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New Music Tuesday: 2-14-2012

Happy Tuesday my sweet music Valentines! In honor of this great greeting card holiday, I was going to make you some mixes. Then I started making them and decided I’m more of an emotional mix maker and not a sappy one. Even my “Your face gives me the dry heaves” mixes tend to be confusing due to that thin line between love and hate. So, why don’t you just listen to whatever new music is out today and enjoy this special V-Day blog post by none other than Daria Morgendorffer.

The fourth release from these Ohioans isn’t a big departure from their previous releases but it doesn’t need to be. Frontwoman Erika Wennerstrom is the owner of one of the most uniquely powerful voices I’ve ever heard. Years ago, I heard their single, “All This Time,” when it was NPR’s song of the day and my mind was instantly blown. For months, no other voice could capture my attention quite like hers.

When I saw the band was coming to town, I rushed to set up an interview but by the time they got to the venue, Erika was quiet, tired and somewhat flustered. She was tiny in stature but her overall presence seemed fragile, completely different than what I had expected. It was easily one of the worst interviews I’ve ever done and I’m happy to blame it on the fact that we were meeting just after they spent fourteen hours in a packed van.

When the lights went down and the band took the stage, the woman I had just met was gone and in her place was this ferocious beast of a singer/guitarist who basically reached into the audience, grabbed our hearts and swallowed them whole. It was madness and things got dirty and sweaty and absolutely perfect.

So, while I’ve only had the time to take this baby for a test drive once or twice, I am looking forward to spending more quality time with it, and their entire back catalogue, soon. Stream the album in its entirety over at Paste.

From the opening dirty Southern blues guitar licks of the title track, I was hooked. In fact, I literally said out loud, “Oh hell yes” and then went back to drinking my coffee. This group does loud sexy rock & roll a la The Kills really well. They can also slow it down and bring things to a more emotional level as well. The album’s closer, “Close to Nowhere,” basically gave me Broken Heart Syndrome, which I heard from my local news telecast was an actual condition that should clear up in the next three months. Thanks a lot Band of Skulls. Seriously though, I’ve already added this to my “Best of 2012” playlist. Now go get your stream on.

There’s a chance I’m remembering things incorrectly, I’m getting old after-all, but I don’t remember these adorable hipsters making such full-sounding music with some dark undertones. In the past it was more sweet and soft California surf pop. Now it seems as though they’re ready to hang up their collective poodle skirt, put on a leather jacket, start smoking and take a ride on the back of a greaser’s Harley. Weird analogy for a band whose singer is married to her bandmate but I absolutely love it. I was about to feel badly for calling them hipsters but they’re giving away a beer koozie when you order their CD so they’re basically asking for it. Stream it and love it over at Spinner.

Screw Valentine’s Day, today should be celebrated for great music! This Kentucky cutie is turning me into a singer-songwriter believer. This is not the genre I go running to on a regular basis as I generally find it really difficult to connect with, but I am feeling this. In many ways War Dancer reminds me of the first time I heard, and subsequently fell in love with, Sarah Blasko‘s first album.

Honorable Mentions: Punch Brothers and Amos Lee. I guess Monica & Brandy’s single “It All Belongs to Me” came out but it will never be the amazing anthem that is, “The Boy is Mine.” That was back when Monica was mah Boo. (Sidenote: Adding this to my karaoke list.)

That’s all for this week! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day regardless of your relationship status and we all know, when all else fails, we can let the music be our hot hot sex. Now, feel free to follow me on Twitter, add me as a friend on Facebook or talk trash about me in your Live Journal blogs.

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