntel album.
I downloaded the Tallest Man on Earth album last night and it's incredible
Why can't we all just be excited about new music?! New music is great! And so is summer! What isn't great is negative people, they suck. Cheers!
truth is told!