The Gaslight Anthem

The Gaslight Anthem – “American Slang”

I realize I’m a little late coming to this conclusion, but The Gaslight Anthem are a really, really good punk band. I’ve been casually listening to the New Jersey quartet for about a year, ever since my brother played their song “Wooderson”, which appeared on the Vans Warped Tour 2008 compilation. Lately though, I’ve been listening to the band’s incredibly well-received 2008 album, The ’59 Sound, which I haven’t been able to get enough of. Filled with catchy guitar riffs, huge, anthemic choruses, several ballads that tug at the ‘ol heartstrings, and more literary and musical references than you can shake a stick at (including, but not limited to: Bob Seger, Bruce Springsteen, Charles Dickens‘ Great Expectations, Miles Davis, and Tom Petty), I’ve discovered it’s the perfect iPod soundtrack to my early morning runs down Parliament Street and along the waterfront. “American Slang” is the first single off the band’s upcoming third album with the same name, scheduled for release on June 15th.

The Gaslight Anthem will be playing at Osheaga in Montreal this summer and will be at the Sound Academy (!!!) on July 14th.

The Black Keys – “Next Girl”

No one sings about the ladies quite like Dan Auerbach. In the past, the Black Keys‘ lead singer and guitarist has waxed poetic about the girls he’s lusted after (“Girl Is On My Mind”), the girls he’s left behind (“Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be”), and the girls who were just plain crazy (“Psychotic Girl”). At times, his lyrics evoke the spirit of the great American bluesmen such as Muddy Waters, Junior Kimbrough, Howlin’ Wolf, etc. Throw in the powerhouse drumming of Patrick Carney with talented contributors, such as producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse (who worked on the band’s last album, 2008′s Attack & Release), plus a reputation for high-energy live performances, and you have a recipe for success. After taking a break to pursue other projects — Auerbach’s solo album and the duo’s BlakRoc project which featured guest vocals from some of the biggest names in hip-hop — they are back with the fifth full-length Keys album, entitled Brothers. “Next Girl” is a catchy-as-hell, blues-rock barnburner, with Auerbach vowing, “My next girl, will be nothing like my ex-girl”.  Plus, the music video for this song features numerous bikini-clad beauties and a dinosaur puppet named Frank. What’s not to like about that?

The Akron, Ohio duo will be playing an all-ages show on August 3rd at the Kool Haus.

The Dead Weather – “Forever My Queen” and “Blue Blood Blues”

Young bands, take note: this is how you get a headlining spot at Coachella, not to mention pretty much every other major North American summer festival. The Dead Weather‘s newest album, Sea of Cowards, is in-stores now. And it’s entirely awesome.

Girl Crisis – “White Rabbit”

Zola Jesus feat. Dead Luke – “Somebody To Love”

If there’s a better reference of a song in a novel than Jefferson Airplane‘s “White Rabbit” being used in Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas‘ infamous “bathtub scene” (recreated here in the 1998 film adaptation, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro), than I’ve yet to read it. And apparently I’m not the only one that’s a fan of the pioneering Sixties psychedelic rock band lead by (incredibly badass) vocalist Grace Slick. Girl Crisis is an ongoing collaboration between some talented female singers, including members of Brooklyn bands Au Revoir Simone, Chairlift, and Telepathe, who recently got together to record this blissed-out, dream-pop version of Jefferson Airplane’s ode to psychedelic drugs and Alice In Wonderland. They don’t have a MySpace or website just yet, just a series of YouTube videos of the band covering songs such as Nirvana‘s “Come As You Are” and Sade’s “Smooth Operator”, shot in washed-out Super 8 by Bek Anderson. Zola Jesus is Arizona singer/songwriter Nika Rosa Danilova, who makes lo-fi, experimental, gothic-tinged pop, that fans of Fever Ray, The Knife and/or Siouxsie Sioux will enjoy. Listen to her eerie cover of “Somebody To Love” and songs from her latest EP, Stridulum, over at Danilova’s MySpace.

She and her live band will also be in Toronto for two shows at this year’s NXNE, so be sure to check them out.

Chiddy Bang -”The Opposite Of Adults”

MGMT – “Electric Feel (Keys N Krates x Grandtheft Live Remix)”

Let’s do a quick survey. How many of you out there either bought or downloaded MGMT‘s debut album? I’m willing to bet that most of you, like myself and countless others,  have Oracular Spectacular or at least one of the album’s many singles (“Kids”, “Time To Pretend”, “Electric Feel”) in their iTunes library. Now, of those of you who said yes, how many of you have bought or downloaded MGMT’s second album? (sound of crickets chirping) While Congratulations has yet to catch on commercially amongst fans quite like the first one did, the New York City duo of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden are still getting some mileage (not to mention royalty fees) from the record that Rolling Stone named the 18th best album of the decade. Chiddy Bang are two fresh-faced college kids from Philly,  DJ/producer Xaphoon Jones and rapper Chiddy, who are poised to become one of this year’s biggest hip-hop breakout acts. I don’t know if bloggers use the term “backpacker rap” anymore, but Chiddy Bang definitely have more in common with say Cool Kids or Kidz In The Hall, than they do with 50 Cent or Kanye. They’ve built a steady buzz for themselves, thanks to a stream of free online mixtapes, featuring songs that sample Gorillaz, La Roux, Passion Pit, Radiohead, and others. Bonus points for the Anchorman reference. The second song is a nifty remix of “Electric Feel” that comes courtesy of Toronto-based collective Keys N Krates and Montreal’s Grandtheft. It breathes new life into a tune that’s been everywhere since it came out (via 1 LOVE T.O.).

M.I.A. – “Born Free” and “XXXO”

In case you’ve been living under a rock (and even then, it’d have to be a pretty large rock), M.I.A. is back with a new album (the annoyingly-titled /\/\/\Y/\, which is set for a July 13th North American release), an incredibly graphic Romain Gavras-directed video (which is similar to the video the director did for Justice‘s “Stress”) for “Born Free”, and the album’s first single, “XXXO”, which might be the most poppiest song that Maya has ever recorded.  Judge the new tracks for yourself by heading over to the website for M.I.A.’s record label N.E.E.T. here (be warned though: if you have a past history of seizures, then you’d be well-advised to avoid).

The Hood Internet – “Rude Baptism (Rihanna vs. Crystal Castles)”

Well, well, well, what do we have here? The Hood Internet take an incredibly sub-par single by the Barbadian singer-turned America’s sweetheart-turned gossip rag editors’ wet dream, pairs it with one of the better cuts off the new Crystal Castles album, for a completely unexpected (and awesome) mashup. I don’t know what would constitute a “rude baptism”, but I do know that I’ve found my musical guilty pleasure for the summer, and this one is going to be played at my house parties from now till September.

HEALTH -”USA Boys”

HEALTH like keeping busy. When the Los Angeles noise-rock quartet aren’t touring, creating new music, or making the best videos you’ll never see on MTV (see here, here, and here), they are putting out stellar remixes of their own tunes. Many of the acts that have reinterpreted HEALTH songs have gone on to larger success, including Toronto’s Crystal Castles, Montreal’s CFCF, and Denver’s Pictureplane, among others. The band’s DISCO is one of the finest remix albums I have in my iTunes (save perhaps Bloc Party‘s Silent Alarm Remixed), and come this June 22nd, we will see the sequel. DISCO2 will also feature new single “USA Boys”, which was mixed by legendary producer Alan Moulder (who has worked with the likes of Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and more). Listen to it and check out the track-listing over at Pitchfork here.