This is a week for truly excellent new music!!!

This a week for records to get lost in, and I’m certainly lost in Songs Of Patience. I’m happy that it was the last record I listened to for this post, because I have a feeling its one of those “Stuck In My CD Player For A Week” records. Right from the start of opener ‘Magnolia’ (embedded below) I was sucked into an alt-rock world of lush guitars and brit-rock influenced charm that never misses. Think Oasis meets Coldplay circa Viva La Vida meets The Secret Migration era Mercury Rev. The lyrics are effective, the music is beautiful, and the tracks just fit together as a whole. You can’t ask much more from a record, so go pick it up now.

Fuzzed out guitars and sugary sweet melodies make Hypnotic Nights one of my favorite records out this week. Once you hit play the record just takes you over, thanks in part to the stellar production work of Dan Auerbach. The steady stream of crunchy guitars envelop your ears so tightly, its almost jarring when they’re absent for a bit on album highlight ‘Wood Ox’, but jarring in a good way. Jeff The Brotherhood have found a way to stay true to their sound and craft a stellar record filled with power-pop jams that will have you humming and nodding along almost instantly. This is a truly fantastic record, one that should be added to your collection.

I came across this record on Bandcamp, and I fell in love instantly. This largely instrumental and acoustic record takes the listener through several moods during its thirteen track run. Multi-Instrumentalist Noah T lays a bed of acoustic guitar and bass on every tune, and his melodies and percussion are conveyed by various sources. Anything but conventional would be a good way to describe what happens from tune to tune, like the looped handclaps and percussive “dings” of the title track, or the rhythmically diverse ‘Phases’. Just give a listen to leadoff track ‘For You’ and try not to smile. Click one of the tracks below and see for yourself, then go pick the record up at Bandcamp!

I’m a sucker for bands that defy being labeled by bucking genre convention, and Baroness is certainly one of those bands. On Yellow and Green they employ influences of Metal, Misfits style broad Punk, and Prog-Rock sensibilities to craft a sound all their own. This is a record that could fit on your Warped Tour playlist or your Metallica megamix without feeling out of place. The story on this record is certainly the triumphant guitar work of Peter Adams and John Baizley, but I find myself just as captivated by Baizley’s hard edged yet warm and inviting vocals. check out the embedded track below to see what I mean. This is a double album, and though each disc has its own theme and sound, the two certainly fit together seamlessly, without ever feeling bloated or over the top. This is a rock lovers dream record, one you should grab today!

Fans of the band The Academy Is… already know how strong of a songwriter/vocalist William Beckett is, but he should be getting some new attention with the release of Winds Will Change, his second EP this year. The strong lead single “Great Night” (below) has an anthemic chorus much in the same vein of Fun.’s “We Are Young”. The pop-punk-funk of “Warriors” is another of the EP’s highlights, and its hooks are the kind of danceable fun that will please longtime fans. At a quick four tracks, “Winds Will Change” is a delightful listen that demands to be heard.