The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Early 2010

Acrylics - "All of the Fire"

Right as 2009 wound down, the last new jingle I heard that I responded to was this local act that I thought was a pure Deli Magazine discovery but turned out was a Stereogum-prepped hit-to-be (ain't that a modern music phrasing). Reminds me of Fleetwood Mac but likable. There's also this band out there from Los Angeles called Music Go Music who sound like Abba. What is going on?

The Bravery - "Slow Poison"

Big cheese mainstream modern pop-rock...in a good way. I would never sell this to your grandkids as gold but it sure beats the heck out of whatever else is really popular these days. Who is that anyway? What's her name? The blond girl with the grammys that Kanye hated on? Whoseits...

Basia Bulat - Heart of My Own

The LP is not dead! Basia Bulat has constructed another, maybe even stronger, full length album of songs for a winter's night. Particularly listen to "The Shore". Good lord.

Dawes - "When My Time Comes"

The full album listening is hours away but it can no longer wait. The word must be spread - with harmonies as pristine as some thing in nature to fulfill this analogy, and with more than a friendly helping of inspiration from the likes of The Band, here are Dawes and one of those laid back but effervescently powerful numbers. You'd so expect them to be another beard-and-plaid band but they ain't. How about that?

Editors - "Papillon"

Everyone I hear or read in regards to the new Editors record say they sound very different. I don't hear the difference. In fact I continue to hear the band that does Interpol better than Interpol. They put out something good each time, and they do it again with, at the very least, this Factory Records tribute which should not be confused with the Airborne Toxic Event song of the same name.

Hot Chip - One Life Stand

See? Again. Rumors of the album's demise were exaggerated - though not greatly and admittedly eventually will be true...maybe. The resilient boys in the Hot Chip will not give up on the ol' complete documentation of efforts and why should they? Clubbing, by all accounts, would be a dead art form if not for these Brits. The title track alone is enough to merit the love.

The Low Anthem - "Charlie Darwin"

It took a better part of a year to finally give a solid listen to just this one song after hearing show after show via the interweb of this very stark, crisp band. By the end of the year I'll have the whole record down (it took 8 months to finally listen to the entire Fanfarlo record and that turned out delayed gangbusters). As deeply intellectual and heartfelt without pretension as it can get.

Pains of Being Pure at Heart - "Higher Than the Stars"

Not quite ready for another album, the Pains couldn't let this one wait or slip by. A good old fashioned single! It still remains to be seen if this band is a continuous sound or a more varied enterprise but this indicates some consistency and that's very fine for them.

Patrick Thomas - Build Me A City

After catching this chap at Rockwood, I was mightily impressed. The record is fine, especially something called "Spring Street Baby" which is like Randy Newman down in the Big Easy on a Saturday Night.

Willowz - "Destruction"

I've seen Willowz twice. I saw the goods but I was underwhelmed. Something wasn't gelling. Lo and behold, some years on, they are still going. And not only are they going, they have ARRIVED. "Destruction" is a no-fooling-around rock song, just a few minutes in the mess o' glory. Good work kids. You won me.

Yeasayer - "Ambling Alp"

Didn't loathe that first Yeasayer album but I wasn't exactly all over it like the vast majority of the Indie rock world. They were the thinking man's answer to Vampire Weekend (bill buddies once upon a time FYI) but that didn't necessarily mean they were better. Well hold the phone Charlie. Check this out. While large chunks of the accompanying album leave much to be desired, take this song, wrap it up, and send it to everyone you know because already I can't see a better song coming out this year. This is something else. What a wallop. It sounds like the best of their Brooklyn cohorts in MGMT, with whiffs of the Flaming Lips and the previous album's sound to boot. Just a perfect song. Stick up for yourself, son!

Honorable Mentions:

ALO - "Man of the World"
Cute Lepers - "Smart Accessories"
Lightspeed Champion - "Marlene"
Two Door Cinema Club - "Eat That Up, It's Good for You"