NEW SONG: On The Road by Houndmouth

Do you remember Houndmouth? We posted about them a couple months ago, and it remains one of the most popular posts we've had, so I think that's probably a good thing? Either way, they've got an album coming out in June, and this is a single they just released from it. It's in a similar vein to their old stuff. Listen after the break.

Sounds like: Alabama Shakes, The Band

Trampled by Turtles-When I Come Back Again

I have entirely too much Trampled by Turtles on my ipod.  I heard a song or two, liked them and then decided to download their entire discography.  Bold move.  Now I have alot of Trampled by Turtles.  Its quite a bit of bluegrass, and quite a bit of it is a little fast for my tastes.  However occasionally i find a song by them that I really love.  This is one of them.  Sure it helps that i discovered it with my ipod on shuffle sitting at the bottom of a ski resort on a bluebird sunny day, working on my goggle tan, but I think you'll all enjoy it just the same.  Its plucky, simple, with a good melody and good old folky lyricism. Just take a moment before you go downloading their whole discography.
Moistness Level: WET, YET DIFFICULT TO REMEMBER THE TITLE
Listen after the break!

Spiritualized- Cool Waves

This is a very, you guessed it, cool song from a band that was featured on MM quite some time ago.  Its probably a good thing that I only came across this song today, as I would have probably replaced the song I used then with this one.  I came across this song while doing one of my favorite music listening activities, which I reccomend all of you try.  Especially if you are like me and prefer to download full albums rather than single songs, than there is probably a lot of music on your ipod, you are either completely unfamiliar with or at the very least foggy on.  Take your ipod and for a week or so just leave it on shuffle.  In theory you should like every song, but you might find something you either forgot about or just overlooked.  Its a fun little game and is the reason I, and now all of you get to hear this very cool, smooth, chorale drivin track from the slightly trippy, very chill band, Spiritualized.

MOISTNESS LEVEL: COOL WAVES
Listen after the break:

NEW ALBUM: Miracle Mile by STRFKR

Ok so this band is called STRFKR (pronounced "Star Fucker"), and yes, we are obligated to post about them based on the name alone. But beyond their eye-catching band name, they make great, synth-based music. This album came out about a month ago, and is garnering lots of attention, for good reason. Listen to two of our favorites from the album, after the break.
Sounds like: Passion Pit, MGMT

"Take a Walk" by Masta Ace

I've been kind of on a rap kick recently, and I've been on the prowl for great rappers that I've never heard of. This song is the fruits of those labors, and I'm already a big fan. It doesn't quite have the pop appeal of some songs, but it's catchy in it's own right. The song talks about what it's like growing up in Brooklyn, and the types of things he would see every day when he takes a walk. It's a meaningful song, if you're into that. Or, if you're not, its just a nice sounding rap song to cruise to. Listen after the break.

"Bright Lanterns" by The Tallest Man On Earth

   

   The Tallest Man On Earth is the stage name of a Swedish folk artist of average height. He's developed  a decent fanbase, and his unconventional name lends itself to widespread name recognition. His nasally voice and simple guitar work together to complement his heartfelt music. I've heard him described as "Bob Dylan, if he was actually trying." Despite the obvious faults with that description, it does have some validity. It's hard to deny the similarities in the voices of TMOE and Dylan, though the former does seem to have a better grasp on making melodies, rather than strict lyricism. "Bright Lanterns" is among my favorite of his relatively extensive discography, for the way he uses different mediums (voice, guitar, slide guitar) to portray the same message in different ways. Listen after the break.

REQUIRED LISTEN: Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe (Remix) Featuring Jay-Z

I can't say I'm usually a fan of remixes, but this is a huge exception. Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z teamed up for this song, which is completely different from the original (and does not feature DJ Khaled yelling remix at any time, thankfully). Both of these living legends put out outstanding verses. It's hard to really do the song justice in a simple blog post, so I'll just say this. The album cover features Kobe and MJ, arguably the two best basketball players in history. This song is these two flaunting the fact that they are the best there's ever been. It's arrogant, but hard to deny. Listen after the break.

NEW SONG: Bright Light by Mount Moriah

This North Carolina band haven't always made such folky music. At one point, they were both in metal and punk bands, but they decided to mellow out a little bit, and the results are a slightly grungy, bluesy style of folk music. Listen after the break.

NEW SONG: My Dear Friends by Campfire OK

Good things happen when you come across a gigantic box of CD's. The MM editors were going through one such box, and happened to find this one interesting and we turned it on. This particular song jumped out, and I think you'll like it. Hard-driving drums, a banjo, and some cool guitar work complement a nice voice on the lead singer. This single came out last week, so it's still new enough to be cool, which is like, the most important part of music, amirite? It's also available for free download, so there's always that incentive. Listen after the jump.

Varúð by Sigur Rós

This song is wild, there's no other way to put it. Sigur. Rós is an Icelandic ambient music band. They make weird, atmospheric, long songs that sounds like M83 played at a slower speed. I've been using this album as background music for when I'm writing, and it's been functioning really well for that. It's not exactly radio ready, and you won't be playing it at parties any time soon, but if you can get past the weirdness of it, this is a great piece of music. Listen, and watch the video after the jump. 

Down to the River to Pray by Allison Krauss

Whether you know this song already or not is almost entirely based on whether you have seen O Brother Where Art Thou, a movie that is chock full of old timey blues and folk songs, that I highly recommend. This song comes during a baptismal scene, and fits beautifully. It's a modern cover of a traditional soul song from the south. Allison Krauss provides the main vocals, as well as a gradually building chorus backing her. Listen after the jump.

Child of the Valley by The Wooden Sky

The Wooden Sky are a small Canadian band from Toronto. Since the Moist Melodies crew is kicking it up in Canada this week (though posts will continue as usual), we thought this might be an appropriate song. The only problem is that this band is so damned obscure that they don't even have a Youtube video for the song I intended to post, so I will have to direct you to an outside website. It's got the entire album to stream, and I cannot recommend it fervently enough. If you're looking for just one song to sample the band, might I be so bold as to recommend "Your Fight Will Not Be Long." "Take Me Out," which is streaming below, is the lead single and most popular of their songs. Listen after the jump.

REQUIRED LISTEN: Mayla by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

This song is the best. In my mind, it's one of those songs that's above criticism. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros are probably my favorite active band right now; their two albums are easily my favorite musical discovery in recent memory. So basically, if you don't like this song, you're wrong. Listen to it after the jump.

More New James Blake: Digital Lion (feat. Brian Eno)

Apparently it's James Blake day today, as this is our second new release from him today, and obviously, we're obligated to post anything new from James Blake. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't have posted that last one, because this is a little more my style than that one, based on one listen each. This one also is a collaboration between Blake and Brian Eno (who is an ambient music producer. If you want to hear an example, listen to his album Lux), so there was the added intrigue of seeing what those guys could do together. It's going to take a few more listens to really get a handle on it, but I really like this song so far. April 8th cannot come soon enough. Listen after the jump.

NEW SONG: Voyeur (Dub) by James Blake

There was a new James Blake song released today, just one day after a new M83 song, and that is a pretty solid 1-2 punch. Here's the second single off of Blakes upcoming album Overgrown, which is coming out April 8. The first single was amazing. This one is the "Dub" version, so I don't think it will sound this way on the album itself. Either way, new James Blake is always cause for celebration round these parts.

NEW SONG: Starwaves by M83

First off, I'll explain the picture of Tom Cruise. M83 is doing the score for his next movie, Oblivion, and this song is the first one released from the soundtrack which will be made up of entirely original music by M83. I don't care that Tom Cruise worships satan, I will be seeing that movie. M83 has a special place here at MM, because it was possibly the greatest concert of our young lives. M83 is alright in our book, to say the least. This song is great. Listen to it after the jump.

Andrew Bird- Cemetary Gate Sessions

I had a moment the other night that got me excited about music in a way that I haven't been in quite some time.  I owe that moment to Andrew Bird, the violinist/guitarist/folksinger/whistler who has been featured before on our blog here. His cemetary gate sessions, which is a series put on by Pitchfork, is one of the more incredible solo performances I have heard in quite some time. With little more than a fiddle, guitar, a few microphones and an audio looping device he creates some of the most unique musical blends in recent memory.  His melodic motives are linear, in that they rarely repeat and favor constant motion instead of verse, chorus, verse, chorus etc.  They are a complexly woven tapestry of influences which may include jazz, rock, folk, bluegrass, classical, arabic, and many others.  Each song is its own unique journey, hard to describe in comparrison to anything else.  Please listen all the way through, they are all great in their own way, and I hope they speak to you the way they speak to me.  Ive been listening to these next few songs exclusively for the last three days as my fellow editor will attest to.  Even if you think you've heard Andrew Bird, try this, its very different than his studio work, and personally I like it better.
Listen to the songs and read their separate writeups below!

Lay Me Down by the Oh Hello's

The Oh Hello's are a band made up of two siblings from Texas, who make catchy, vocal-driven folk rock songs. We've featured them on here before, but since then, I have come to enjoy this song a little more. It is extremely catchy, and when the foot stomping portion of it comes on, it will be hard to resist tapping along. It sounds cliche, but it is well worth your time to listen. It's also free (as is their new album), so be sure to click download on the player below. Listen after the jump.

Promise, I Won't Laugh by Barna Howard

As you may already know, I am a big Bob Dylan fan. His sound could be called generic by others, but I've always found it extremely distinct, and hard to imitate properly. Barna Howard is an example of someone who, in my opinion, has pulled it off very successfully. Howard was born in Missouri, but moved to Portland to record his self-titled debut, which was released about a year ago. "Promise, I Won't Laugh" is the lead single off that album, and it's easy to see why. It tells the story of a man struggling to let go of a past lover, "can't you tell I'm lost by the way I reappear/ wishing on the words you said before," who is wrestling with whether he thinks it is still worth his efforts to try to woo this girl.
 It's a relatable song, if you've been through something like that. And if you haven't, it's just a well-crafted, lyrically-based, Dylan-esque, adjective worthy song, this is what you're looking for. Listen after the jump.

NEW SONG: Song for Zula by Phosphorescent

"Song for Zula" is the first single from Phosphorescent's new album, Muchacho, due out March 19th. Their official website describes the album as a collection of "underwater hymns," which is a pretty tantalizing description. I think you can get that sound from just this song, and I think it works well. Listen after the jump.

Selfless in a City by Hip Hatchet

   Something about waking up on a snowy morning lends itself to introspective, simple folk songs. Hip Hatchet seems to have mastered this genre of songwriting, blending beautiful lyrics with a unique singing voice, to create masterful works of musical poetry. The line that really hit home for me comes about halfway through the song, "I said I probably shouldn't drive/ but oh man, I've been feeling alone/ and a car wreck sounds all right." You can talk to me about "realness" all you want, but that shit has more feeling behind it than entire artists' discographies have combined.
   He's got a different sound from most in his genre, and for most people, you'll either love it, or not like it at all. If you do love it (which I'm fairly certain you will), I cannot give you enough encouragement to go buy his album. I went back and forth over which song of his to post for about twenty minutes, and to me, that is a true testament to his discography. Every song is better than the last one. And look at that fucking beard. If I was going to rank the beards of current musicians, I would absolutely put him in the top 5. Listen to "Selfless in a City" after the break.