Jukebox: The Silver Palms - "Superstar"

Recent sonic trends have pushed radio rock towards experimental, atmospheric haziness, but as Camden, Georgia band The Silver Palms proves, there's something to be said for the unabashedly bright, lighthearted tunes that populated airwaves in the days of old. Debut single "Superstar" doesn't use a lot of building blocks, starting off with a catchy guitar riff and Dalton Drury's plaintive, matter-of-fact vocal before galloping into a chorus that soars on the strength of a hook built for shouting together--a bit punch-drunk but completely sincere--and a galvanizing drum beat. Old tricks have been polished for modern times, with a slightly sinister bent to the jangly production, guitar riffs layered here and sinking into oblivion there, but the band is smart to keep things simple and sweet.



You can find The Silver Palms on tour; catch its debut single on Canvasclub on March 10.

Jukebox: VARNA - "My Heart"

As the origin story of Los Angeles rock trio VARNA suggests, life can be random; the members met while installing a fan in the vocalist's house. On the band's single "My Heart," however, the chemistry is undeniable. If the concept is a bit middle-of-the-road, the dynamic execution blows temptations of cynicism away. The verse-chorus structure is intact, but the band shifts things up right when you're settled in--a new rhythm here, a melodic tangent there. Drummer Rob Shin shifts from mellow, layered rhythms to ferocious, in-your-face ones; guitarist Rossen Pinkas riffs and shreds for his life; and vocalist Tiana Woods delivers anger and sorrow with a fiery elegance. It's a strong statement of intent and a good reminder that sometimes the best things in life come from sincerity and talent.

Jukebox: MONA - "Stand By Me"

Ben E. King based his famous '80s hit "Stand By Me" off of an old Christian spiritual, and the underlying connotations lent the song an unusual darkness. Though it bounced along on sunny guitar strums and cherubic string arrangements, King suggested more was on the line. He didn't deliver the title so much as he begged it, his voice fraying as he asked his "darling" to stay by his side--perhaps his love, perhaps his God, but who really knew?

The original left the tension as subtext, but Nashville rock outfit MONA brings it to the forefront on its haunting, visceral cover of the song, commissioned for the upcoming season of Hannibal. Church bells echo through the periphery like relics of a world lost, while frontman Nick Brown dwells on the apocalyptic implications of the lyrics, his drafty tenor wafting over the understated horror of each image. The further in we get, the more vividly the song draws the nightmare, adding in ominous bass drum, ghostly gospel harmonies, and arid guitar lines--and the more fervent Brown's voice grows, from a pained coo to a bone-chilling yowl. "Here comes trouble, won't you stand by me?" he thunders near song's end, a question rendered ethereal but impossible to deny.

Jukebox: Tideland - "Starblood"

There has been a lot of talk of "revival" these past few years, be it grunge, Midwestern emo or whatever combination of the two seems most appealing at the time.  While certainly capable of slipping into that problematic label, Tideland, whose noise originates in Sterling, Va., seems a bit more wont to operate outside of modern sonic de rigueur and simply play the music they want to play.  "Starblood," the opening track on their third proper full-length, is a dreamy, textural lapse into the cloudy chaos of the 90s—nostalgic, but far from dependent on convention.  Methodical guitar bends skillfully slip the track in and out of focus as mbv-redolent walls of fuzz overtake the consistent, crisp cymbals.  Once the post-rock tremolo hits about halfway through, the purity of Tideland's purpose outshines any moribund talk of revival with something far greater: rejoicing.

Jukebox: Galimatias & Sorrow - Subside

No sooner had I finally gotten off my arse to buy a cable to connect my laptop to two pretty nasty speakers (previously they only connected to a record player, so spent most of their time as paperweights) than this little beauty decides to swan its way into Soundcloud.

Sorrow did all kinds of wonderful things to dubstep last year: Dreamstone defied all expectations to solidify itself as the best dubstep release of 2013 and the later Warring EP made a very good case for the harsher, heavy side of the genre in a scene now dominated by the emotional style of Asa et al. Galimatias, on the other hand, has been producing a series of super-smooth singles for a while now, culminating in the lovely little beat-based Young Chimera last year.

Put them together and you get the catchiest track of the year so far. I realise this might not be saying too much, but this is no doubt about to explode across the net. With all that slow, bouncing bass and soft melodies this may as well hail itself as the ultimate end of the night experience. It's free as well. Check it out!

Watch This: Circuit Des Yeux - "Lithonia"

Something sinister is brewing in Chicago chamber pop artist Circuit des Yeux's new video for "Lithonia": while the strings begin in elegant swoops before slowly fraying into discord and guitar static makes a harsh intrusion, Haley Fohr's voice wrangles with big existential ruminations and questions ("What's freedom, and what's reality?"). The video plays with the way intimacy feeds into darkness, offering us an almost voyeuristic glimpse into Fohr's personal space as she changes clothes, camera honing in on the pimples on her back, chops off her hair, her hands trembling as she grips a pair of scissors, and drenches herself in sticky-sweet syrup. The liquid coats her face as if raining tears as she stares into our eyes, and even if the moment is uncomfortable the video still plays it as a moment of liberation.

Jukebox: Big Jesus - "Cold Fire"

Forever a Thrice fan, I tend to not take recommendations from Riley Breckenridge in stride, but when one of my favorite modern musicians additionally offers up his praise, how can I resist?  After repeated listens of their debut album, One, I can confirm with flying colors that Big Jesus, hailing from Atlanta, deserves every ounce of this big name adoration they can muster, even if my recommendation carries nowhere near as much weight as the aforementioned alternative music gods.  Record opener, "Cold Fire," serves as a fantastic introduction to the band's refined blend of huge, spacious sludge.  While the guitars are aggressive and dripping with fuzz, Spencer Ussery's dreamy singing is a perfect counterpoint to them, lulling listeners into a comfortable sleep just before jolting them awake again with the solo's generously applied wah.  Featuring Aaron Wamack, a former guitarist of O'brother, on drums with his explosive snare and crash cymbals, Big Jesus' talent only continues to build with each passing second.  When "Cold Fire" inevitably catches your attention, check out the accruing "My Being" and expansive "Ought to Take" for refined multiplications on the sound, and then purchase One from their Bandcamp for endless enjoyment.  Atmosphere this carefully cultivated won't stop delivering any time soon.

Jukebox: Confluence - "Awaiting"

The word "math" comes with connotations of calculation, as if everything is but a series of numbers and equations scrawled onto some apathetic kid's test paper: Denver math-rock band Confluence, however, defies that easy pigeonhole, offering brimming warmth to go with technically impressive rhythms and songwriting on its new single "Awaiting" (also available for free download below). Though the song's cadence is complex, going from 5/4 to 6/4 and everything in between, there's a resilience to its restlessness. The sunny bass melodies and the sharp bits of guitar swirling in here and there put the song firmly in Enemies territory, bubbling with tension even as they wash over the listener, while the vocal--more prominent here than in the work of most math-rock outfits--lends the ragtag arrangement gravity, outlining a relationship circling the drain before ending on an abrupt possibility: "They knew that they could make it happen." Sounds like something interesting is already happening here.

Confluence will be touring through the spring of 2014.

Jukebox: The Foreign Films - "Fall Of The Summer Heart"

Bill Majoros spent an year to visualize and record his new single "Fall Of The Summer Heart," and the long period of marination has yielded a delicious harvest. Over the track's thirteen minutes, it comprises eight different movements (Majoros, for his part, describes it as a "song within a song within a song") and touches on everything from brooding orchestral folk to sunny guitar-pop, holding listeners' hands through a tour of pop music's history. As a tribute, it's commendable, but it also shines as an epic in its own right. Each movement touches on a different aspect of the relationship Majoros is singing about, and the way he uses the different sensibilities of each genre to express his complex emotions makes for a emotionally resonant journey through time and love.

"Fall Of The Summer Heart" is the first single off of The Foreign Films' upcoming sophomore LP The Record Collector, which is slated for release in April 2014. It's streaming and available for free download below. You can also learn more about The Foreign Films at its official Facebook page.

Jukebox: Clear - "Sunlight"

Maybe it's the midterm slump I'm in that's making me go soft, but British five-piece Clear's new single "Sunlight" really sounds like a welcome ray of sun. It sounds like memories I cannot quite place but still resonate with me; the gentle, uplifting piano melodies transport me to the beaches of my childhood, while the band's fantastic harmonies evoke the sort of weary intimacy you usually expect from your parents. "There is nothing to keep my here," the guys sing, yet somehow listeners will find themselves perfectly content to stay for a little longer.

You can stream "Sunlight" below and find more on Clear by visiting its Facebook page.

Jukebox: Black Taxi - "The Runner"

"Most of us got houses, but none of us got homes," croons Ezra Huleatt at the start of Black Taxi's new single "The Runner," welcoming us to a world both familiar and exciting. New York City is bustling with plenty of aspiring electropop stars, but if this propulsive, synth-soaked cocktail of Two Door Cinema Club, ZEDD and the sons Mumford abandoned is any indication, this is one band that's wasting no time sprinting to the top. What sells me on this is the chorus, how it ever-so-slightly floats towards some sort of transcendence only to sink again: as glorious a feeling it may be wandering about the city streets late at night, it's going to be a hell of a hangover the next morning. Surprising how blissful it sounds for all the heavy thoughts, though. Makes me excited to see where this taxi's headed next.

Jukebox: Step Rockets - "Kisser"

Minneapolis quartet Step Rockets has drummed up some buzz with its single "Kisser," and it's clear why: on a skeleton of reggae plinks, the band stacks fizzy handclap routines, pretty synths, and bombastic drums. The resulting concoction is a happy indie-pop romp with just enough seduction to stick. Stream "Kisser" below, and make sure to look for another new single from the band come September!

Find more on Step Rockets at the band's official website or Facebook page.

Jukebox: Farewell Fighter - "Fall"

Let me just cut straight to the chase on this Jukebox entry: Farewell Fighter was the first new band I discovered in high school back in January 2011. Now it's the band that will soundtrack the last days of my senior year. I am inexplicably, unbelievably proud of the new album (my review will go up sometime this weekend), but for now, here's "Fall," one of the best songs off Challenges, which drops on August 6.

Jukebox: Nitri - Green Giant

As much as I hate to use worn-out terminology to describe music, Nitri's "Green Giant" is an absolute stomper. Everything about it screams "murdering the dancefloor," and it's constructed so that it can be a perfect catalyst for getting the crowd going. The crashing snares fit the tone of the piece well, and in conjunction with the menacing, mammoth bassline they work near perfection. The piece sounds of classic jungle, with the classic B-movie sample and simple yet lively drums pushing the atmosphere towards that well-known sound. However, Nitri puts enough of his own spin on things to make the tune his own, something not often seen in the DnB world. The phasers are oh so carefully crafted, the raggedy sound effects are deceptively fine-tuned, and the entire thing makes for a fun and energy-packed experience.

Stream the song here

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Jukebox: Speedy Ortiz - "No Below"

Speedy Ortiz debut record Major Arcana is a heady ride through splintered guitar lines and rhythms splayed out like an unplanned street grid. For a first outing, it’s bound to knock the wind out of you, shedding three cups of promise every 30 or so seconds. At about one-years old, they’re already writing songs like grown-ups and making the big kids look bad. 

Jukebox: Typhoon - "Young Fathers"

Oregon-based folk supergroup Typhoon often concerns itself with the passage of time, a theme that it continues to take in haunting, emotional directions with its latest single, "Young Fathers." As always, the band shows off its sun-kissed charm with soft ooohs, a hearty serving of choral camaraderie, and rich, jovial instrumentation (including horns, harmonica, lounge guitar, and maybe even a touch of trip-hop). For such a joyful display, though, the song's twistier than a strawberry Twizzler: a grizzled Spiderman, it swings from cobweb to cobweb picking at the pictures of a parent/child relationship long gone. Long-time listeners will know, however, that this is hardly music for moping, as Typhoon approaches this introspection with irresistible energy and a sincere, untarnished sense of wonder.

Sometimes, I worry that becoming an adult will mean letting go of happiness and hope and barren love, all those matters of the heart that we're warned will shrivel in the glare of the world. Why I love Typhoon--and why "Young Fathers" moves me so--is because it always reminds me that sometimes when you grow up, your heart grows a little bit too.



Typhoon's upcoming LP White Lighter is out August 20 on Roll Call Records.

Jukebox: Karnivool - The Refusal

There’s no doubt in my mind that Australian progressive-rockers Karnivool are perfectionists. Having only released two full length LP’s since their inception in 1997, it’s clear that every riff and every fill has been meticulously placed, and the idea of simply throwing a solo here or dumping a scream there is practically sacrilege. Substantiating this claim, both Themata and Sound Awake have been perceived by many as near masterpieces of their respective genres, and the band has all but become the benchmark which other prospective prog-rockers are measured against.

Jukebox: June Miller - From Autumn To Ashes

June Miller is one of the best new drum & bass duos in recent memory. Getting onto my soapbox for a second, most new acts stay within the confines of very "safe" music, keeping within the boundaries of standard jump-up beats or brutal neurofunk growls. June Miller, a duo made up of a Brit and a Dutchman, keeps the listener on their toes. First they might release a schizophrenic, paranoid banger like "64 Thousand Dollar Habit" with uneven patterns everywhere, then they might follow that up with the huge techstep piece "Snapcase" and its ominous, guttural wobbling. Point is, they're actually exciting and inventive in an industry-standard-fulfilling DnB world, and that's a very good thing.

Jukebox: Jimmy Eat World - I Will Steal You Back

Jimmy Eat World has always excelled at writing music about relationships and latest single "I Will Steal You Back" is no exception. Frontman Jim Adkins has described forthcoming album Damage as an "adult breakup record," and the theme is palpable on this track. It's a decidedly less romantic take on rekindling love, Adkins looks to 'steal' back his lover back after a lie has driven a wedge between him and his unnamed suitor, with an acknowledgement that Adkins is fighting a battle he's "sure to lose," but there's beauty in his hopelessness. His voice drips with yearning and the subtle inflections of words like "walls" make the emotions more palpable, the nuances more pronounced. Adkins has an ear for detail and puts it to good use on here in stark contrast to the overblown arrangements that dulled down 2010's Invented.

Damage was rumored to have a focus on acoustic guitar, but that element isn't as prevalent as the band's descriptions would have you believe. The acoustic is very much as part of the song, but it is far from the main attraction after the first verse. However, the purity of the acoustic strums provide a very nice accent for the main riffs and plucky bass. This is a new look for Jimmy Eat World, but still sounds very much like the group as it could have been a cut off of Clarity if the production sounded like that on Chase This Light. The ways the elements mesh work almost too perfectly, making "I Will Steal You Back" one of the stronger, if more contrived, songs JEW has made in the past seven years.

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Jukebox: Demons- The National

If nothing else, The National have mastered the art of restraint. Matt Berninger's baritone vocals always sound like they're on the verge of breaking into a huge chorus or a soaring bridge, but they never do. It's a bit tantalizing, listening to The National, they go small where they could go big and their tempered approach to music perpetually fascinates but never completely satisfies. "Demons," the quartet's first song in three years, continues their tradition of being one of the most muted yet exciting indie bands around. All the classic elements of The National are here: the rock solid drumming of Bryan Devendorf, the understated layering of the mix- this time incorporating an influence of strings, replacing the piano suites of High Violet and Boxer- and, of course, Berninger's captivating voice. As always, it is the vocalist who holds us in place, hanging on every deliberately stressed word.

The lyrics show, perhaps, a shade of nostalgia from Berninger. He rehashes old imagery, the alligator, the buzzard, and admits that he's "secretly in love with everything that [he] grew up with." This sort of self-awareness is what we've always accepted; Berninger will artfully hint at his emotions and let the audience fill in the blanks. "Demons" is nowhere near as intricate or obscure as some of their previous, but maybe that's just part of the "awkward phase" Berninger finds himself in. After all, considering the band is 14 years into their career and Berninger is being brought down by his demons and they're still producing top-notch material, it looks like the slow-burning juggernaut that is The National will continue rolling. Look for their album Trouble will Find Me, due out May 20th.

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