Entertainment
good listener
our five favorite songs of the week!
This London-based duo only have a few singles to their name, but they already snagged a spot on this May's NME Radar tour alongside Grouplove and Anna Calvi. American-born Kacey Underwood and British-born Alice Costelloe sound like a mellower, more lovesick version of the Kills -- and they just might be as hot (Mosshart obsessives, don't go crazy: I said "might"). "Homework"—a gorgeous acoustic track—manages to be funny and utterly depressing at the same time, like a laugh-through-the-tears moment you'll never forget. ELLEN CARPENTER
Unknown Mortal Coil "How Can U Love Me"
This Portland-by-way-of-New Zealand group just signed to Fat Possum after blowing up on the blogosphere last year with only one song. With its dirty, fat bass line, showboat guitar, and soulful vocals, "How Can U Love Me" reminds me a bit of Nuggets-digging, British duo Malachai. I think Unknown Mortal Coil, though, do a better job describing their sound: "Captain Beefheart, Sly Stone and RZA jamming on a creepy, never-released kid's show." EC
Admiral Fallow, "Squealing Pigs"
We're suckers for a good folk band here at NYLON (all of our parents must have weaned us on Simon & Garfunkel) and our faves of the week are Scottish sextet Admiral Fallow. To tell you the truth, we're suckers for everything Admiral Fallow have going for them: Scottish accents, doubled boy-girl vocals, delicately picked acoustic guitars, singalong choruses, and lastly, clarinet freakouts. EC
We have to admit: we thought we'd had our fill of hazy, dreamy, beach-pop groups for awhile. But that was before we met the Kaplan sisters. And while Piper and Skylar might employ some heavy static in the beginning of their new single, the L.A. duo's perfectly lush harmonies and sleepy rhythms rope you in almost immediately. The whole package is cloudy, ephemeral, and slightly out-of-focus. If Lomo cameras had a musical counterpart, Puro Instinct is it. LIZA DARWIN
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This song from the San Francisco rockers isn't really that new, but we've recently rediscovered it in our iTunes library and have been playing it all week long. It's sweet, nostalgic, and a little bit sad. But surprisingly, the track is catchy enough to save it from being a totally depressing downer. With twinkly instrumentals and a sing-a-long chorus, Girls makes heartbreak sound kind of... well, good. LD
