Thanks for tuning in. I live to turn folks on to new music, so I’ll be checking in every week with two or three new albums (i.e. from the last six months) that are worth a listen. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find your new favorite band.

This week I’m looking across both oceans at our Anglophonic rock and roll brethren…

Pond: Beard, Wives, Denim

Heading over the Pacific, let’s start off the column with my favorite new discovery of 2012: Pond. Pond is basically a Tame Impala side-project based in Perth, Australia and their newest album hits a perfect psychedelic rock sweet spot. Great songs (with titles like Fantastic Explosion of Time and Sorry I Was Under the Sky), left-turn guitar jams and music that tells as much a story as the prog-rock lyrics, nearly every track on the album is a gem. This is one of the albums that will begin to sound different… and better the more you listen, so have it. After recommending this album to a tastemaker friend, his email reply was to the point: “Holy f#$%!” which sums up my feelings exactly.

MOG: http://mog.com/m/album/64604283?ci=40000
Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/pond/album/beard-wives-denim
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B007BZKW8C

Little Barrie: King of the Waves

Going the other direction, we reach Nottingham, England and Little Barrie. Take a minute to search the internet and you’ll find this power trio pegged with about 20 different genres and sub-genres. From garage rock to R&B to, somehow, rap. It’s probably because their album, King of the Waves, is like a musical mood ring, resonating in different ways depending on your state of mind. The same music becomes pop songs when you’re looking for something to sing along with, tasty 3-man interplay when your mind needs to wander, groovy body-movers when you’re looking to dance and raunchy, greasy guitar/bass/drums when you just want to rock out.

MOG: http://mog.com/m/album/64478599?ci=40000
Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/artist/little-barrie/album/king-of-the-waves
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B007A3K7ZI

Neddy

Aaron Stein lives in the NYC area and enjoys taking full advantage of all the music the city has to offer. He has written for JamBase, Bowery Presents' House List and Hidden Track amongst others.

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