Thursday's Tracks

Welcome to a new section. Each week I'm going to pick out a few tracks that have been hitting the head phones and tell you about them. Then you can listen and make your own decisions about them. Tell me how you like it...

The Good:
Antarctica Takes It! - "Circuits"; To me an exclamation point in a band name usually indicates twee music, and here that pretty much rings true. A quirky, romantic song with a bouncy beat, "Circuits" is my first introduction to Antarctica Takes It! and so far I like what I'm hearing. It's a cute tune, and I think fans of The Boy Least Likely To and Architecture in Helsinki will really dig this one.

Hello, Blue Roses - "Sunny Skies"; Trolling the message boards I have been hearing rumors that there is not much of Dan Bejar on his new side project Hello, Blue Roses. If this track is an example well then that would be completely true as Bejar doesn't pop in until the very end of this song, but that doesn't prevent it from being a beautiful song. Sure, the first few times you sit there waiting for Bejar's voice to take over but once you get used to it you can start to appreciate the song on it's own merits. Trust me, give it a chance.

Beat Radio - "The Lion and the Lamb" (Demo); Beat Radio have been working on a new album for a while now, and I for one am really looking forward to the new stuff. This demo for one of the tracks that may or may not make the record is a solid example of Beat Radio's sound and songwriting style. It's simple, sedated, and lovely. If this is any indication of what the record is gonna be like, it's gonna be really good. You can check out the lyrics on Beat Radio's blog if you'd like.

Tim Fite - "45 Remedies"; It seems that with this new tracks Tim Fite is looking to blend his last two albums together and add a little bit of something to it. There's more electric guitar then ever before at the end of this tune, but Tim is stil at it with his socially conscious, slightly obscene lyrics. This is a solid preview of what his new album for Anti- will be like.

Wakey! Wakey! - "For No One" (Alicia Keys cover); Wakey! Wakey! has been releasing cover songs for almost a dozen weeks now and this week he tackles Alicia Keys. I've never been a fan of Keys' music so Wakey! Wakey! could have told me this was an original and I would have been blown away. It's fantastic, loaded with passion, and pure beauty. Check it out now.

The Bad:
Del the Funky Homosapien - "Bubble Pop"; Ugh, I am really not feeling the latest in hipster hip hop. I'm sure a lot of people like the old school production and cadence on this song, but personally I'm not feeling it. That's just my take.

Estelle - "American Boy (feat. Kanye West)" [stream only, real or windows]; Is it just me or does Estelle remind you of Nellie McKay too? The voice is so similar, especially if you consider McKay's rap flow. The only thing is McKay plays all her own instruments adding to her incredible talents, Estelle just uses fantastic production from outside sources to lay vocals over. Kanye's rhymes are okay here, but he's certainly not putting forth his best effort here. Overall it's not a bad track, but it ain't great either.

Ssion - "Clown (Glass Candy Remix)" (via Pitchfork); This shit is gonna blow up. I know it's gonna happen. I just wish it wouldn't.