Try these albums on for size at the listening stations in Pure Pop!
Seapony – Go With Me
A trio of twee-o, Seapony brings us more lo-fi songs for the summer. Go With Me should have a comfy home in your rotating five-disc CD player, right between Best Coast and Vivian Girls – the indie-pop of your boyfriend-loathing dreams. This album has a jangly, Go Sailor vibe, complete with nostalgic lyrics and song titles that are pretty darn simple and to the point (“Dreaming,” “I Never Would,” & “I Really Do” to name a few) – no mind games on Go With Me, just tried and true surf pop for your mindless listening pleasure.
httpv://youtu.be/WHjRltbRzrA
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Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
It’s no doubt that Arcade Fire has made some pretty groundbreaking music in the past few years – Funeral and Neon Bible delivered in a big way, leaving a mark that couldn’t be ignored. The Suburbs, Arcade Fire’s third release, undoubtedly had some huge, preconceived-notion-toting shoes to fill – but they surely succeeded by stuffing their toes into an even bigger pair of tube socks. Childhood memories and nervous (yet hopeful) thoughts of growing old flood the album, leaving listeners with the impression that they are blossoming into the sold-out-seat-selling musicians we always knew they’d be. Check out “Empty Room” and “Ready to Start” for some mind-blowing anthems.
httpv://youtu.be/oJIilmx-wGI
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Times New Viking – Dancer Equired
Columbus, Ohio natives Times New Viking now have a place at Merge’s kitchen table, with their new release Dancer Equired. Notorious for their label-changing habits, TNV have been jumping around from labels like Stillbreeze, to Matador, and now finally to Merge, where they’ve settled in and found their well-deserved niche. Dancer Equired is lo-fi at it’s best – sounds like it was made in no time on some pretty battered equipment, but that’s what fans of the genre go for, right? There are some really nice male/female vocal counterparts throughout the album, and some ephemeral, fading-into-the-distance sounds as well. If you’re worried that Times New Viking will end up being another one of those dime-a-dozen lo-fi bands, then the fact that some crumbs of past Guided by Voices members are sprinkled throughout the band should help ease your mind. Check out “No room to Live” and “It’s a Culture,” for some shining stars.
httpv://youtu.be/aTJHIfiAKzc