Goodness gracious do British band Theme Park sure know how to pull a hook. They might just be my favorite band to come out of 2012. Ever since I stumbled on the music video for “Jamaica” (the single proper comes out on the 20th) I’ve been desperately looking for more of their music. “Milk” was fantastic with David Byrne-esque vocals to boot, but I’m also really digging the overall sound on “Morning Crimes, the song I’m featuring here. It’s a really subtle build of a song, but the arrangement works perfectly. If/ When these guys hit the USA for a tour (they will be touring with Bloc Party in the UK in the fall) I’m definitely there. For now, enjoy "Morning Crimes”.
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In recent years, Archer has become one of the best shows on television, and one of it’s better gags is the constant reference to Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”, the song from Top Gun which is stuffed with gratuitous testosterone bluster. 20 years prior, Wilson Pickett recorded a far better song with the same exact title. There’s no posturing here though, Pickett’s a man’s man, and this is a great song.
Ever since I saw them open at a Givers concert last year, I’ve been incredibly transfixed by Lord Huron’s sound. It’s immense, yet intimate, spiritual yet worldly. It’s the type of music you’d expect to hear score a summer drive across the country, an epic vision that makes everything seem larger than life. Lord Huron may be hidden from the masses for now, but come October 9th, when their debut LP Lonesome Dreams is released, fans of the Fleet Foxes, Local Natives, and Bon Iver sound may have found themselves a new band to love. Check out the first single from Lonesome Dreams, "Time To Run".
If you’ve ever wondered what Mick Jagger and Jimi Hendrix might have sounded like together, this southern soul gem is for you. "Mercy, Mercy", off of See-Saw, Don Covay’s 1966 LP reportedly has the young Mr. Hendrix playing session man (though Covay was reportedly no slouch himself). What sticks out even more though is Covay’s tenacious shout-speak bluesy wail, which played a large influence on Mick Jagger’s vocal style. The song itself is a funky-blues gumbo, something you’d expect to hear come out of roadside bars in the Louisiana night. Both Wilson Pickett and The Rolling Stones would later cover it, but the original is a definitive lost classic.
The Art of the Mixtape 