Los Campesinos!

Los Campesinos translates to The Peasants or The Farmers in English. They are an indie pop band from Wales. They recently released a new song entitled "By Your Hands" which is off of their fourth album coming out in November, Hello Sadness. If you are unfamiliar with this band I'd say to get their previous albums and familiarize yourself with them because they have put out some great music over the years.

A great part of "By Your Hands" is the story the music video tells. It really reminds me of the movie Synechdoche, New York, which if you haven't seen is quite amazing albeit quite depressing and kind of pretentious. Both this music video and that film have lots of similar scenes and have the same vibe.

Bombay Bicycle Club

Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock and folk band from London. They recently released their third studio album "A Different Kind of Fix" in as many years. It's pretty crazy that they have released three albums essentially back-to-back-to-back. Some people criticize bands for releasing and making too much material, which is understandable I suppose but as a band if you have songs that you want to release why is such a bad thing to give more to their fans? I applaud them for doing so instead of waiting two or three years to release a new record.

While the first single from the album, "Shuffle", is a great track, I find myself coming back to "Lights Out, Words Gone". It is this subdued kind of rock with a nice little guitar riff which maintains that mood. So check that out below.

You Can't Win, Charlie Brown

Yes, that is the name of the band. I remember telling my friend about them a couple of weeks ago and he thought that I was making some kind of reference to Peanuts and not being serious about an artist to keep his eye on. They are a Portugese band who have some folk and electronic sounds on their debut album Chromatic, which came out a few months ago.

Their first single off of this album is "Over The Sun, Under The Water", which is featured below. It really encompasses their entire sound in one track, so it's a great example to hear what they are like. To keep up with the band make sure to check or follow their tumblr at http://youcantwincharliebrown.tumblr.com/.

Of Monsters And Men

Of Monsters And Men are a folk band from Iceland. Their song "Little Talks" is what has had me waiting for their debut album. Unfortunately, the album is only available in Iceland as of now and I still can't find a release date on it for anyone outside of there. However, we do have this song to hold us over until then.

It has this great accordion hook that brings a different sound to the song. That is paired with acoustic guitars and a great balancing act of male and female vocals. And when they let their voices get louder is when the track really reaches its greatness. Below is the live version of "Little Talks" because it sounds just as good if not better than the album version, which is always impressive to me.

Neon Indian

Neon Indian made a huge splash in the indie scene a few years ago and since their debut album Psychic Chasms, fans have long awaited a new album. Finally, a week ago their new album, Era Extrana, was released. The first song to catch my attention was "Polish Girl" due to the use of what sounds like when Mario would collect a coin. It just has this hint of NES that makes the track memorable for me. Not to mention that it is actually just a great track all around. It has that same kind of catchy electronic beat that M83's "Midnight City" has. So if you liked that, you should dig this as well.

They were recently on Jimmy Fallon to perform "Polish Girl" live, so that version and the studio version are below. It's quite remarkable how great it sounds live given the songs remarkable technical intricacies.

M83

I've been trying to hold off as long as possible on posting this track. I wanted to post it closer to the new album's release date, but since the video is around 300,000 views I figured it needs to be posted already. So below is the first single, "Midnight City", off of M83's new album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. It is insanely good and equally as catchy with its notes. This single will undoubtedly make top songs of 2011.

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is due out October 18th and is a 2-disc release. After hearing this first single, I can't wait for 20-plus tracks of this. It's going to be quite the release. In case you haven't heard of M83 before, they were featured on here before at this link here.

Milo Green

Today's entry is an indie folk rock group that are starting to make a lot of noise. Milo Green released an album or EP earlier this year, The Hello Sessions. With the release of "1957", the need for more musice from them was quite high. You can listen to all four tracks over on their bandcamp site, http://milogreene.bandcamp.com/.

Just to give you an idea on their sound, it's in the same mold as Kopecky Family Band and Seryn. I assure you that "1957" will live up to this billing and it will become a staple in your music rotation. So listen below and then head over to their bandcamp site to hear more from them.

Mates of State

The past couple days I've been catching up on some albums. While doing so, there was one track that completely floored me. It stopped my entire process and forced me to put it on repeat. That track is Mates of State's "Palomino". Something about the song sounds so familiar but I just can't place it. It has the feel of a great song in a commercial but I can't find anything for it.

Just in case you aren't familiar with Mates of State, this is their 7th album release and they are a husband and wife duo. You can find this track on their recently released album Mountaintops. In fact, I could probably picture this song being played as someone reaches the apex of a mountain or metaphorically as a high point in someone's life (hopefully that isn't too cliche). I have a strong inclination that hearing this one song will strongly urge you to buy Mountaintops, because I can't recommend it high enough (or maybe I should have inserted another "Mountaintop" pun there instead).

The Canon Logic

Not much can be found on The Canon Logic. Their website, http://www.thecanonlogic.com/, is promoting their new EP Rapid Empire but there isn't much else on it. The only other info I could find was on their facebook page and it says that they are from Brooklyn. We all know how much great music comes out of there so this is just another band to add to that list.

The one other thing that is on their website is a free download of the track "Howl In The Night". This track is what inspired me to google them and find out more about them. It is a truly great track. Once the song gets going around the 1:30 mark it has a guitar riff similar to that of an Explosions in the Sky melody , which is accompanied by a great alternating snare and tom drum beat. Then to top all of that off, there is some incredibly catchy chanting throughout the track. You can also purchase Rapid Empire on their site for $5, so I'd suggest listening below and then head over to their site.

St. Vincent

St. Vincent is the project of the very talented Annie Clark. She was part of the touring band for Sufjan Stevens before creating her own band. Her latest album, Strange Mercy, was released yesterday. This would mark the third entry into her discography. The album has pretty cool experimental stuff on it, but that is probably to be expected since she toured with Sufjan.

Even though I've only had one listen, I made it a point to put "Cheerleader" on my main playlist. It starts off slow, quiet, and intimate and then just has this really heavy chorus. But not in the sense that it's metal or anything, just really powerful. After listening to it below, make sure to search for the live version on YouTube just to see how she performs in a very elegant dress. I'd link it but it's kind of poor audio quality. Also make sure to check out the rest of the album.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Today's entry is a preview of an album that comes out next Tuesday, September 20th. Which is when Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will release Hysterical, their first album in four years. You can also go over to NPR and stream it in its entirety, here's the link.

CYHSY are best described as indie rock. Nothing too electronic or psychedelic, just good rock. They are out of Brooklyn, NY so you can imagine where their sound came from and where it truly fits in. Below is a live performance of "Same Mistake", which is off of the new album. It's not the greatest of quality, so make sure to go to that NPR link to listen to the rest of it.

Active Child

This year has been insane for music. Now two thirds of the way through the year and I have downloaded more albums than any other entire year before. Maybe it's just that I'm expanding my horizons more so than ever before or maybe music is just so much more accessible nowadays. I almost feel like there isn't enough time in the day to get as many albums in as I'd like to.

On the contrary, I have made time to listen to Active Child's new release You Are All I See multiple times. This album seems to be in the vein of The Weeknd, Bon Iver, M83 and James Blake, which seems like a praise too high to live up to, but it most certainly does. The third track on the album, "Hanging On", is the track that made me fall in love with the album initially. But as you go through the rest of it, you will find multiple tracks on the same level of greatness. If you head over to http://activechildmusic.com/ you can get a free download of "Hanging On", it is also below.

The Rapture

On Tuesday, The Rapture's absence from the music scene will be no longer. After 5 years of waiting for a new album, they are finally providing their fans with just that. In The Grace of Your Love is the product of the last 2 years since their bassist left the band.

Some of the album is on YouTube and the opening track "Sail Away" is what has had me waiting for this release. The vocals really kick off the song and the album. It has a great dance rock vibe to it. The track has gotten my hopes up for this album because if the rest of the album can be on the same level, then it will definitely be on many "Best Albums of 2011" lists. So check out the opening track below and don't forget to look for the album in stores on Tuesday, September 6th.

Youth Lagoon

Youth Lagoon is the working of 22-year old Boise, Idaho resident Trevor Powers. He released an EP of sorts a few months ago with two tracks, July and Cannon. The release of these have given much hype to his debut album "The Year of Hibernation". Youth Lagoon is probably best described as experimental dream-pop.

If you head over to the bandcamp website, http://youthlagoon.bandcamp.com/, you can download both July & Cannons for free. Both are also embedded below. Make sure to be on the lookout for the release of "The Year of Hibernation" on September 27.