“Something, Somewhere, Sometime” off Dear Companion, a shining collaboration between folk music masters Ben Sollee, Daniel Martin Moore and Yim Yames, is an intoxicating song of sweetly pulsing and circular melodies. We feel something hopeful when hearing it; it’s been a long dark time of hurt and regret, of fear for saying the wrong thing and losing a person forever. Suddenly, a song becomes the only way in which to express the tumultuous feelings inside.

Sometimes a song exudes sunshine. “Cranberry” by The Ruby Suns is one such a song. A frivolously feathered song of big band regality, singing sirens and all-together chaos, this new tune captures the noises our parents asked us to keep quiet when we were young. The antithetical mixing of simple synthesized backbeats and dripping vocals make for a somehow breezy explosion of rhythms. One could not help but feel better while and after listening to this song.

“Mykonos” was the most noteworthy song off Fleet Foxes‘ debut Sub Pop EP Sun Giant, and now they give it the single-worthy nod of recognition it deserved at the time by releasing it on 7-inch vinyl.

Rough 70s-era garage rock instrumentation paired with a joint custody of glamorous pop meets fuzzy rock vocals, Happy Birthday comes across as a modern sleeper band. Like a favorite from last year (Jeff The Brotherhood), Happy Birthday could very well launch forward into history with one of the better albums of the year. “Girls FM”, the opening track off the band’s self-titled Sub Pop debut, certainly shows the promise of good things to come. If anything Happy Birthday will be among the early highly anticipated albums from …

Fact: I never really dug Beach House. I often found their blend of minimal drone meets spacey bedroom pop a bit drab. Melodies didn’t seem to be all there, and the vocal parts, too, were dull. My interest waned in the first few songs of both their debut and follow-up, so I’d pull them from the record player. Thus they found an inevitable fixed spot on my dusty shelf. Truth: I don’t think I really gave them the chance they deserved. Teen Dream is proof …

Duluth Minnesota’s Retribution Gospel Choir is about as real as it gets in the world of pop-rock. They have enough energy and vibrancy to power Vegas for at least a few minutes. RGC has been riding off the success of their self-titled debut album recently (touring with Wilco, Meat Puppets, & more), but as always, their progression is never ending. Their sophomore release, 2, will be out January 26th on Sub Pop, and it features the stunning single “Hide It Away”. This track is damn solid. …

It’s been a few years since we last heard from The Album Leaf, but they’re back. “Falling From The Sun” renews the band’s focus on vocals. Looking back at In A Safe Place and Into The Blue Again, those albums emphasized The Album Leaf’s ability to create a dreamy, atmospheric tune. “Falling From The Sky” lapses into those areas, but the true emphasis is on lyrics and vocals, and that in itself is a substantial change.

Grand Archives‘ latest LP, Keep In Mind Frankenstein, follows their self-titled debut in the creation of masterful harmonies backed by pleasant melodies. “Oslo Novelist” is the second track released off the album for free public consumption (following “Silver Among The Gold”) and the first to be put to video. The storyline consists of a novelist in space who loses his writing and follows his attempts to get the papers back. It’s a fun one that works well with the luscious melodies Grand Archives creates.

Pop music can often be a downer. As Nick Hornby wrote in the opening of Hi Fidelity: “Was I miserable because I listened to pop music, or did I listen to pop music because I’m miserable. (End paraphrase.) It’s a classic chicken-and-egg question, the inevitable stumper of “Which came first?” But – and there’s always that but – music exists of another sort; music that’s upbeat and lively and enjoyable despite lacking that sad undertone. And Fruit Bats are such a band – their video for …

Avigdor Zahner-Isenberg is a name I cannot easily pronounce, so I’m glad this young songwriter from Long Beach has chosen to go by the moniker Avi Buffalo. The 18-year-old Avigdor has made music under this guise for three years and with a few shows under the belt, expanded the project to a full-on group. With Aaron Embry at the production wheel, Avi Buffalo began recording their first record. More stuf happened… you know, this and that… and then Sub Pop came into the picture. For realsies.