Summer Tunes

I haven’t dedicated enough of my energy to music with this blog, despite spending roughly 10 hours a day with headphones in at my cubicle. And with the incredible selection of music that’s become available over the past few months, from both established and emerging artists, it’s about time I run through a good list of recommendations for those sunny summer drives and camp side sing-a-longs.

1.)    The Story So Far (Under Soil & Dirt): Aggressive pop-punk wonder-kin, inspiring rebel gang-vocals and fist bumps for my car rides to and from the office. You can take the kid outta pit, but you can’t take the pit outta the kid. (RIYL: The Wonder Years, Set Your Goals)

2.)    First Aid Kit (The Lion’s Roar) With two of my favorite singles of the summer, “Emmylou” and “King of the World” and incredible in-betweens, the Swedish duo’s campfire folksongs are interestingly accessible and indie. (RIYL: Tallest Man on Earth, Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band)

3.)    The Weeknd (House of Balloons/Thursday) Listening to The Weeknd’s EPs are like being immersed in a totally new world- in short, it’s an engrossing theme to the after-party fronted by an able R&B crooner. You know it’s gotta be well done if I’m listening to R&B. (RIYL: I have no idea, I don’t listen to R&B. Frank Ocean?)

4.)    Azealia Banks (1991 EP/Fantasea) Easy 2012’s most hyped up artist finally releases her first mix-tape off the incredible 1991 EP. She’s brash, vulgar, aggressive, and wildly talented; anyone with any affinity for hip-hop should be focusing on what Azealia is working on for her first full-length release. (RIYL, POS, Nicki Minaj)

5.)    Yellowcard (Paper Walls/When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes/Ocean Avenue) Lay off, man; Yellowcard are kick ass and perfectly consistent pop-punkers perfect for windows-down scream-a-longs with buddies. Inspiring generations of easy-listening pop-punk, Yellowcard deserve at least a shot at iTunes inclusion. And violin solos…need I say more? (RIYL: The Starting Line, Fall Out Boy)

6.)    River City Extension (Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger) My go-to underdog band, River City continue to impress with their follow-up to …And The Unmistakable Man. River City are crowd-pleasers, an orchestraic, detailed ensemble group dabbling in symphony folk, alternative rock, and Americana. The eclectic tour partners, from The Avett Brothers to Brand New, speaks to the appeal of River City. (RIYL: The Avett Brothers, Of Monsters and Men)

7.)    Bright Eyes (I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning/ The People’s Key) It’s strange how late I am to the Oberst bandwagon, considering his large influence on music scenes I’ve been tied to since high school. His voice drips with soul, his lyrics are crushing, and the mix of emo/Americana/folk/indie inspired hourdes of my favorites. Bright Eyes is both easy listening and thought provoking; it doesn’t get much better than that. (RIYL: Look, it’s Conor Oberst. He’s pretty much the king of modern Indie and Folk music. Just listen, already)

8.)    Blind Pilot (We Are The Tide) Relaxing indie-pop, Blind Pilot provides easy listening for a lazy day in the hammock with a nice book. My fondness for the band grows with each listening, continually painting a vivid portrait of a warm summers day; the melodies may be chilled-out, but they remain focused and concentrated with a small-scale cinematic scope.  (RIYL: The Head and the Heart, Bombay Bicycle Club)

9.)    Once: The Musical (OBC) I haven’t gotten a good musical soundtrack for a while- the hearty marriage of folk, bar tunes, and Broadway makes for gorgeous easy listening. The re-imagining of the film works, inspiring naysayers to have a shot at Broadway. (RIYL: Folk and Broadway?)

10.) Childish Gambino (EP/ROYALTY): Donald Glover, one of the staff writers for NBC’s comedy block and star of Community, continues to establish himself as a unique and maturing voice in the rap community. With a guest verse by Tina Fey (that’s right. The queen of comedy raps, and it’s as hilarious as one could imagine) the newest mixtape is a solid entry from the relentless Gambino. (RIYL: Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar)

And, of course, it wouldn’t be summer without a healthy dose of pop-punk and Americana. True to form, I blast the Warped Tour artists throughout those hot summer days- New Found Glory, Four Year Strong, All Time Low, The Wonder Years, Motion City Soundtrack, Fireworks, Taking Back Sunday – have never ceased to exist within my summer iPod rotation. Likewise, folkier, sun-baked  tunes serve as the soundtrack for my sunsets and cooled-off evenings- Iron & Wine, The Tallest Man On Earth, Of Monsters and Men, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Iver, The Devil Makes Three, The Gaslight Anthem- all serve as a solid place to start. Happy listening!