“Ghosts” by Stringer
Wiretap Records
When two celebrating Yankees fans emptied a beer on an unsuspecting, grieving A’s fan, little did they know they’d struck John Spencer — drummer for the Brooklyn punk band Stringer, which put out their new LP My Bad a few months earlier. Spencer took things in stride, even meeting up with his assailants for a beer in the traditional sense a day later. If you watched the viral video and laughed, even up your karma and listen to “Ghosts.”
“Long Highway” by LeBarons
Independently-released
I have all the time in the world for completely-independent, DIY bands like LeBarons — the alt-folk/country collective whose debut LP Summer of Death comes out November 2. “Long Highway” is the propulsive lead single.
“Peppermint” by flirting.
Hidden Bay Records
Congratulations to London anxiety-pop band flirting. whose debut EP came out last week. “Peppermint” is the spirited first single from This Would Be Funny If It Were Happening To Anyone But Me.
“Symbol” by Adrianne Lenker
Saddle Creek
Big Thief frontwoman Adrianne Lenker has put out a collection of delicate, homemade recordings under her own name. Called abysskiss, it’s a sparse and captivating record. “Symbol” is one of the lead singles.
“Venice Bitch” by Lana Del Rey
Interscope Records
Lana Del Rey obviously doesn’t need my help selling records, but I’m pumping her tires a bit nonetheless. Dreamy single “Venice Bitch” is definitely the longest (and arguably my favorite) song in the ever-evolving artist’s catalogue, which is five LPs-deep with the sixth — Norman Fucking Rockwell — coming in 2019.
“When We Left” by Somedays
Stirling Collective
In the opening line of the new Arctic Monkeys record, Alex Turner laments: “I just wanted to be one of The Strokes.” And can you blame him? The might-as-well-be-defunct New York band made guitars fun again in the early aughts, (re)introducing a distinctive, ebullient brand of jangle pop that still leaves fans yearning for that sound.
So what am I getting at here? Brand-new London band Somedays have that sound… and more. If they weren’t on your radar, now they should be. “When We Left” is the first in a trio of singles to be released in the coming weeks.