They Don't Know, But I Do!

Dredg, I Don't Know (single)
When I played this new single from the upcoming Dredg album for my dog Winston, he had the right reaction: rolled over, eyes up to the ceiling, and play dead. The song hits you with the intensity of a grizzly bear, and the only good reaction to it is to feign death and take what's coming to you.
This song grabs you with its catchy hooks, massive melodies and insightful lyrics. At the climax singer Gavin Hayes recites "I don't know if I'll go somewhere special when I die/so I'll just go on living my way," in an epic ode to the unknown, and you can't help but appreciate the Zenfully influenced ponderings that thread the song.
The new album, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, is set for a June 9 release. Let me publicly state that i am NOT down with the few leaks of the album I've seen online. This band is hard working and deserve a good release. So quit stealing their music and go pick up the single "I Don't Know" on iTunes for .99 cents ya cheap bastards! It's worth a buck. And If you haven't picked up any of Dredg's previous material yet, each album is amazing in its own right: Leitmotif, El Cielo and Catch Without Arms.

Key Track: "I Don't Know" streaming on http://myspace.com/dredg and available at iTunes now!

Empire for the Masses

Empire of the Sun, Walking on a Dream
Following the current trend in Electro/Indie Pop-Rock, I present you with Empire of the Sun and their debut album Walking on a Dream. If you can, try to imagine MGMT on a month long ecstacy binder and you'll come close to imagining this Australian duo. With over the top imagery that is matched by their insanely poppy brand of electro pop music, Empire of the Sun looks like they stepped right out of sci-fi flic and into the musical spotlight.
"Standing on the Shore" is the opening track on the album, and introduces you to the Empire with a guitar riff of epic potential. The band likes their chanting choruses almost as much as their spacey lyrics. The title track "Walking on a Dream" is a dancefloor grind waiting to happen, with lyrics that express "running for the thrill of it" in such a way it'll make you think about abandoning your job for the sake of just dancing.
The album has gone platinum in their homeland of Australia, and it's easy to see why. Full of catchy hooks and creativity. Singer Luke Steele has a unique vocal performance on the album, sounding a bit like he's singing with his mouth only open enough to let the words escape. I personally can't put aside the comparison of Empire to the boys of MGMT, but as long as they list them as an inspiration I'm fine with it!
To get into the album I suggest you listen to "Walking on a Dream" on a crowded dance floor, grab the nearest set of hips to you and dance, just dance. Dance like you'll die tomorrow.

Key tracks: "Standing on the Shore", "Walking on a Dream"

There's a Silversun on the Horizon

Silversun Pickups, Swoon
"There's No Secrets This Year" is the track that opens the new album from the Silversun Pickups, and if you ask me what the secret we aren't keeping is, it's the success the band is going to have off of their sophomore release.
I see big things on the horizon for this band.
The Pickups have maintained the ability to make beauty out of noise that was so present on their fist album Carnavas, but on Swoon they have applied a much needed maturity to their work. The first single "Panic Switch" is a gleaming example of the band's mainstream potential. The song opens with a crunchy (and yes, Smashing Pumpkinsesque) guitar tone that sets the tension of a well crafted verse, building towards a chorus of such melody that it could melt your brain! Once you have pieced your mind back together from that, listen on...
"Draining" is a spacey, trippy track that allows your jets to cool from your last melody meltdown, and "Sort Of" picks up the tempo and tention again as a friendly reminder that the album is only half done.
There are plenty of nods-to-the-Ninties tracks on this album, sounding more like a work produced in 1998 than 2008, but using their construction of noise to their advantage the Silversun Pickups have really created something fresh for todays airwaves, and I expect them to benefit from that. To get you in to the album, my suggestion is to listen to "Growing Old is Getting Old" with headphones on, uninterrupted, observing the band's well-exercised methods of tension and release, and a chorus melody so fine that you would sell your own sister to have written it yourself (sorry Kate and Caroline).

Key Tracks: "Panic Switch", "Growing Old is Getting Old"