Goldfish

I found another South African song I like! Always exciting. And I think these guys are actually mainstream, though I could definitely be wrong about that.

I heard Goldfish on TV when I was getting ready the other morning. We Come Together must be their current single. The song is actually nothing tremendous, but it's fun and catchy. And it has an awesome video with fan service for pretty much any fan of any cartoon/movie/video game ever.





I don't actually intend to find more of their stuff, because I figure they're mainstream so it will just come to me. So if you like it and look for more and it gets better, please let me know.

Brazilian Girls

Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen have released a song called Good Times, which comes onto the morning music video rotation practically every day lately. This makes me sad. (Also notice I didn't bold those. I would hate for you to come read my blog and think I'm actually posting about them then not listen to the actual post and lose all respect for me. I did it for your own benefit. You're welcome). But Brazilian Girls make me happy. And they also have a song called Good Times. Make your mind up for yourself, but the Brazilian Girls song is clearly 237893598 times better. At least.





Another thing that makes me sad is when bands I love, like Brazilian Girls, break up, which they did in 2009. Luckily in 2012 they have gotten back together and are working on new music, which I can't wait for.

Now don't let the name fool you. There are no Brazilians in the group, and there is only one girl. They formed in New York, but I'm pretty sure they all grew up in ex-pat families and moved around a lot, which explains why she sings in like 5 languages on their debut album, and even more in later ones. I love all their albums, but their first album, Brazilian Girls, is and probably always will be my favorite. And my favorite track by them, which will probably remain my favorite, is Don't Stop, off the album.





Although you can't discount thi nexts track, also off the debut, which seems to be everyone else's favorite. I'm sure you'll figure out why.

 

The Lighthouse and the Whaler

I stumbled across The Lighthouse and the Whaler a few years ago after their first album came out. There was like a week where they were all I listened to cause I was extremely stressed and not sleeping enough and their album was exactly what I needed to calm me down and make everything ok. At the time, they made me think of Fleet Foxes, as Under Mountain, Under Ground illustrates.




That's my favorite track off the first album. At the time I loved the album, but after going back and listening to it recently, it's not as great as I originally thought. I still enjoy it and there are some excellen tracks, but I think it was more the timing that made me listen to it on repeat. Luckily for me they just released a 2nd album, This Is An Adventure, which is really good. It's such a change from their last album, this time a lot more upbeat. It actually reminds me of Freelance Whales now, which is ironic because Freelance Whales's new album doesn't remind me of Freelance Whales. There's even moments that are reminiscent of Phoenix. Pioneers is a great opening track and one of my favorites.





And the first song I heard off the album, Venice, is also a stand out track.

 

Sonnymoon

I like to think of Sonnymoon as Grimes's Korean cousin. Not because they're related or because she's Korean. For some reason that just popped into my head and I like it. So I'm not going to try to find anything to make me think otherwise.

She makes interesting music. Album starts out really upbeat with Wild Rumpus. Kind of reminds me of Tune-Yards for some reason. And it's got a great sound and a great name.





Then the album slows down and takes on more of a soulful sound. Every Summer Night, towards the end of the album, is the complete other end of the spectrum, reminding me of Flying Lotus or Four Tet.




If you like, you can hear the rest of her eponymous album, and other goodies, on her SoundCloud.