Or should I say an extra with May adds? I should have posted some of the songs I have been putting on repeat lately a few weeks ago but life has been getting in the way. It's better this way anyway because the video below wasn't out earlier in the month - apparently it was released today, in fact. Anyone listening to alt rock radio has heard the song a few times, but now you have a visual to accompany the audio. This is movie star Andrew Garfield dragging it up for the video of "We Exist", which apparently closes on footage from Arcade Fire's second-weekend show at Coachella. I can only assume that A.G.'s intrusion at the concert would have been a bit confusing. But now it all makes sense. Here is the video:
And now for some of the big hits around my house.
5. "Faded" - ZHU (¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
The rest of this post leans a bit synth-poppy so I'm going to start the May list off with some bigger beats. I'm not sure what it is about EDM falling in love with being faded and/or wasted (see Tiesto, DJ), but it seems to be a bit of a trend. This is a total earworm and I love that the distorted part of the song suggests that you might be listening while faded. As far as I know, nobody knows a lot about this person (it has to be a person, right?), aside from the fact that they (?) are a producer from L.A.. ZHU released its (?) first EP NIGHTDAY this past week. Allegedly, a tour is also in the works. 1.6M listens on Soundcloud for "Faded" (and the other EP tracks are running in the hundreds of thousands) is definitely a good sign.
4. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" - Future Islands
The world has already seen this clip twice over, but I'm going to help spread it some more. Future Islands made a NAME for themselves with this little performance on Letterman a couple of months ago. Then, they marched on to Coachella, where many considered them to have served up one of the breakout performances of the festival. This Sam Herring guy? I think he likes his job. I also love how one writer online called his death-metal-like growl his "cookie monster" voice.
P.S. This article about the Letterman performance is awesome.
3. "Paris" - Little Dragon
You know I love me some Swedes. Well, these are some of my very favourites. Little Dragon's last album, Ritual Union, is still one of my favourites and I look forward to hearing more of Nabuma Rubberband. "Let Go" and "Klapp Klapp" have been officially released, but "Paris" is my bread and butter. Have a listen:
2. "Shooting Stars" - Bag Raiders
How did I miss this song? Oh I know, I don't do this full-time. This one goes back to 2009 so it kind of predates my dip into the indie pool. Excuses, excuses. These guys are from Australia and this track blew up back then and somehow made a comeback last summer, re-cracking the top 50 of the national charts. Regardless, I'm in on this song now. Enjoy.
1. "Red Eyes" - The War on Drugs
They're playing a local show this summer and their label is Secretly Canadian. I feel like I am predisposed to like these guys. The band has been around for nearly a decade and one of their co-founders, Kurt Vile, has already left to go solo (see "Wakin' On a Pretty Day"). The group just released their third studio album, Lost in the Dream and this was the first release. I am definitely looking forward to hearing "Red Eyes" live.
