While it has been great to have a taste of spring over the past week, it appears that the Ice King has at least one last trick up his sleeve. The only way to make a blustery, damp and miserable day worse,  is to drop the temperature a few degrees and freeze everything solid. OH and then lightly dust that mess with some snow, it’s delightful! At least today saw the release of some great music, so at least the new tunes tried to thaw things out a bit. Let’s get into it, shall we?

1. “Smoke” – Brian Fallon // I was stoked to find that Brian Fallon was bestowing new music upon the world, and hopefully this will eventually lead back to new Gaslight Anthem material, but in the meantime I will cherish his new record.  While there are other bands (see Northcote) who are making similar sounds, Fallon’s voice is distinct and makes me very happy.  Here’s the new track…

2. “Halifax” – Pete Yorn // You all know I have a soft spot for Yorn’s work, but to hear the studio version of a track we featured last year is pretty cool. Glad to see this tune finally make it to an album, it’s an album that is pure Pete Yorn, maintains the spirit of his entire body of work and would fit on both musicforthemorningafter and Day I Forgot.

3. “Cake By the Ocean” – DNCE // Just toss this in the guilty pleasure category, as I felt somewhat dirty when I learned this track is by DNCE, a band fronted by Joe Jonas. This is a song that will get lodged in your head (thanks in no part to Global’s advertising department), but it’s infectious and undeniable.

4. “Ophelia” – The Lumineers // Everyone’s favorite indie rockers have returned with a short, sweet and sleepy gem.  It comes complete with huge singalong potential, and it’s so scant, it will have you reaching for that repeat button continuously. This is a great track, and raises the bar for the remainder of the forthcoming album.

5. “Zombie Eyed” – Dirty Nil // This is a tune that came to us from our friends over at Auteur Research, and around the same time I heard the tune pop up on The Strombo Show.  In both instances, I expected something darker and dirtier, but what I got instead was an indie-grunge rock fusion (think rocky Weezer, or indie Nirvana).  There’s some great grit among the pretty harmonies happening here, I’m interested to hear the entire album now.

6. “Needle” – Born Ruffians // I regret not getting out to catch the free show the Born Ruffians put on last year, this is an older cut from the band which feels like it could very well be a Maritime sea shanty. It’s a track that always reminds me of Vampire Weekend from the way Luke Lalonde inflects the lyrics. This track is one that has caught my ear a few times over the past week when it pops up on the Peak FM’s playlist.  Have a listen!