The Sounds - Better Off Dead

"Why don't you kill me with your love?"

Well this is certainly a nice surprise! The Sounds have sprung a new track on us today -- not the upcoming single (or at least I don't think it is), but a crackling album track from their newest release. On first listen, I'm liking it a lot better than the first offering from their last album. For the first half of the track, Better Off Dead functions much like you'd expect it to, a catchy piece of dance-rock alternating between male and female vocals. Then, about halfway through everything goes silent, only to come storming back in a monstrous, almost symphonic attack of beats and synths and a few vocals. It's really quite impressive and ambitious and manages to sound different from the group's previous material while keeping their trademark sound. The band's done something kind of cool on their website, too. A few weeks back they had bands download the sheet music for this track and record their own cover versions without ever hearing the original. The winning cover will feature as the b-side to the single. Awesome idea!

Better Off Dead by The Sounds Official

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Buy their albums here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Set Fire Run - Undeniable (Blaming The Flaming Youth)

"I'm holding the kid inside responsible"

I know I just posted a song from these guys a couple of weeks ago, but with another 100 fans added to their facebook army, Set Fire Run have released another new song. I am so dead set on getting these guys the attention and success they deserve that I'll keep writing about tracks until it happens. A band can come out of nowhere with the right song, especially in a musically open country like Sweden. It happened with The Pusher (formally known as Fashion)--another severely under-known Swedish band who I wrote about all the way back in last August when only one or two others were. Their song, Blinded By The Dark, was a hit-in-waiting then, and now, over half a year later, it's come out of nowhere and is sitting at number one on the itunes singles chart. This is how it's supposed to happen, and this is the way I want it to happen for Set Fire Run (even, ironically, down to the name change). Any band who can release this many awesome songs (I've heard 20 originals and a cover thus far) in such a short space will reap rewards when the time is right. I think it's building for Set Fire Run right now, but like any indie upstart, they need support. Fan them on facebook, follow them on twitter. Etc etc. But above all else, marvel at their talent.

Undeniable (Blaming the Flaming Youth) by Set Fire Run

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Listen to more here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Patrick Wolf - The City

"Won't let the city destroy our love"

Man, I am loving this new Patrick Wolf single. I've been a little frustrated with him of late. I was very underwhelmed by his last album, but then there was that track Hard Times (also one of the singles) which was, quite frankly, stunning and deserved much more credit than it received. A few years earlier, I was a big fan of his "commercial" album The Magic Position, so I guess his music is just a real mixed bag with me. This, though, is such a promising, Summery pop track. He's got such an incredible gift--both vocally and as a songwriter. And when he focuses that energy into a straightforward, commercial (I hate that word, but can't think of anything more appropriate) melody, he creates a classic. The brilliance is that he still manages to retain his quirkiness even as the hooks aim for radio. I hope the rest of the album is similar to this, because I am addicted!

Patrick Wolf The City by howmanyofyouarebroke?

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Explore the previous album here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Father McKenzie - Slow Motion

"My heart is here on the dancefloor"

Father McKenzie, a half-Swedish, half-Finnish band competing to represent Finland in Eurovision '11 (I wonder how the Swede half feels?), made it one step closer last weekend with their track Good Enough. As far as piano-driven pop/rock goes, it's pretty darn good. I hope to see them continue to do well. On their website, they offer a trio of demos for free download. Two are pretty standard, downtempo songs, but I found this one pretty interesting. It has a bit of a rough sound (needs a little more oomph, which will probably come when it's polished up), but I like that it shows their more uptempo side. The lead singer is also a keyboardist, which shows in this track. There's a simple melody at play, much like those of the band who's song doubtlessly inspired their name (and if you don't know what Father McKenzie refers to, you should). I see a lot of potential here!

Father McKenzie - Slow Motion by alienhits

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Download the mp3s here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.

Neon Hitch - Get Over U

"You've taken the best"

It seemed like this track was everywhere on the internet this weekend. People are definitely loving Neon Hitch. I did not love Neon Hitch up to this point, but this song definitely turns me around. Yes, it sounds like a long lost Robyn single (to be specific, the imaginary follow-up to With Every Heartbeat), but given that Robyn is THE popstar of the current era, that is not a bad thing at all. I just love this moody, electropop sound. There's something so stately about a melody like this. I don't know if it will be all that successful (my gut says it won't) and unless Neon Hitch churns out an album like this (please do!), the song's going to forever come across as a bandwagon jumper. So, in summary: EXCELLENT song, but I'm gonna have to wait and see about the artist behind it. (Especially since this track is written by Sia, and not Neon Hitch herself)

Neon Hitch "Get Over You" by PilotCreativeServicesInc

(Music posted for evaluation purposes only. If you like what you hear, support the artists. Listen to more here. Follow me on twitter and facebook.