ONLY FIRE CAN GO REPLACE HIS CROWN

WU LYF I "LYF" I Go Tell Fire To The Mountain 
After much anticipation, the tracks of the mystifying Wu Lyf group have been released on an album! Having my first listen right now and it's a stunner. Going to let it brew a bit before giving the full album a review, but I can all ready tell it is going to be an album obsession for sure! When they first released this track I was so thankful something big was coming on, music so uninhibited it just burns with energy and spirit. The kind of fire thats been fizzling out in today's music.

I'LL MEASURE TIME, I'LL MEASURE HEIGHT, I'LL CALCULATE MY BIRTH RIGHT

Polly Jean f***ing rules. Raw and real. They just don't make female artists like her these days.

PJ Harvey I "Man-Sized" I Rid of Me

WHO'S MESSIAH BE GOOD FOR YOU?

Black Lips I "Veni Vedi Vici" I Good Bad Not Evil

DANCING ON THE LEGS OF A NEW BORN PONY

The Kills I U R A Fever I Midnight Bloom
These two can do no wrong, and this song can stay in my head forever.

PUT OUT THE FIRE BOYS

Cold War Kids I "Hospital Beds" I Robbers and Cowards
Love this song with all my heart. Just started learning it on guitar and it is my favourite song to sing with. Cold War Kids did the original and their is something quite beautiful about the video shot for it. I also love Florence + the Machine's cover of the song, her voice is outstanding on the track and is quite powerful with the lyrics.

Florence + the Machine I "Hospital Beds" I A Lot of Love - A Lot of Blood - EP 

I LOVE THE WALLS YOU SHINE THROUGH

Detroit Social Club I "Rivers and Rainbows" I Existence
Big things to come from these guys, you can just feel it. This song was released with the single "Silver" in 2008 followed by "Sunshine People", which were two other amazing tracks that had me waiting on their first album release ever since. Hailing from Britain, the bands debut album was released in the UK this May but still has yet to be released in North America. Come on, dying over here! In the meantime I am loving the singles and their self described "Retro-big beat-gospel influenced-junkie folk" sound, couldn't have put it better myself. Don't you just love all the crazy genre descriptions of music these days? haha

CAN'T STAND YOU'RE FACE UNTIL IT TOOK...OFF

The Kills I "Cat Claw" I Black Rooster EP
Back in the days of VV and Hotel. I can still remember the day I stumbled upon the Keep On You're Mean Side album and couldn't believe what I heard, musical gold. These two were doing it right, from the start, pure soul pouring out of them.
Not much has changed with Mosshart doing her thing in The Dead Weather, still a chain smoking animal on stage giving the audience everything she has in her and mesmerizing them with her presence. Seeing her preform live, whether with The Kills or The Dead Weather, is a must. She is truly a gift to 21st century rock and roll.

I'D FUCK CRIME IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE

The Raveonettes I "Black / White" I Beauty Dies EP
The Danish duo just keep growing on me more and more. This fantastic song and video from their last EP has become one of my favourite tracks from the band.

CRIPPLE CROW

Devendra Banhart I "Cripple Crow" I 2005
It's hard to find the words to describe this bizarre talent of a man. Never failing to amuse with his curious quirky nature, Banhart creates irresistible folk music for the twenty first century hippie in us all. I can always count on him and his music to leave a smile on my face. Cripple Crow was the album that made me fall in love with Devendra and all his wonder. 
Highlights...
Now That I Know - quiet, calming, bliss. A gentle beauty of song.
Long Haired Child - the kind of informal subject matter Banhart does best with simple charm and jubilance.
Cripple Crow - a free spirited hymn of magnetic proportion.
Just Like A Child - tapping into the pristine wisdom, simple absurdity, and pure exuberance of childhood with lyrics that strangely ring so true. "I need you to please explain the war" haha

IT'S BLITZ!

Yeah Yeah Yeahs I It's Blitz! I 2009
Karen O and the boys took a surprising turn on their latest album. Dance floor friendly tracks, that are guaranteed to put you in great mood, are beautifully melded in with gentle rock lullabies. From start to finish this album is full of songs that are to be cherished for all their poetic splendour and melodic joy. Though I still love the harder edge of their previous albums, I cannot praise the band enough for departing into this brilliant new territory.
Highlights...
Zero - "shake it like a latter to the sun" says it all.
Heads Will Roll - new age goth rock meets electro dance brilliance.
Soft Shock - the vocals, the beat, the lyrics...magnificent.
Dull Life - the bands hard edge comes shining through, picking the pace of the album up a notch
Shame and Fortune - down and dirty guitar anthem with a pulsating sound
Hysteric - this song is on a level of its own, a whimsical rock ballad of a new generation. 

MY BAT LIGHTNING HEART

Bat For Lashes I "What's A Girl To Do" I Fur & Gold
Such a cool idea. This video makes you want to recruit a creepy animal head helmut biker gang to ride around with late at night. 
Also makes me want to watch Donnie Darko again for the 2876th time.

YOU BLINK WHEN YOU LIE

The Dead Weather I "Treat Me Like You're Mother" I Horehound
Jack White and Alison Mosshart decked out in leather and in the suburbs pumping rounds of bullets into each other with machine guns...yes please.
New album out today. Having my first listen right now, basically drooling over every song. It's like being electrocuted by a thousand volts of ferociously fearless experimental blues, heaven.
So excited to see them live again this summer, they we're unreal the last time.

KASABIAN

Kasabian I "Kasabian" I 2004
Brit band Kasabian's self titled debut album is a masterpiece that has yet to be topped by their two follow ups. Start to finish this album is loaded with songs that will get you're pulse going, wickedly fusing rock with high energy electro beats.
Highlights...
Club Foot - viciously vibrant, pulsating rock beats, played best driving in the car.
LSF - an addictive anthem to scream at the top of you're lungs.
Running Battle - a stunningly mellowed out track with striking lyrics.

Processed Beats - GREAT song, awesome video.

I SAY FEVER

Ramona Falls I "I Say Fever" I Intuit
This video blows me away every time. It adds such great dimension to the song. Brilliant and powerful.

DON'T GET HIGH ON WHAT YOU CREATE

Broken Social Scene I Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day) I Broken Social Scene

hmmm where to start...well in the spirit of an amazing run in with Kevin Drew this weekend, performing a few songs with the fantastic local Toronto blues band The Beauties, I'll start with my favourite video from Broken Social Scene and one of my favourite songs Ibi Dreams of Pavement (A Better Day) from their self titled 2005 album. Seeing them perform this song live is always epic, Drew never fails to give that raw energy and emotion that drives this song right to the heart and has you screaming at the top of your lungs "I GOT SHOT RIGHT IN THE BACK AND YOU WERE THERE".