Sleigh Bells - Born To Lose

Sleigh Bells' sophomore album, Reign Of Terror, doesn't come out until next year, but the Brooklyn band has unveiled the first taste of their new material.  "Born To Lose" premiered today, courtesy of SPIN, and it's a blast.  The song takes the duo's heavy hitting noise-rock to a new level.  Alexis Krauss' vocals aren't as distorted as they were on their ear shattering debut.  Instead, she takes center spotlight adding a dream pop twist.  It's more "Treats" and less "Kids".  Check it out below.  Reign Of Terror is out February 14 on Mom+Pop Records.

 .

Buy A Shirt, Make A Difference

An overwhelming percentage of my wardrobe consists of band t-shirts.  I'm addicted to wearing my favorite group's logo.  It's even better when the design include some sarcastic or witty lyrics.  My most recent haul included a Jessie J shirt.  I don't even own her album.  It's just that her grinning face and Cleopatra hair looks amazing on the front of a shirt.  Anyways, the only thing better than a band shirt is when all of your hard earned money goes to a good cause.  Not only does a shirt for charity help make the world a better place, it also makes you feel good about yourself.

fun. recently unveiled a new shirt in their merch store.  Their LGBTQ design features the bold line, "It’s all fun. and gay ’til someone loses their rights.".  All, not just thirty or fifty percent, but all proceeds made from purchases of this shirt are donated to Revel And Riot.  Revel And Riot is an organization that works towards LGBTQ equality.  So you get to help a cause and you get an awesome band tee from fun..  Just in time for the holidays.  So don we now our gay apparel, stocking stuffers for everyone!

You can grab one for yourself over at fun.'s online store for $15.00.  While you're there, you may want to add "We Are Young", the band's new single, to your cart.  It features Janelle Monáe and just might get stuck in your head all day.

For some more musical t-shirts that benefit a variety of charity organizations, including the Little Boots pattern pictured above, head over to the Yellow Bird Project.  They have shirts from Beach House, Metric, and tons more.  Each artist chooses their favorite charity and all profits go straight to the group. They have a shirt for just about anyone, and plenty of the styles will fit right in with your hipster ensemble.

If you know of any cool band tees that you think the world should see, let me know!  The comment section is your friend.  What's your favorite musical merchandise that goes towards the bigger picture?

Porcelain Raft - Put Me To Sleep

Porcelain Raft's debut album, Strange Weekend, is slated for a release date of January 24th.  Mauro Remiddi, the man behind the name, has released a spectrum of songs under Porcelain Raft over the last year or two.  His newest release also serves as the lead single to Strange Weekend.  "Put Me To Sleep" is a warped sound tunnel that only gets better with its milky music video.  Porcelain Raft has always been a project that evokes multiple senses and it's evident in the clip, which was directed by Remiddi himself. 

After you watch the video, head over to Porcelain Raft's Facebook page for a free download of "Put Me To Sleep".  Mark your calendar, because you won't want to miss out on this album.

If I Could Turn Back Time... To 2010

Calm down, I'm not going all Cher on you, but it's that time of year again.  "Best Of" lists are swarming the internet as every website, blog, or magazine declares their favorite music of 2011.  Before I get to my favorite albums of this year, I wanted to take a step back into the yesteryear of 2010.  At the end of last year, I wrote a pair of posts ranking my twelve favorite records.  For the most part I still love every album included on the list, but countless album are released in the span of a year and opinions change.  Records slip the mind, and you don't realize how crucial of a mistake you've made until almost a year later.  That's exactly what happened to me as I looked back on my 2010 list.  I'd like to dedicate this post the the albums of 2010 that I overlooked and truly deserve to be called some of the best.

First up is Volume Two by She & Him.  While Zooey and M. Ward are currently spreading the Christmas spirit with their latest release, Volume Two is a quirky collection of pop songs.  Zooey Deschanel is the definition of "quirky" and M. Ward is the perfect balance.  This album is something that you could play and somehow manage to satisfy every generation.  Grandma loves the retro vibe, while the kids sing along to the incredibly infectious melodies.

Next would be Special Affections by Diamond Rings.  I found this gem a little late.  Canada's John O'Regan crafted an album that really changes the classification of genres and genders.  The music is minimal, yet fills the room better than your average dance beat.  Is it pop or rock?  His voice certainly isn't one of your usual high-pitched wailer and his flamboyant image says the opposite.  I love this record and can't wait to hear what he does next.

The third album is Swanlights by Antony And The Johnsons.  Every single time I've played one of Antony Hegarty's songs for a listener who has never heard him before, they've always had an instant reaction.  Sometimes the reaction is less than welcoming, but Antony always makes an impact.  His vibrato is unforgettable and his music is haunting.  His debut album contains some of the most honest lyrics I've ever heard, and Swanlights doesn't disappoint.

As I take a final reflection on my 2010 list, I wonder to myself how this album isn't on it.  Brothers by The Black Keys.  I really can't find a flaw with Brothers.  It's about as soulful as rock music will ever be.  The duo just released their follow-up album, El Camino, this week.  After listening to it, I wanted to go back and hear Brothers once again.  If you haven't given this record a spin, I highly recommend you make time for it.

Check back later this month for a list of my favorite albums from 2011.

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

After a string of live performances, Lana Del Rey has revealed the studio version of her new track "Born To Die".  Lana's recent explosion within the internet world has brought her endless praise, and as always, accusations of a "gimmick" act.  Either way, I've had "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" on repeat for months.

The new single shares the name of her debut album which is out in the US on January 31 of next year.  "Born To Die" resembles the similar sound of her previous singles, lush strings and her throwback melodies.  While the official music video isn't out until December 16, which I hear involves a tiger, you can listen to the song along with a promo video below.  It's fairly simple with Lana glaring down the camera as she embraces a tattooed man, both presumably naked.  Check it out...

The single officially hits airwaves and will be available for download on January 23, one week before her debut album, "Born To Die".