There are so many new tracks and albums to check out this week that this list barely covers half of them. Check out some of the best new tracks below then head to iTunes or Amazon to support your favorite artists.
- Ray LaMontagne reminded us that he is the master of the modern love song because no one does classic romance in four minutes or less quite like he can; listen to "Supernova" to find out why you should already be loving LaMontagne's sound.
- The Fray released Helios and left me shirking my responsibilities and playing the entire album on repeat (because if there's one thing I love more than new music from The Fray, it's nothing). Check out tracks like "Our Last Days", "Same As You", "Break Your Plans", and the ever popular "Hurricane" and "Love Don't Die".
- Lake Street Dive's "Bad Self Portraits" is the free single of the week on iTunes and those vocals are so satisfyingly sweet that you're going to want to get it.
- Yellow Ostrich released Cosmos and the gritty bare bones feel is an awesome juxtaposition to their surprisingly heavy compositions and I can't get enough of that guitar work. Check out tracks like "Any Wonder" and "Shades".
- Coldplay put Ghost Stories up for pre-order and "Magic" was a slightly watered down version of their better music, but still so, so much better than "Midnight" ("Magic" may grow on me though).
- Phillip Phillips released "Raging Fire" and it was surprisingly fantastic; his music had lost some its allure after seeing him live (he sounds great, but he has the stage presence of that kid who trips on stage during their high school graduation: overly enthused to begin with, then immediately bashful) but this single has me ready to go check out another performance soon.
- Kid Cudi released Satellite Flight and I got overly excited. No one can do a chill song to nod your head along to quite like Kid Cudi; I just want to sit here and soak in "Too Bad I Have To Destroy You Now".
- Justin Timberlake released "Not A Bad Thing" and even though it's not as great as his others, it is sure to be on your radio because he is Justin Timberlake.
- Karmin's Pulses is available for pre-order and that odd mix of pop/jazz/rap will probably find its way to your radio.
- 5 Seconds of Summer proved that we have taken this boy band thing too far. I knew the Australian invasion (music-wise) was coming, but please, do not let it happen this way. I may feature their single "She Looks So Perfect" so that I can tear it apart, much like I did for 1D's "What Makes You Beautiful" back when that was new but, for now, I just want to leave you with the knowledge that American Apparel underwear is garbage and you're better than that.
- American Authors' Oh, What A Life is now available on iTunes. I'm still not tired of it after my various listens and I'm still going to go with what I said last month: Oh, What A Life is going to be one of the best albums of 2014 for the title track alone (and I've been playing "Heart of Stone" on repeat for a month and it is still fantastic).
- SKATERS released Manhattan and you should be turning up "I Wanna Dance (But I Don't Know How)" because no one can resist dancing to this.
- Pharrell released his first solo album since '06 and G I R L is fun and upbeat and more than perfect for your Spring Break.
- Zella Day's "Sweet Ophelia" has been getting a lot of love from the internet lately, as it should. The track is one of the first from the new artist and her smokey vocals and perfect ability to write a gorgeous song with honest lyrics that take their cues from the all consuming love felt by Hamlet's Ophelia is enviable.
- Lime Cordiale's "Sleeping At Your Door" should be in your Spring Break playlist (in every playlist really).
- Kimberly Anne's "Hard As Hello" is honestly fuckmazing and the only thing that could ever compete with the utter perfection that is the original is Bastille's new remix of the track. I can't stop listening to this and I don't really want to either.
- Jimmy & The Mirrors' "Toucan Blues" is fun and easy to dance around to; you can get the single this Friday.
- You can stream the new Architects UK album in all of its scream-worthy greatness here, then order it from iTunes March 11.
- Cathedrals' "Harlem" is more than a little addictive and it should be circling around your head on repeat (in a good way).
- The Chainsmokers' remix of Strange Talk's "Young Hearts" is catchy, but not half as great as the original.
- Hudson Taylor put "Try" up on YouTube and it's amazing, just as perfect as ever, and makes me wish, yet again, that their music was available in the US. Check it out to see why you should already be enamored by this duo's sound
- The Vamps are going to be UK's back-up when One Direction falls apart (because, honestly, their expiration date is coming fast) and now that their tracks are starting to become available in the US, it's going to be impossible to escape their music. They just released their music video for "Last Night" and the track is radio ready, but their single "Wild Heart" (available now in the US iTunes store) will probably have to join your Spring break playlist just because it is so easy to sing along with. Check out their latest video below.
"Last Night" The Vamps