I’ve been on a bit of a Villagers kick lately. Every time I come across one of their songs I wind up listening to the whole Becoming a Jackal album on repeat. Here’s the titular track, “Becoming a Jackal.”

I originally posted about Greta Salpeter’s (formerly of The Hush Sound) new band Gold Motel back in 2010 but at the time I couldn’t find Summer House. Well Liz found the album & I gave it a full listen. Twice. Salpeter pulls off “vintage + indie” in a way that should make She & Him’s Zooey Deschanel very jealous. Here’s “Don’t Send the Searchlights.”

Metric’s “Satellite Mind” has been on the short-list for songs to post up to 34th & Now for a week or two. Then I found this this acoustic version that bumped it right to the top of the list. Emily Haines’ voice is spot on.

Empire Records came up in conversation yesterday which made me think of the soundtrack which in turn led me down 90s nostalgia lane. The opening riff of Gin Blossoms’ “Till I Hear It From You” is so epic.

But I guess you could never forget
The way she moves
She removes your stress
“You ain’t got a clue ‘bout nothing like this”
That’s what she says
And she means what she say

“Appetite for Lighting Dynamite”
Citizen Cope

Zach Williams is most definitely the next big singer-songwriter. Hailing from Georgia, Williams has been making a name for himself since 2004 with his soulful, penetrating vocals and honest lyrics. Here’s “Fears” off his album Story Time. You’re welcome for this one.

I’ve been listening to My Head is An Animal, the debut album from Iceland’s Of Monsters and Men for a week now and it’s one of those albums that pretty much any fan of indie music—or just good music—will enjoy. Here’s the single, “Little Talks.”

For the second time in two days I’ve heard this song playing while out and about and both times I reacted with the same way: looking around thinking “Are you people not hearing this? Are you deaf? It’s DAVE!!!”

Down in the valley with whiskey rivers, these are the places you will find me hiding. These are the places I will always go. The Head and The Heart, “Down In The Valley.”

Indie dream-pop duo Mazzy Star is back with their first new track in well over a decade. The single, “Common Burn” is set for release Oct. 31st and features this track, “Lay Myself Down” as a B-Side.

As promised, here’s a track from Hey Rosetta! I went with “Red Heart” off the Live Sessions iTunes Exclusive album — totally worth the $5 price tag by the way. I can’t believe I didn’t know about these guys until yesterday.