SPARK SOUNDS

'Success!' the first word Philly based singer songwriter Alex Giannascoli shouts in his most recent single 'Harvey' off of his highly anticipated record DSU may very well be indicative of his own future as a musician.

'Harvey' follows in Alex G's previous lo-fi, simplistic style with aggressive acoustic guitar strumming and toy piano melodies accompanied by his almost lazy, yet still catchy, vocals. It's difficult not to fall head first into it's lullaby charm.

The song itself appears to be an audio accompaniment to the album artwork. A sort of glorification of athletic achievements and 'success' as a whole while Harvey, a seemingly less auspicious and younger character, remains to be an important figure in the narrator's life. 'I love you, Harvey, I don't care.' 

Everything I have heard off of DSU thus far has been some of Giannascoli's most accessible and composed work. Easy to listen to without lacking in creativity. DSU has easily become one of the records I am most looking forward to listening to this summer. 

DSU is set to be released on June 17th via Orchid Tapes. 

Bombay Bicycle Club, having just released their fourth full-length, So Long, See You Tomorrow at the start of February, have announced the release of a new limited edition 7" available on Record Store Day (April 19). The single will include a demo version of the title track off of So Long, See You Tomorrow along with a new song 'To The Bone.'

The band, along with drummer Suren de Saram's father on the cello, announced this release by performing 'To The Bone' live on the acclaimed authentic live performance YouTube channel Watch Listen Tell. 

California based songwriter James Fauntleroy has recently released a string of tracks on his soundcloud page. 

I can think of no better place for my first listen of La Dispute’s upcoming record Rooms Of The House than my grandmother’s home on the northern coast of Massachusetts. Observing life in a winter ravaged town left relatively unchanged since the 1940s, rifling through boxes of old photographs in the back of closets, and listening to bottled up stories of tragedy that my grandmother has accumulated over the years, eagerly awaiting my ears to pour them into, I had spent the days prior to the release unknowingly compiling images in my mind that would act as visual as I listened to the record.

On paper, this record might look like every other La Dispute album. Passionately upset and grief stricken, Jordan Dreyer wails in his familiar melodic spoken word manner throughout Rooms Of The House. His haunted voice transitions from his quiet speaking voice to his fits of uncontrollable emotional shouting smoothly in tracks such as ‘THE CHILD WE LOST 1963’ and ‘HUDSONVILLE MI 1956’, which I find to be the most reminiscent of La Dispute’s work on their previous record Wildlife. From historical tragedies to family misfortune, woe in all its forms has been an ever present theme throughout La Dispute’s music. Those motifs are not lost in Rooms Of The House but Dreyer has done a good job of coming up with new outlets of suffering to explore.

From what I've been able to decipher from my mom's white lie ridden stories of growing up in Ohio in the 70s and 80s, her taste in music, and her affinity for Lindsay in Freaks & Geeks, I like to think we would have gotten along really well. Sort of like Marty McFly and his mom in the first Back To The Future flick, minus the weird crush she had on him.

Listening to Texas based Radioactivity brings me back to when punk music just started embracing certain pop elements into it's sound. Uncouthly fumbling between pop rock and fuzzy distortion, Radioactivity reminds me of countless bands my mom showed me when I started really getting into music as a tweenager. I love that punk music is going back to the root of it’s sound, finding that lo-fi ferocity, and bringing it back with a 21st century twist.

Radioactivity is somewhat of a continuation of frontman Jeff Burke’s band The Novice which he left behind when returning to the United States from Japan. With the help of a self-described ‘all-star lineup of Texas punk and garage rock royalty’, Burke and Radioactivity released their first of two albums through Denton, TX based Dirtnap Records. An infectious Ramones-esque sound that doesn’t have a single low point, their self-titled record release October of last year was hands down one of my favorite albums of 2013.

Listen to the whole album here

When Mac Demarco announced the details for his third studio album earlier today, much of the record’s specifics seemed fairly obvious. Its title, Salad Days, recognizes Demarco’s usual aptness for nonsensical wit, and its artwork features the title in an erratically scribbled font against the portrait of a gazing—probably stoned—Demarco. Upon the first note in Salad Days’ debut single, “Passing Out Pieces,” however, it’s clear that this won’t be part two of the guitar-driven, jangle pop record Demarco put out in 2012. Since the sophomore album’s release, Demarco’s status as indie rock’s most talented goofball has skyrocketed, and this newfound fame is the subject of “Passing Out Pieces.” As a horn section introduces the track with a soulfulness unknown to the gap-toothed Canadian’s previous work, Demarco’s familiar matter-of-fact lyricism centers on the uncomfortable increase in attention received in the past year. A reverb-based guitar riff surfaces in the song’s chorus, nodding back to a style Demarco established with his first two releases. With an obvious progression in Demarco’s songwriting, these common distinctions create an entirely fresh sound on “Passing Out Pieces.”

Salad Days will be released through Captured Tracks on April 1.

Frontman of the now defunct (and seriously under-appreciated) cutesy indie rock Seattle band Throw Me The Statue Scott Reitherman has not let the his band's obsolete status stop him from writing. 

The once Secretly Canadian associated musician has now begun releasing his music through Polyvinyl Records under the name Pillar Point. 

Reitherman has taken dance music into a more despondent direction with his new project. Pillar Point's analog disco cloak does not mask the true thematic gloominess of his music.

His most recent release off his upcoming debut record titled 'Cherry' is a swirl of synths and Reitherman's infectious vocal melodies that keeps leaving me feeling kind of sad but more inclined to dance. I guess Pillar Point just leaves me in a mess of emotions every time. 

Debut self-titled record set to be released the 2/25 

A month after the release of the 9 minute long anthemic 'Argentina', Tokyo Police Club have released their second single off the highly anticipated record Forcefield set to be released on the 25th of March (a day after my birthday!) 

Dave Monks, bassist and frontman of the Canadian group, had this to say to Pitchfork about the vivacious, more pop influenced 'Hot Tonight.'

“Since writing started for Forcefield in mid-2011 there have been so many trends and every kind of ‘wave.’ We saw them all come and disappear or change into something broader. It left us wanting to make something that would last. We ended up rediscovering energy and guitars and simple, direct songs. There was certainly a lot of pressure to take the music somewhere new and there were lots of opinions about how to do that, but in the end we blocked all that out and followed our instincts. I think that’s what Forcefield is—it doesn’t matter what else is going on out there, the music just has to be honest and have a real feeling to it.”

Merge Records' Hospitality have just released their second single 'Rockets and Jets' off their upcoming sophomore record Trouble scheduled for the 28th of January. 

Following in the footsteps of their acclaimed label mates Arcade Fire, Hospitality have embraced a certain darkness to their sound with 'Rockets and Jets'. A running deep bass line coupled with an undeniably stern synth that takes control of the song helps distinguishes Hospitality from other more happy-go-lucky indie pop acts. 

The power and control that 17 year old Tim Bettison has over his falsetto is difficult to find. The vocal technique employed by the Brisbane teenager in his two tracks 'Collapse' and 'Vapour'  is hard not to compare to the likes of Justin Vernon who, in sorts, has made this type of falsetto singing his signature style.  

The two electronic based dream pop songs that Bettison has released bring forth imagery that the project's name alone create's as he self-describes as conjuring up 'imagery of long cold winters, of isolation and remoteness and the sometimes self-imposed reclusiveness in all of us as the days get shorter and we move into the bitter months ahead.'

I'm not sure what a 17 year old from Australia knows about cold winters but he emulates the same feeling that Justin Vernon did while recording in a cabin in Wisconsin and that is no easy feat. 

Francis Lung, otherwise known as Tom McClung, the former bassist for defunct 'heavy pop' band Wu Lyf, has just released his first official single as a solo act.  

A captivating 6 and a half minute indie pop masterpiece, 'A Selfish Man' brings out lyrical discontent which could be interpreted as a reference to the messy disbanding of McClung's former band or, more simply, his perceptions of himself as a selfish lover. 

However unhappy the song may seem on paper, the instrumentation and melodies bring forth nothing but a joy as McClung sings over a disco groove accompanied by a guitar riff that FOALS wish they had thought of first. 

Who said angry music had to sound angry? 

To my ears, the microphone hiss of a quickly put together demo surpasses any sort of production one might indulge in once given the opportunity. As far as I can tell, 'Just A Dream' is Vancouver based Tobias Jesso Jr's only release. The raw emotion on the track shines through it's simplicity. A single vocal track and piano. 

Something about the way Jesso plays reminds me of something Randy Newman would write on a rainy day.  

Self-described punctual punk outfit Big Ups is bringing a whole new sound to the New York punk scene. Vocalist, Joe Galarraga, has mastered the transition from the Lou Reed-esque spoken word to shouting fury in 'Goes Black', the first single off of the band's upcoming LP Eighteen Hours of Static (set to be released the 13th of January on vinyl.) 

A perfect track for anyone who is finding themselves questioning everything and can't seem to shake that feeling of how fast life goes by. 

Canadian indie rock outfit Tokyo Police Club has just released their first original track titled 'Argentina' since their last record Champ which came out on Mom + Pop in mid 2010. 

The typical TPC lyrical charm and simplicity is still present but the band seems to be moving in a more experimental direction. 'Argentina', a nine minute, three part indie rock anthem, is clearly a step in a new direction for the almost cult status indie act. 

With a voice not unlike that of Elena Tonra of staple UK indie band Daughter, Ellie Price shines brightly as the frontwoman of Isle Of Wight based math outfit Signals.

A surround sound of twangy, twinkling guitars and intricate drumming distinct to the genre, coupled with Price's enchantingly strong voice give Signals. the edge needed to standout. Their sophomore EP Facial Furniture delves deeper into their math roots compared to their more pop focused Square Wheels EP. 

I don't like to speak too soon but Signals. may very well be the next math related band to make it push it's way into popular music. Following in the footsteps of FOALS, who introduced many people to the rhythmically complex sub-genre of indie rock with their sophomore record Total Life Forever.

The Belgian natives, now London based Mannequins on 7th Street are setting themselves up to take the electronic pop scene by storm. Upon the release of their first track 'Wailing Of Hesione', frontman Alexander Lambrecht and producer Tim de Fontaine instantly saw the attention they deserved by amassing thousands of plays and a handful of blogs praising their mournful indie pop sound. 

Their second release 'Sofia', a Vanilla Sky inspired dreamy ballad, has reaped even more success and established Mannequins as more than a one hit, first single wonder. A lot is expected of the young duo, but no one is expecting a let down. 

Grand Beach's Everybody Else brings back the memory of Tubelord in their prime only this time, armed with warm acoustic instrumentation. One of the many music projects of Winnipeg's Alexander Litinsky, Grand Beach brings something completely unique to the table. After falling in love with A.M. Overcast, Litinsky's solo math rock project, for filling in a void in my music collection I didn't even know was  there, I decided to look into his other work. All I found, apart from more great project such as his work remixing Minnsota, WI  by Bon Iver as Broken English, were more holes in my music library that I now could fill.