For Body and Kenzie by Teen Daze

This is some great music. It's off the first full-length EP from Teen Daze, an artist out of Vancouver. It's pretty minimalist electronic music, sticking mostly to simple beats and ribcage rattling bass. But when put together, it's pretty epic. I just want to stare at the album cover and listen to this on repeat all day; it's that good. I'm gonna cheat a little bit on naming the genre, and use the bancamp label of "ambient dance," which I think actually describes it pretty well. At it's core, its lounge music, but it's just quick enough to make you want to get up and move a bit. Anyway, take a listen after the break.

NEW SONG: This Life by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Stop the presses. Another single from ESMZ's new album, Better Days (due out July 23rd), and it's spectacular. It follows right along with what we've come to expect. Alex Ebert's voice is straight up haunting in the soft opening measures. Then, all of a sudden his voice is backed by a full gospel choir and it starts getting epic. As could be expected with an 11 member band, the instrumentation is unique and really adds to the ambiance of the song. Apparently Ebert was crying in the studio while he was recording this song, which sounds a bit much, but it certainly doesn't take away from the emotion on this track. Tears or not, it's a brilliant song. Can't wait for July 23rd. Listen after the break.

NEW SONG: Pocket Change by Alabama Shakes

It's been a while oh moist ones. Don't have much of an excuse for the lack of posts lately. Probably still hungover from the Flatbush Zombies concert that we attended last week, which culminated in puking out of a moving train car before almost being escorted off of that same train. Naturally, neither of us was fit to do a proper write-up of the concert, but all I can say is that it reeked of radness. There's a suitable review here, but suffice it to say that the speakers blew out in the middle of Flatbush's set as a result of the extreme amounts of fuckery going on. But we're back, and back with a vengeance. By vengeance of course, I mean the Alabama Shakes. Their debut album last year was one of our favorites, and they're keeping the good music coming. Disregard the fact that this song was for one of those vampire TV shows; it's quite good in spite of that. Take a listen after the break.

NEW ALBUM: From the Hills Below the City by Houndmouth

We're pretty big Houndmouth fans here at MM. They've got the perfect blend (in my opinion at least) between contemplative folk and a little more traditional rocking. From The Hills Below The City, is their first full-length album, which is a follow-up to their debut EP. This song features a re-working of several songs from that first release, which makes sense considering how great that first release was. This one does not disappoint as a follow-up, and frankly, they're rocketing up my favorite current bands list. The stand-out new track, if I had to pick just one, was "Long As You're At Home," which swings back and forth from a mournful, slow sound, to some hard-driving, face-melting guitar solos. I just listened to it three times in a row, and it's better each time. In terms of the repeated songs from their first EP, there is no staleness here. They re-worked their biggest hit, "Penitentiary," making it a little grungier in a welcome way. I can't recommend this album enough. You can stream it in full here (sorry that it's Conan. Can't stand that guy's face), and buy it here. After the break, check out a bad-ass live performance of the album's lead single, "On The Road."