Warmup: Some December songs

OK, before getting into my favourite songs of 2013, I'd like to share a small number of songs that I've been listening to recently that won't be making the 2013 list. These links may get recycled down the line on a 2014 faves post, because I'm all about saving the environment.

Lorde caught my attention when I first heard "Royals" and "Tennis Court" this summer and I was pretty excited to get my hands on Pure Heroine when it came out this fall. This is one of my favourites from the album and I was pleasantly surprised to hear it floating out of some store in Syracuse the last time I was there (like an entry in The Book of Awesome, I love it when I hear a song I like in public that is definitely NOT a radio track).



I have been loving Zero7 ever since I was shilling Simple Things; while working retail in 2001. I feel like I was in on the ground floor when Sia was just a name and not A NAME.  I was surprised to hear that the duo was still recording when the "On My Own"/"Don't Call it Love" 12" came out this year and was even more surprised (after their last album Yeah Ghost didn't really do it for me) to really like the B-side, shared below.



I've listened to Toro y Moi off and on over the past couple of years and two of his tracks have been total standouts for me: "Still Sound" and "So Many Details".  The one that I've stumbled onto most recently is "Campo", a 7-inch that is apparently only being sold on his North American tour.  Given that I did not catch Chaz in Montreal or Toronto at the end of October, I suppose Soundcloud will have to suffice.



HAIM seems to be fairly polarizing amongst bloggers.  I've seen high and low praise for their music ever since they topped BBC's Sounds of 2013 list a year ago.  For those of you who stick around for my 2013 track listing, you'll see exactly what I thought of them.  I also thought I'd share this hilarious line from The Guardian via the band's wiki site: "[HAIM makes] music that sounds like it was written on a lakeside retreat attended by Stevie Nicks, John Waite and En Vogue".  If you've never heard their music before, go ahead and try to envision that.  This is the lead track from their debut album Days Are Gone (which came after releases of their Forever EP and Falling single. That opening drum/guitar shot certainly suggests that you're listening to "Heartache Tonight" by The Eagles, but the rest is all HAIM.



Finally, a little something from We Are Twin's eponymous EP. This duo has been together since 2009 and, as far as I know, this is their first material recorded for public consumption. This track is a little Amy Winehouse and a little electronic and a lot of irresistible. I look forward to hearing more from We Are Twin.