Girls

So-Cal beatniks who make "tropical/gothic/thrash" that never sounded so sunny.

The video for "Lust for Life" features a candid, technicolor collection of memories filled with long stringy hair falling over sun-kissed faces and edgy characters who are self-loathing in the most not believable way- plays like a old Polaroid album thats been long forgotten.

Horchata

New Vampire Weekend song unveiled off the album coming out this winter. Xylophones! Crescendos! The angst of privilege! Vampire Weekend!

The Tallest Man on Earth

Already has had his music out for a while. But seriously, what a fantastic name for an artist. It adds a whole other dimension to the music where the listener imagines everything through the eyes of this individual, imagining him as, well, the tallest man on earth. You feel his loneliness and alienation as the tallest man; it only adds to the sureness of each strum of his guitar.





Revibe at it's best in his Daytrotter session

Kurt Vile

I guess it's ironic that someone with such and off-color name is paired with an album called Constant Hitmaker (and yes, that's his real name). I'm sure he wanted to juxtapose that undertone. Among other sentiments- a pervasive sense of "blue collar nostalgia". I think it defiantly hearkens back to the composition of the music relating to the likes of Tom Petty, Springsteen ect. (Listen to Freeway). Just let his mumbling and murmuring drift on by...oh and he's the lead guitarist for The War on Drugs. Makes sense for sure.

The Mountain Goats

One of his more resonating tunes...talk about a pervasive sense of purpose.

Ida Maria

Norwegian songstess belts out impulsive jams, so good that Spin listed her debut album one of the best of 2009 thus far. Just please, please don't turn into Courtney Love...

The world would be such a happier place if we took her advice to heart.

The Ruminant Band- Fruit Bats

Appropiate title...

http://sadsteve.com/preview.py?url=http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/Fruit_Bats_The_Ruminant_Band.mp3&song=The%20Ruminant%20Band&artist=Fruit%20Bats

And some new (but feel like old) favorites...







and the ever uplifting-