M|H friend Devon Bryant has been kind enough to pass along some sneak peaks & alternate takes of songs from Brighton, MA. The band is currently in the process of putting together their full-length follow-up to their self-titled EP.

Though the album won’t likely be out until summer, you can start getting pumped by hearing a few tracks below. If they strike your fancy, get their self-titled release here.

“Not Our Fault (August Version)”
dreamy quality + driving foundation = a new sound from BMA

“Fault (With Friends)”
sparse alternate take sung by a small army

“We Make War (EP Version)”
will crash into your heart and make you cry - but in a good way; a personal favorite

It’s a busy week for me personally (Monday - Chuck Klosterman dinner/lecture, almost as good as meeting Kurt Vonnegut; Tuesday - John Ralston & Helicopters - canceled, sadly; Thursday - the insanity that is Girl Talk), so I’m going to cop out and just give you some videos to look at / songs to listen to.

Hot Chip - Ready For the Floor (happy bouncy fun with fabulous lo-fi visual effects)
MGMT - Electric Feel (horrid “video”, smooth groove)
Yeasayer - 2080 [live on Conan] (the mannequin-like background singers freak you out in a good way)
Richard Hawley - Serious (mannequins are so in right now, apparently)
Foals - Balloons (Robert Palmer’s girls go flapper, creepy mustaches reign)

I don’t have a time machine, but if I want to go back a few decades I can just pop in Head of Femur’s third release, Great Plains. These Chicago residents have managed to transplant themselves and their music into the world where the cover of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band exists. Dynamic and colorful, the sound evokes a complex aura of a very specific spot in history that may or may not have actually existed.

The title track’s psychedelic-twinged pop is energetic with lots going on, eventually devolving into controlled chaos. Several tracks boast a vocal style that is distinctly influenced by the sound coming out of Britain in the 60s, including the backing harmonies on “Whirlaway” and the delivery of “Where’s the Fire” and “Napoleon’s Boots”.

Further cementing my comparisons to 60s rock and pop, Great Plains contains the song “Open the Door Lucille”. With interludes of clapping and cheering, plinky piano, and references to a Lucille and a submarine, I would be highly surprised to find out this wasn’t a nod to the Beatles.

Mixing things up a little, Head of Femur does break the mold here and there. “Leader and the Falcon” has a shimmying, 70s rock feel spiked with bits of indie and electropop. “River Ramble” is what I assume (from my limited knowledge of their oeuvre) the Dire Straits would sound like if they had formed today, and the tambourine-shaking, hand-clapping, sax-soloing “Jetway Junior” makes you want to drive with the top down in some sunny locale.

Though the album draws on several well-established sounds and styles, it doesn’t come off as an imitation or a recycled attempt at the glory days - there’s still something original and unique about it.

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Great Plains drops on 3.25.08.
Click to listen to and/or download “Isn’t It A Shame” and “Jetway Junior“.

If you are a fan of the Juno soundtrack’s quirky tunes by Kimya Dawson, then you will probably enjoy PWRFL Power. Kazutaka Nomura’s songs are quiet and close, with sometimes-sophomoric lyrics lending a balance to the sophisticated guitar work (he is trained in both classical and jazz styles) to create subdued folk-pop gems.

Click the links to download “It’s Okay” and the instant favorite “Alma Song“, or head over to the PWRFL Power MySpace to hear more.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the intimate, meditative indie/emo of the late 90s/early 2000s (think Mike Kinsella), and Jason Choi makes me wonder why I stopped. Along with backing band The Sea, Choi has created an album that picks up where too many left off with Leave the Night Behind.

Throughout, Choi’s accessible, everyman vocals ring out over excellent guitar melodies to form the core sound for the album. Opener “Up Jumps the Devil” turns into a country rocker, as does the title track with its galloping guitars and the introduction of female backing vocals. “Morning” is bright with sunny riffs, bells, and a tinge of early-90s alt-rock. Short ascents propel “Good Luck to You Sailor” along, while “Down Pours Grace” proffers a classic melodic guitar style.

The two most moving tracks on the album are “…And Boy Are My Arms Tired” and “Reminder”. “Tired” features an anxious piano that yields to a fuller guitar and drum rumination. “Reminder” is grand and ambient (somewhat reminiscent of The Appleseed Cast), yet still hints at an underlying void and matches perfectly with the song’s lyrical content.

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Leave the Night Behind drops 2.11.08.
You can find out more about Jason Choi here.
Right-click the links to download “Leave the Night Behind” and “More Than Many Sparrows”.

Apparently my body has forgotten how to sleep on a normal cycle, so I’m often up nights. What better to do in the murky morning hours than post videos/songs for your enjoyment? Mouse over the link and a player should pop up.

Iron & Wine - Boy With A Coin (gorgeous song, sweet dancing)
New Young Pony Club - Get Lucky (children engaging in hipster warfare)
New Pornographers - Challengers (banjos are awesome, colors are pretty)
Queens of the Stone Age - Make It Wit Chu (sexy blues that almost makes the spelling forgivable)
Aesop Rock - Coffee (gore-filled goodness)
Nada Surf - Whose Authority (the elder Pete [of Pete & Pete] as bike messenger)
Chris Walla - Sing Again (Zissou-covered cameos)
Minus the Bear - Knights (it’s about the details…and the face-melting awesome of MTB)

Party For the Grown and Sexy is the latest effort from DC-based You, Me, and Everyone We Know. While promising at parts, the EP fails to make a splash on the whole.

Though laden with catchy hooks, bouncing rhythms, and genre-approved titles like “I’d Be More Interested If You Were Already Spoken For”, YM&EWK lacks any trace of originality to set them apart. More often than not, the listener is left comparing them to higher-caliber acts. The songs often come across as Panic! At the Disco throw-aways, and one can’t help but notice the similarities between “…Because I Spit Hot Fire” and Brand New’s far superior “Jaws Theme Swimming”.

That said, “…Because I Spit Hot Fire” is one of the better tracks on the album, along with the call-and-response group vocals of “The Press War”. You, Me, And Everyone We Know has the potential to hit big, but they need to put their own spin on things if they don’t want to suffer a life of comparison to the bands they’re currently imitating.

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Party For the Grown and Sexy dropped in 2008.
You can download the EP for free here.