St. Vincent, Laura Marling, Neon Indian [week's Top Releases]

This week’s list of top releases is a bit longer than usual, and we couldn’t be more excited! From St. Vincent to Neon Indian to Wild Flag, each one brings something different to the table and a different taste to your musical palate. Enjoy!

Surgeon – St. Vincent

Annie Clark is probably the most collectively well-liked artist out there today. Her third St. Vincent (@st_vincent) full-length is highly anticipated, aided by a Twitter hashtag campaign that “unlocked” the first single, “Surgeon”, earlier this summer. Pre-release reviews praise Clark’s growth in guitar playing on this record, but I’m pretty sure anything St. Vincent releases is going to be universally praised.

Girls are releasing their second full-length album following the wildly acclaimed debut Album and 6-song EP Broken Dreams Club. There may be new songs, but it’s more of the same stuff here: lo-fi heartbreakers with a creepy undertone of Chris Owen’s cultish past.

Young folk revivalist Laura Marling (@lauramarlinghq) is releasing her third album, A Creature I Don’t Know, quite soon after last year’s I Speak Because I Can. Her songwriting has never been more polished than on this newest release, which means a great deal considering both her previous efforts were nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize. It will be interesting to see if Marling can maintain that high level of success with record number three. My money is on yes.

In case you still thought chillwave wasn’t here to stay, Neon Indian’s (@neonindian) Alan Polomo has created Era Extraña to prove you wrong. Boasting a more mature, less experimental sound than 2009’s Psychic Chasms, this record just might be the one that catapults chillwave into the mainstream…to the disapproving eye rolls of hipsters everywhere.

Grrrl rock supergroup Wild Flag (@wildflagmusic) doesn’t need any gimmicks to get attention. Just mention “ex-Sleater Kinney and Helium members” and you immediately drum up a healthy curiosity. Wild Flag release their eponymous debut after building up anticipation with months of live performances across the US. The result is a youthful harping back to the grunge glory days of the nineties. I totally want to be Carrie Brownstein.

Maracas – Mates of State

Easily one of the best couples making music together, Mates of State (@matesofstate) are releasing their seventh album today (wow). A quintessential creation of their trademark sound, Mountaintops features lush harmonies and traded boy/girl vocals.

It seems as though Das Racist (@dasracist) have been around forever, so it’s a little hard to believe that Relax is actually their debut (apart from several awesome mixtapes). Often considered one of those love ‘em or just don’t get ‘em bands, Relax  is at least making Das Racist much more difficult to ignore — in a good way.

Love the Way You Walk Away – Blitzen Trapper

The sixth full-length from Portland alt-country rock band Blitzen Trapper (@blitzentrapper) doesn’t just evoke nostalgia, the record sounds like it time traveled directly from the 1970s. Comparisons to Bob Dylan abound, while the Americana flavors make American Goldwing a decent intro to fall.

Grouplove ‘Colours’ by ATL REC

One of my favorite discoveries from this year’s SXSW, Grouplove’s (@grouplove) summery tunes get a major label release (Atlantic). While the saturation of beachy indie-pop bands from California in today’s new music landscape may be a bit tired, Grouplove’s energetic, friendly songs suggest the band has something unique enough to warrant our attention.