Cut Copy - Zonoscope

Cut Copy's upcoming LP Zonoscope isn't due to hit store shelves until the first week of February but some of the elves up at the North Pole must have uploaded it to the interwebs for our aural pleasure. It's a solid album, but the highlight is still the already-released-track Take Me Over. The album however includes the almost-six-minute version of the song as opposed to the four-minute radio version previously released an featured in the vid below. Download the album here.

Check out the youtube vid below if you still aren't sure about the awesomeness of this band.

Tapes ‘n Tapes

The new album from Tapes 'n Tapes came out today, I've been listening to the first single "Freak Out" for a couple weeks now and overall the album seems to be pretty solid, but it will take me a couple more listens to decide for sure. Check out "Freak Out" below, and download the album here.

The Pass

The Pass

All the credit on this one has to go to my buddy Marco. A little over a month ago he turned me on to this Louisville, Kentucky band whose debut album Burst has found itself on repeat on more than one occasion. Everyone who hears it asks, “who are these guys?” and as a result they’ve joined a lot of friends’ iTunes library lately. Welcome them to yours. You won’t regret it. I promise. If you still aren’t sure check out the track “Treatment of the Sun” below. 

Spinnerette

Alright, I’ll admit it. I love chick bands. I haven’t pinpointed exactly why, but I think it’s mostly a combination of the Stevie-Nicks-hotness of a girl singing rock music and the fact that there are a lot of guy singers who simply can’t sing. That doesn’t seem to happen as much with chicks. This album isn’t particularly new (released June 2009), but it is particularly good, so give it a listen. Spinnerette is the current project from Aussie-born Brody Dalle collaborating with Jack Irons (former drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eleven, and Pearl Jam) and Alain Johannes (guitarist of Queen’s of the Stone Age, Eleven, Them Crooked Vultures). It’s a good album, with a couple great tracks, check out the single Baptized by Fire below. Or download the album here.

Hugo - 99 Problems

Some guy called Hugo has released a bluegrassy cover of Jay-Z's classic track "99 Problems" listen to it below and download it here. Probably the best cover of a rap song since The Gourds released their cover of Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice. Thanks to Napster you can probably find it in your iTunes/on the interwebs under Phish, but of course they had nothing to do with that song.

The Naked and Famous: Young Blood

This song from New Zealand's The Naked and Famous is a stroke of genius that lies somewhere between MGMT and Passion Pit. Listen to the song via the video below and/or click here to download their entire album called "Passive Me, Aggressive You".

Bright Eyes: Shell Games

Check out the new single from Bright Eyes (Conor Oberst) called Shell Games. The track is off of his forthcoming LP The People’s Key which is due to be released on Oberst’s birthday, February 15, 2011. Download the track HERE. The album art for The People's Key is that fiery one you see above. If the rest of the album sounds like this and is filled with more great lines like "My private life is an inside joke / No one will explain it to me" (towards the end of Shell Games) then it's sure to be a gem.