Canada’s Metric will soon be releasing their fifth studio album, Synthetica, June 12th, 2012 on Mom + Pop Records. The album’s first single, “Youth Without Youth,” is a reaction to how singer Emily Haines perceives the world of today as “the decay of the social state, through the eyes of a deprived youth.”

LISTEN

Metric :: Youth Without Youth 2012

Enjoy one of my favorite remixes of Metric’s song Help I’m Alive released by The Twelves on their own Kitsuné Tabloid compilation last summer.

Metric :: Help I’m Alive (The Twelves Tabloid mix) 2011

Watching Metric perform “Youth Without Youth” acoustically for Rolling Stone Magazine.

Day of the Dead Photography by Peter Holliday

I am nothing without pretend
I know my thoughts
Can’t live with them

One of the greatest songs of 2011 was Wye Oak‘s Civillain.

Together vocalist Jenn Wasner and multi-instrumentalist Andy Stack of Wye Oak create such sheer intensity and surprise in the craftsmanship of their lyrics to the actual music.

Engineer John Congleton known for his brilliance in producing works for Modest Mouse, Shearwater, and St. Vincent shared his magic on Wye Oak’s third album Civillian, allowing for the band to enjoy the collaboration process of making a beautiful and full sounding album.

Listen ♥♥♥ Wye Oak – Civillian

Art by Sylvia Ji

You can’t keep hangin’ on

To all that’s dead and gone

♥♥♥

Listen: Beach House – Myth (Bloom, 2012)

Art: Ludovic Jacqz

So, bless my heart.

Bless my mind.

I got so much to do, I ain’t got much time

So, must be someone up above saying:

“Come on girl! You got to get back up!!”

“You got to hold on…”

~*~

Art: Tom Bagshaw

Listen: Alabama Shakes – Hold On
from the (Alabama Shakes EP 2011)

More: Enjoy I Am Fuel, You Are Friends Recording of Alabama Shakes live in San Francisco

running away from yourself

your body, your mind

all your life

with each place

it’s easy to keep wondering

what brings us there

and what we are expecting to find

so we create our own distractions,

to figure out who we are and where we are going

until it’s realized the past is over

and all that matters right now is the present.

listen :: fleet foxes :: mykonos

you go wherever you go

you go today

you go wherever you go

you go today

you go wherever you go

you go today

Swerving in and out inside a deep spectrum of intensity is M83‘s new single “Midnight City,” soon to be featured on their upcoming 22 track release, Hurry Up We’re Dreaming. Drums pulsate like flickering traffic lights off and on while guitars meditate into silver electricity, rocketed within synthesizer sounds scratching the energy of a mesmerizing, exploding beat that keeps the track completely youthful and alive.

L I S T E N M83 – Midnight City (Hurry Up We’re Dreaming, 2011)

A R T W O R K Bec Winnel

happy new years eve! this is my own personal collection of my favorite songs of 2010. it was a tough decision to narrow down the best from out of 500 tracks, but the below addictions (in no particular order) seemed to take over my speakers for the most of this year. a collection of everything from indie rock, pop, r&b, soul, hip hop, electronica, and acoustics that made music in general feel good again. personally this year was a rollercoaster of happy emotions from moving to florida to starting a new line of jewelry to beginning new friendships to renewing a relationship with my own father, and sad feelings of my own health scares to feelings of uncertainty to an unfortunate loss of family members.  from the bottom of my heart, thank you to these artists who kept on inspiring the love of making and sharing beautiful sounds for those of us who truly needed it to get through this year. may 2011 bring us new special memories of music, art, love, light, and joy!

♥♥♥♥♥

artwork by natalie shau

be sure to check out some of these amazing 2010 lists: gvb, stg, mdm