1. “Carried Away” – Sloan
Sloan is one of those bands who has been making music since Halifax was on the verge of becoming the next Seattle, and their latest track Carried Away showcases how they’ve remained viable in the current musical landscape. They manage to sound both current and timeless all at once, this track in particular sounds like it could have been plucked from Sloan’s sophomore effort Twice Removed.
2. “I” – Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick has been one of those names in hip-hop who has been building a degree of cachet for himself. He’s not infatuated with the paparazzi and the trials and tribulations of fame, but he has been putting together a solid back catalog and with the recent release of “I”, he’s still one of the brightest spots in the game.
3. “Cool Kids” – Echosmith
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfHNWXeD_GQ
This song has been on constant rotation in our house, in large part to my 4 year old music critic who we’ve found wandering the house singing parts of the breakthrough single from Echosmith. The band is decent, but the vocal tones of lead singer Sydney Sierota have a sweetly raspy sound which is instantly alluring. The success of this single will see the band re-releasing their 2013 album Talking Dreams.
4. “Figure It Out” – Royal Blood
The menace and fury contained within Royal Blood’s alt-rock sound is somewhat reserved under the layer of crunchy guitar and imposing drum beat, feels like a throwback to the pure rock sounds of 90’s grunge meets Death From Above 1979’s industrial rock electronic vibe. It’s a refreshing change of base from all of the folk-rock acts which have been popular for the past few years.
5. “Trainwreck” – Death from Above 1979
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVia-n2i_o
Deceptively musical is probably the best way to describe DFA1979 and their guitar/drum 2 piece set up. You could draw parallels to the White Stripes and the Black Keys who employ a similar set up, but the White Stripes are more of a garage back blues rock sound, where The Black Keys are more blues influenced, but DFA1979 is certainly more an alt-rock/metal act with surprising blasts of harmony and instrumentation.