Wolf Bite

Upon first listen, Owl City's new single sounds like the efforts of a boy band trying to make a comeback that everyone knows won't happen because the lyrics in the chorus are far too reminiscent of something you might find in the pages of a middle school girl's composition book; it gets exponentially better after your premiere listen. 

The single grows on you until you're dancing around to a production as prominent as the one featured on "Hello Seattle" with lyrics as sweetly reminiscent yet simultaneously hopeful for things to come as "I'll Meet You There", all without slipping into the void of overly produced pop that "Good Time" was left drowning in two summers ago. 

The track has the fresh feel of Maybe I'm Dreaming but with the ability to make you dance that has only come about with experience. The more structured track pulls everything together with a fun, pulsing rhythm and a melody addictive enough to have you hitting repeat before the last note has faded out, all while lyrics as great as "it's another wolf bite, howling in the moonlight, I wanna get my life right" and "if the darkness falls and my angel calls, in my despair, will you be there?... If the world goes blind and I lose my mind, will you show me the way tonight?" will have you singing along shamelessly. 

Featuring a production as fun and unique as everything that first made you fall for Young's music, "Wolf Bite" feels like a trip back home to the music you've always loved and offers a single you'll want to dance around to all summer long. 

Check out the sites, get the single, and pre-order your copy of the new EP Ultraviolet, available June 27th. 

"Wolf Bite" Owl City

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Leave Your Lover

I am fully convinced that no one can lay down poetry to a softly simple melody quite like Sam Smith can, and lyrics that beg "don't you see what I can bring, can't keep this beating heart at bay, set my midnight summer free, I will give you all of me, just leave your lover, leave him for me" are too amazing to pass by. 

Realizations as sweetly heartbreaking as "I don't have much to give but I don't care for gold, what use is money when you need someone to hold" and "oh, I'm in love with you and you will never know, but if I can't have you I want this life alone, spare you the rising storm and let the rivers flow" ring out like a cult hit in the making and should endear Smith to anyone.

Smith's vocals are smooth, rich, and entirely satisfying; combined with a softly played guitar riff, melancholy strings, and a simple and recurring piano melody, this track can't be outdone by any other tracks about 'hopeless romances' released this year. 

"Leave Your Lover" Sam Smith

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Let Me In

An assuredly sturdy piano starts the song off right and offers its constant support throughout, while steady drums keep the song moving forward, a soft woodblock adds something unique, and fun guitar riffs and bass lines are addictive enough that anyone can fall for the track. The back and forth between Christian and Hannah makes already sweet lyrics even more irresistible and lines like "all this time been trippin' and slippin' around, you got me, now I'm swimmin', swimmin' in clouds" are sung with such tenderness that you're sure to find yourself sucked into this single, whether you're a nerdfighter or not. 

Christian's frantic scream around 2:17 leads into a wonderfully emotional instrumental before the track plateaus again with Christian's soft vocals stating "now I'm findin' out that all I know is right at home, but I'm tellin' the man my plan to never feel alone" as the track quickly crescendos again before snapping back to Hannah's softly sung "gimme, gimme that love, I'll be waitin' for ya, catch my hand, I'll be fightin' for ya" (which perfectly captures the vulnerability of the line) and the track is made just as torturously emotional as the movie it's supporting.

Listen to the gorgeous single below, see The Fault In Our Stars in theaters now (with a box of tissues and a complete lack of dignity), and check out the sites below to see why Grouplove is still seriously underrated.

"Let Me In" Grouplove

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Battles

The ever present guitar harmony pulls your attention immediately before giving way and sharing the stage with a wonderfully prominent, and slightly vengeful, piano riff that falls steadily in line with lyrics "I will lift her love and I'll break your spirit, I will dig a hole and I'll throw you in it".

The track features the brother's vocal harmonies, sans instruments, only in fleeting moments, but does so with an ease that just feels natural, letting the chorus unwind with "if we're all just cynics come undone" sung acapella before a hurried guitar riff picks it back up to urge the song forward.

A fantastically powerful bridge ties the song together with a guitar riff that grows more persistent as it continues, a pretty piano riff that steadily gains strength throughout, and a drum rhythm that fails to let up; all while great lyrics "we are tied to the truth, the tie that binds me to you, and I'm acting on my words, with all that I have heard, with honesty in mind, you'll find, that I'm not the lie see the truth in my eyes" are trotted out over an impossibly catchy melody.

Their harmonies, both vocal and guitar, are flawless; the melody is so catchy it will be in your head for days; the rhythm's relentless; and the lyrics are as perfectly unpretentious and emotional as ever.

Hudson Taylor's "Battles" will be released tomorrow (June 15) and is available for pre-order now. Can't wait a few hours to have this repeating on your iPod? Grab the recording originally released on their Chasing Rubies EP now.

"Battles" Hudson Taylor

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