Howdy friends!! Welcome to the new year! No, I haven’t come to bring you the year end countdown of the best albums of 2011 yet, because frankly, I haven’t gotten the list finalized yet. I seemingly love working all of the time, but I do promise that it will come soon (perhaps next week?!). In the mean time, here is some new music that I have recently started listening to.
honeyhoney – Don’t Know How
I first “heard” of honeyhoney almost a year ago; the song LA River was playing in the background on a scene during an episode of Brothers and Sisters. I found out because I took to the internets for research, and obviously to find and download that amazing track, but alas, nothing came of it. Then, I put it on my “to be downloaded list”, and honestly, kind of forgot about it. Then today, I noticed that Amazon was offering a free playlist of songs from “people they liked”, and a honeyhoney song was on it! Turns out the album Billy Jack was released in October! Sweet! So why didn’t I feature that song, you may ask? Well, as much as I love LA River still, this song is incredible. The female singer’s vocal reminds me a lot of Brandi Carlile, and I cannot get enough of the country-rock vibe of this delightful song. The album is great as well! I guess good things do come to those who wait; those who wait, and then randomly, almost a year later, are reminded of something excellent by something completely unrelated.
Green River Ordinance – Dancing Shoes
This one falls into the category of songs that I have discovered by listening to SiriusXM radio. This is a beautiful ballad alt-folk track that reminds me a little of Counting Crows (mostly the lead singer’s voice), but with a freshness of current hot bands like Mumford and Sons. This is a gorgeous song, and one that I have been listening to on repeat since I Shazamed it a few days ago.
Plug In Stereo – Oh Darling feat. Cady Groves
Look a here! Another track discovered directly from good old SiriusXM. This is a little bit Hellogoodbye with a healthy touch of Bright Eyes. I love stuff like this. The song is so sweet, even if it does remind me a little of that massively overplayed Hey There Delilah by Plain White Ts. Either way, another excellent discovery thanks to SiriusXM; maybe I shouldn’t cancel my subscription, even though they took away my BBC Radio One months ago…
fun. – We Are Young feat. Janelle Monae
So apparently this was on Glee? I honestly don’t remember it. This is one of those songs that I found by accident months ago (see September), but for whatever reason, forgot about it. Then! I hear it playing on Chuck, and instantly, I am like, I KNOW THIS!!! Then I finally downloaded it properly. I absolutely love this track! It’s great! It reminds me a little bit of Jump, Little Children, a band most of you probably haven’t heard of, but the lead singer sounds like him nonetheless. Overall, a very fun (ha!), very radio-ready track. Thanks to Chuck for putting this one back on my radar screen!! This sounds like a song that should play over the credits of a high-school movie/coming of age dramady, doesn’t it?
Jessica Mauboy – Inescapable (Youngboyz Mix)
Ending on a dance note! This one is thanks to my buddy Stu posting it on my FB. I first heard of Jessica Mauboy when Stu alerted me to her sassy greatness back when she was in Young Divas, just after she was on Australian Idol, and then when she broke out on her own. She’s had a few songs that I liked, and it looks like she’s still up to it; this song is very danceable, and I can’t get enough. Thanks Stu for the heads up about this one!
So there’s a new 5SF, actually on a Friday for you!! I hope that you enjoyed the tracks that I picked; please let me know what you think. As always, please let me know what you are listening to as well. Remember, the best of 2011 albums countdown will be coming to this blog in the near future, so stay tuned! Til then!
By all accounts, this song should annoy this shit out of me. It is repetitive, and the vocals border on the realm of childish silliness. However, I now believe that it is the mix of these two elements that makes this song so freaking catchy and fun. I have heard this a few times on the indie XM station, and after hearing it again this past weekend, I went and downloaded it. The playfulness of the beats and the almost silly vocal styling makes for a real earworm that you are sure to be bopping your head to for the rest of the day after listening. I can’t wait to hear more from Matt and Kim, and I don’t have to wait long; their upcoming album is out later this month. Note: If you loved this song, you can download it right now 
Talk about making a rash decision and then realizing how wrong you are; I originally got annoyed by all of the hype and praise heaped on CSS. While I really liked their song Music is My Hot Hot Sex, I really didn’t see what was so out of this world amazing about them. Well, recently, I saw the video for Move, from their most recent album Donkey, and I have to say, I see it now. These guys are just crazy, and totally have such fun that you can’t ignore it. They remind me a LOT of Cibo Matto. This song is so catchy and fun, and the video is a riot. These guys are making some great music (the rest of Donkey is pretty good as well), and I am just glad that I was able to come around and see what others were seeing from the beginning. Beware, because this song will really pull you in; it’s infectious!
Jessica was a former Australian Idol contestant, and went on to record with other Idol alums in the band Young Divas, after Ricki-Lee departed. While I will openly admit that I had no idea she was even in the group, her recent release of this hot track really made me sit up and take notice. This song, with the blaring sirens and hot beats, is ready for the clubs. I have to say, that I am a major sucker for a slick beat and a catchy hook, and this song has plenty of both. Also, the play on the burn of a relationship (or a not-so-desirable left over of love gone wrong) is clever, regardless if it is a little dirty (even hinting at venereal disease is kind of, um, gross).
I first heard this a month or so ago when my friend Stu informed me that one of my favorite songs from the Same Difference album, I Need A House, was actually recorded before by Ms. Serneholt. Marie was in the band A Teens, and did a solo album after leaving the group, that actually has quite a few gems on it. The hook in this song is a piece of pure pop pleasure, and I am glad that he told me about her album that I had no previous knowledge of. I will say, that her voice is so close to Mandy Moore at times, that I can’t help but wonder why Marie didn’t get as much exposure as Mandy did. Oh well, either way, this song is brilliant, and I like it more and more with each listen.
Earlier this week, I got word that a new Toni Braxton song had leaked (thank you to my loyal readers for keeping me informed!), and after checking it out on the internets, I have to say that it is quite literally, an amazing dance pop song. Is there anything that Darkchild can’t do? Well, I guess he couldn’t save Janet in 2008, but there is definitely one thing that I hope that he can do in 2009; give Toni another chance at making it. Darkchild repeatedly produces very high quality pop music, and I am pleased to hear another song that I really like coming from him. Toni Braxton is an amazing singer, and has a bevy of hits in her hay day, but has since danced her way off into the land of reality TV; far away from her soulful and beautiful music. There have been many songs that I have completely loved from Ms. Braxton, and given how much I like this leaked track, and I suddenly very excited to hear more from Toni in 2009. If the rest of the record is anywhere near this good (more Darkchild, Toni!!!), she might have a full fledged comeback in store for 2009… here’s hoping that Darkchild’s hand is stronger for Toni than it was for poor Ms. Jackson last year (I still love you Janet, and Feedback should have done it for you!).