Trevor Powers found a voice for his chronic anxiety and the indescribable feelings swirling around inside of him in Youth Lagoon and the aptly titled debut album, A Year of Hibernation. When “Montana” first came my way I was instantly drawn to the dreamy melancholy floating out of the speakers. “July” has that same feeling; a song that, despite its intentions, builds a soundscape that defines a distant emotion more than creating a catchy melody. It’s like something that would be piped in as your deathbed mind flashed through the disparate chain of memories that is your life. That’s a pretty bold statement considering this Boise native is barely 20 and made this album by himself.
This is the second video directed by Tyler T. Williams who seems to have a knack for underscoring Powers’ uncanny ability to build a slow song into an epic crescendo out of seemingly nothing.
Youth Lagoon – July from Tyler T Williams on Vimeo.
My current celebrity lady crush, Annie Clark, is back with a new St. Vincent album titled Strange Mercy. I always understood St. Vincent to be a pixie-ish waif with a great voice and tender, graceful pop songs. That is until 
There has been sort of an “Incense and Peppermints” roots revival of 60′s psychedelic guitar rock. Bands like The Brian Jonestown Massacre have been doing it all along but more recently, outfits like 
At first listen, this sounds like a Zeppelin / Sabbath inspired southern rock band: power riffs, whiskey-soaked and blues-y vocals, and a bare bones, retro presentation. On further inspection these dudes are Swedish, which explains the glib band name. The fact that they’re Norwegian (actually most of the defunct stoner metal band, Norrksen) and totally rock excuses them from stealing their name from a midwestern middle school metal band.
Room 205
I usually tell non-English rock music to fuck off unless, of course, it is Norwegian Black Metal, but Davila 666 has got a pretty cool tune here. It’s got a retro garage twist that makes it suitable for the climax of a Robert Rodriguez film. I like the singer too. He looks crazy. The gist of the video is this guy smacks the shit out of brunette chicks, then revives them as blonds in his super-cool rock cult. These guys apparently are getting a reputation as the ‘world’s greatest party band” according to 
Ok, Ok so I’m loving Warpaint. Although their name may be better suited for a hardcore metal act, they are an all-girl alternative rock band from L.A. Comprised of actresses, musicians in other L.A groups, and a former Chili Pepper for a brief time they flew quietly under my rock radar until this song, “Undertow” worked its way into my subconscious. Songs like “