Adventures in iTunes: New Discoveries

One of the massive benefits of going out on the road with a group of really talented people who dig music is that I always seem to come home with some fantastic recommendations for new music to listen to. There are few things I enjoy as much as sharing the stuff I love with other people who will love it, too, so when people return the favor and pass things along my way, I quite naturally get all giddy about it.

Alex G's Share Your Story Tour was no different. So, I'd like to take the next few moments and pass along to all of you some of the great music I've been turned on to by the people who joined me out on the road.

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Brandon Flowers - The Desired Effect
Perhaps more well-known as the lead singer of The Killers, Brandon Flowers put out a record just this year that fits really, really nicely into that revival of '80s synth-pop I wrote about a few months ago. To simply describe it as such is probably too much of an over-simplification, though. On this record, Flowers is, more than anything else, a great songwriter. But, he did manage to get the word "gravitron" into a song, so I guess the '80s thing fits pretty nicely, too:

  


The Gaslight Anthem - Handwritten
This record's a few years old now and The Gaslight Anthem has been around for longer than that, but someone finally had the wherewithal to suggest that I listen to them. What a record Handwritten is. This band just drips east coast rock 'n' roll - you won't have to listen too closely to hear the Springsteen influence - and in this day & age, that is a wonderful thing. It might seem like solid, dependable, well-written rock records are a thing of the past, but these guys prove that notion dead wrong. I can't wait to dig into some more from these cats.




LANY - I Loved You.
LANY's a new-ish band, once again hearkening back to that '80s thing everybody knows they love. This stuff is just so good & easy to listen to: singable, dance-y, memorable. It sticks in your head in the best way. LANY (along with the other artists mentioned here, really) is showing people what pop music could be again. Maybe it's even better to say they're showing people what music can be. There is great new music happening out there, folks. It's just waiting for you to get your ears on it.