Nylon Good Listener - Friday, August 3
Blonds “Time”
We don’t really have a “summer album” here at NYLON HQ this year, but one that we’ve been blasting on repeat for the past couple of months is Brooklyn-by-way-of-Florida duo Blonds’ ridiculously good debut The Bad Ones, which comes out next week. Their latest single “Time” has a bit of a Beach House vibe, with hazy vocals, delicate piano, and vibrating synth chords that bring to mind hazy sunsets and salt-water breezes. “Everything’s all right/ ‘Cause time is on our side,” promises singer Cari Rae. Isn’t that how summer should be? —ELLEN CARPENTER
The Velveteens “Crush Song”
The spirit of the Shangri-Las is alive and well in Minneapolis! At least if the sound of two-girl, one-boy band The Velveteens is anything to go by. Adolescent lyrics (“You’re disproportionately adorable,” croons singer Kiera Coonan), du-wop melodies, and scratchy garage beats converge on “Crush Song.” Their self-titled cassette tape (seriously!) was released in May, but if a good look under the bed for your Sony Walkman left you empty-handed and covered in dust bunnies—good news! You can download all nine songs for free on their Bandcamp page.
—NATALIE SHUKUR
Lord Huron “Time to Run”
Following typical Lord Huron fashion, this tune starts slow, gradually building to a faster beat, with clapping percussion and Ben Scheider’s atmospheric voice leading the way, only to take an intermission two minutes in. It’s a formula that works well for the Michigan-born Schneider, the one and only man behind the sound. His full-length debut Lonesome Dreams is slated to drop October 9 on IAMSOUND. (He has already released two EPs, Mighty and Into The Sun.) The first single from the forthcoming album, “Time To Run,” is available for free download. And we really recommend you take them up on it - we did and we can’t get enough.
—ABBY GILMAN
Tailor “Wolf”
I don’t know if I love this music video for its creepy scenes, or hate it for seemingly trying too hard to capture a cool indie vibe (though I do give nods for the fairytale storyline). Regardless, the track, from South African singer/songwriter Tailor’s debut album The Dark Horse, released this week, holds its own. Incorporating pumping percussion, raspy, whispered vocals, and urgent violin, I think I can get over the music video for the sake of, well, music. Plus, is it just me or is her mouth totally reminiscent of Steven Tyler? —AG
Bells “Wanderer”
It’s no secret that we love Explosions in the Sky (the Texas quartet’s instrumental rock jams can be heard in the office on any given day). So when we came across the first single for a band with a similar aesthetic, we couldn’t help but fall head over heels. Formed by former August Burns Red vocalist Jon Hershey, This or the Apocalypse’s Sean Hennessey, and Tim Kettering, Bells is sure to climb right up the post-rock charts with their debut album Our Forest, Our Empire, set to drop August 28. Pump up the volume and check out their trippy (and elusive - took us a good few Google searches to find the right band!) website to pre-order your copy, creep photos, or simply enjoy the mesmerizing background. —AG
