New and Noteworthy: The Rapture, M83, Girls, The Horrors, The War On Drugs, The Drums

Time to look ahead to some up coming releases and the first fruits of these projects are bearing in the heat of the summer. It looks like September 13th is the D-Day for releases this year. So many from so many artists it's a literal smorgasbord. Keep an eye on upcoming releases in the side column and I'll have it updated through mid-September here in a week or two. But for now, check on some new stuff below...and please...enjoy...for new music's sake.....they've got me excited for an autumn of unforgettable music.
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The Rapture-"How Deep Is Your Love"

Not a cover of the Bee Gees....but yes those post punk revivalists who caught every one's attention with "House Of Jealous Lovers" which seems to be so many years ago (8 or 9). It's been five years since we've heard anything new from these guys, but it seems like they've got a fine line direction on where they're headed. "How Deep Is Your Love" simply jumps and skips along its main piano line, lead vocalist Luke Jenner gives a fine vocal performance, and when the saxophone jumps in on the latter half of the song...well, we've got a party going and one of the finest songs of 2011. "In The Grace Of Your Love" is due out on September 6th, in the meantime enjoy this great first single. A bit of a stunner considering I wasn't even considering a new release from these guys to go in my catalog until I heard this.

  The Rapture - How Deep Is Your Love by DFA Records 
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M83-"Midnight City"

The sixth album, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" (which will be a double album), from French shoegazing-electronic outfit M83 isn't out for another three months but they've got a nice lead single with "Midnight City". Their signature sound returns with a bum along eighties disco groove but again, the real show stealer (besides the lush and lovely keyboards) is yet another saxophone section coming near the end of the song. I ask...is 2011 the year of great saxophone parts? Check out "Midnight City" and see if that's enough to wet your appetite until October.

  Midnight City by M83 
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Girls-"Vomit"

San Francisco indie rock band Girls got a lot of critical acclaim and for good reason with their debut self titled album back in 2009. I enjoy "Laura" and "Hellhole Ratrace" a ton. Here we have the first offering from their upcoming album "Father, Son, Holy Ghost" which is due out on September 13th. It starts as a Nirvana "Insecticide" jam and somewhere along the line morphs into an ethereal Wilco wonder with some great guitar work, Beatlesesque backing vocals then followed by Pink Floyd female vocals by the end. It's an all around exhausting treat, well worth listening through a couple times, even if the title is "Vomit".

  Girls - "Vomit" by RandmMusic 
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The Horrors-"Still Life"

The Horrors new album was released a few weeks ago in the UK but will be available stateside on August 9th (For those keeping score, it hit #5 across the pond on the UK Album Chart). Here's the album version of their first single "Still Life" which sounds like the cross between old New Order keyboards and Scottish singer Faris Badwan comes across as the lost love child of Siouxie Sioux and Peter Murphy. It's a good listen, will have to be a sample before I buy the whole affair though.

  The Horrors / Still Life by sockformation
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The War On Drugs-"Best Night"

The second proper album from The War On Drugs, entitled "Slave Ambient", is due to be released on August 16th. "Baby Missiles" was already issued a couple months ago as the first single from "Slave Ambient" but here I found a live version of another song from the upcoming album titled "Best Night" from a performance at KDHX. Sounds good to me. Inside sources say if you dig Kurt Vile's "Smoke Ring For My Halo" (which I dig) then "Slave Ambient" could very well be album of the year.

  War on Drugs "Best Night" Live at KDHX 3/28/11 by KDHX
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The Drums-"Money"

It was just thirteen months ago I threw up "Forever and Ever, Amen" on a "New and Noteworthy" post because it sounded like the second coming of the Smiths (eh, sort of...). I sorta/kinda enjoyed their debut album, found a lot of songs making its way through my own special playlist on the IPOD ("Let's Go Surfing", "Me And The Moon", "I'll Never Drop My Sword") and I now find myself sorta/kinda looking forward to their sophomore effort "Portamento", due out September 13th. Lead off single "Money" is still in the same vein of nervy eighties jangle pop of the Smiths and lead vocalist Jonathon Pierce still shrieks and croons like a poor boy with problems (Here he wants to buy his love something...but he doesn't have any money...and to make the point, he raises his voice a few octaves high in the chorus.) But I'm finding that to be the Drums charm, and on "Money" they sound even a little bit stronger than they did on their debut album. So, I'll be diving into "Portamento" this September...or at least dipping my feet in the water for a bit.....sorta/kinda.

  The Drums - Money by weallwantsome1 

Source: http://www.jhostation.com/2011/07/new-and-noteworthy-rapture-m83-girls.html

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