- Fences released the video for single "Arrows" featuring Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and the video is just as heartbreaking, entrancing, and completely wonderful as the song itself. Ranging from random fun short stories that are purely fitted under "life" to direct allusions to Macklemore's Rolling Stone interview, the video is everything you've ever loved about the evolution of pop music and features irresponsibly addictive lyrics like "I swear to God I've seen those eyes, the back of my lids when closing mine" from Fences.
- The Griswolds' Be Impressive will be released tomorrow and it is devastatingly fantastic, debut album or not, so pre-order it from iTunes now and get ready to play it non-stop.
- Fierce Bad Rabbit will be releasing Living Asleep September 23rd; the entire album is so perfectly imperfect it's transfixing so check out tracks "Living Asleep" and "Crystal Ball" now to see why you should start loving this band's subdued indie rock sound.
- Semi Precious Weapons released their latest single "Brando" only months after releasing their last album Aviation. With plans to release a second album this year, inspired by the Golden Age of Rock and Roll, lead singer says of this new track "the song ‘Brando’ is not only inspired by the man himself, but also uses him and some of his movies as metaphors for a very over the top intense relationship I had with my last boyfriend”.
- The music video for Sheppard's "Geronimo" was released and it's perfectly Australian; crazy as fuck with a story line that only matches the song in some abstract way but completely impossible to look away from. It's like an off kilter Romeo & Juliet meets Frankenstein minus all the murder and rampage.
- Cult Called Man's "The Walkyr" sounds like it's personally working to keep the alternative genre alive and well. Sweetly lilting vocals and soaring rhythms combine with pure lyrics and a melody you can drift away on to create something that's so easy to set on repeat.
- Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" mocks everything people love to make fun of about her and stems from the roots of critics favorite source of mockery: her dancing. Too many 'fans' are afraid of change and have made allusions to Swift's 'imminent' downfall to Cyrus levels, but it's important to remember that female vocals CAN be accompanied by fun pop rhythms without developing into a real hot mess. Just chill and have fun with a tooth achingly fun melody, mellow brass, and a rhythm that's simply impossible to not move to. It's a summer infused single that tells the haters to fuck off and encourages you to just do you; love it.
- Francisco The Man's debut music video for single "Progress" is fun and simple and acts as a great representation of the band's incredibly catchy beats, fun melodies, and impossible to not get caught up in lyrics. Check out the video and get the single now.
- EVVY released her debut EP and singles like "You Said" and "Collide" should already be playing on repeat from your speakers.
- John Mellencamp will be releasing his 22nd full length album, Plain Spoken, on Republic Records September 23.
- Colbie Caillat will be releasing Gypsy Heart September 30th, pre-order begins September 2nd. Check out lead single off the album "Try".
- Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass" is the body love anthem you should have been bumping all summer. Lyrics never stray towards hate, even with lines "I'm bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that" being tied up with "nah, I'm just playing I know you think you're fat, but I'm here to tell ya every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top". It is so impossible to listen to this while sitting still. If you somehow have not heard the single yet, listen to see how 2010's IAMA's winner made it to the top of the charts at only twenty years old.
- Jessie J's Sweet Talker will be released October 14; look for the music video for "Bang Bang" to be released on MTV.com after tonight's VMA performance (also, get the track on the deluxe version of Ariana Grande's My Everything, dropping tomorrow; catch the video for her single with Zedd, "Break Free", here).
"Arrows" Fences feat. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
