Trainwreck 1979

Hi. This is weird; I thought I was more or less done here. But I’ve been thinking a lot recently, and I might still have it in me. I just needed a motivator. It’s like when Brett Favre retired and then un-retired. Sure, Favre had millions of dollars as his motivator, but the real moral was that he loved the game too much to stay away. There’s some deep metaphor here with me being Brett Favre and football being music, but I’ll spare you that allegorical clusterfuck.

I will tell you about the motivator, though. If there’s one thing I could come out of retirement for, it’s Death From Above 1979. If you don’t know my DFA1979 saga, you can read through these old posts and learn all about it. But if you have a life and value your time, I’ll just sum up: I LOVE THEM MORE THAN MY OWN FAMILY. Soundtrack to my teenage angst, kind of thing. They released their first new track in a decade yesterday (a precursor to their first new album in a decade, out 9/9), and so in a gesture of “if they can do it, so can I,” I present you with Trainwreck 1979. It has the same raw power that made them so appealing 10 years ago, but sees that sound tightened and polished. As Asian Dan remarked, “This is what the Black Keys would sound like if they were good.” Touché.

Have a listen:

Spring Break-Up

Things fall apart, sometimes right from the start
Its sad but true, it's not me - its you

Do you know what's better mood music than a spitting pop punk song about getting over a stupid boy when you yourself are currently in the throws of getting over a stupid boy? I'll tell you: Nothing.

By this point, I'm over the boy (did that just get way deep?), but Spring Break-Upremains a go-to pick-me-up. It's written by TacocaT, who not only have a totally awesome name but they're also from Seattle, my hometown! (Go Thunder.) They're an almost-all-girl group comprised of three adorable ladies and one tall dude with a lot of hair. They describe their sound as "Kurt Meets Courtney," but I don't think they're doing themselves justice; who really wants to associate themselves with Love these days? Besides, their sound is much more pop influenced than the above artists. If anything, I'd say they're the grit of Pretty Girls Make Graves (also from Seattle) meets the pop craftsmanship of Best Coast. A.K.A. They're pretty badass.

Check out Spring Break-Up below and pound out your broken heart via some serious car air-drumming. Then head to their bandcamp and buy some more music.

Spring Break-Up - TacocaT

The National Health

I wouldn't bet my life that things will change tomorrow.

Theo Gosselin

Maximo Park - blast from the past and the band that cultivated my love for thick UK accents - put up a stream of their new single a few days ago.
This is awesome because:

a) it doesn't suck
b) it's far better than any single off their last album
c) it marks a return back to the punchy, exuberantly angsty post-punk that captivated everyone on their first album, but which all but lost over the course of the next two
d) despite the 3 year lapse between albums, Paul Smith still sounds impossibly sexy

The National Health is the title track to their new album, slated to be released June 11. Stream it below, and if you like it be sure to pre-order the full album on their site.