We got an extra day this February, thanks to Leap Year. That, along with Punxsutawney Phil giving us an early spring made for a Pandora Picks that's a bit longer, lighter and brighter than usual. Dime that volume and click here to dig what we've been digging.
I have a special love for Manchester based band Elbow. It's been a couple of years since they've released any new music and they've got a couple of new tracks out. One's called “Lovers’ Leap.” This one's called “Balu.” Guy Garvey described the new sound as, “…gnarly seedy grooves created by playing in garage rooms.” I love it, love it, love it. Hope you do too.
-Jamie
Thrilliam Angels, Helen Sun & d.j. polyplus u.c. – “The Break Up Song”
Sometimes you click on something and you don't know what it is and you could get doxed. Or in this case, I just clicked on the cover art for the Thrilliam Angels album, This Sunrise is Brutal. And the first track, “The Break Up Song” is surprisingly catchy and good. This is Latvian producer Thrilliam Angels with d.j. polyplus u.c. and vocals by Helen Sun. This is “The Break Up Song.”
-George
I'm so incredibly stoked to share the new single from this Snarky Puppy side project. The percussion and groove-based funk, hip-hop, and fusion project goes to note. “Where's Danny” is a high-energy funk anthem that straight up cooks. So, if you're looking for a get up and get moving or midday slump, burst of energy without having to reach for the caffeine, then look no further.
-Michelle
Waxahatchee – “Right Back to It (feat. MJ Lenderman)”
My pick for this month is the song “Right Back to It” by Waxahatchee featuring MJ Linderman. It's coming from the new album, Tiger's Blood. Can't wait to hear the rest of the album. It's coming out soon and it's just a beautiful, beautiful song. Hope you like it.
-Noel
My pick for this month is a song called Headlock by the New York Band, Biter. It's kind of hard to put them into a bucket. It could be pop punk. It could be post punk or it could just be a good old catchy rock song. Biter is a good time and I hope you will enjoy it.
-Julien
GospelbeacH – “The Dropouts (Part One)”
My pick comes from GospelbeacH, a band that I’m convinced might be the one true bookend of the Los Angeles canyon rock sound. Had GospelbeacH’s Brent Rademaker been born earlier, there’s a good chance he would have been in some iteration of the Byrds or Flying Burrito Brothers. I’m not saying the songs on this gorgeous EP are Cosmic American pastiche. But rather, these songs sound like they’re viably adding to the canon of this genre while pushing its boundaries of what’s possible with innovative production, thoughtful arrangements, and memorable songs. The title-track is incredibly catchy - it’s two minutes and 23 seconds of perfect Americana guitar pop, garnished with classic power pop hooks and bubblegum sweetness.
-Eric
Siouxie And The Banshees – “Playground Twist”
This month I've been rediscovering guitarist John McKay from Siouxsie And The Banshees' first lineup. His work may sound familiar to the casual listener, and that is because of the outsized influence his playing had on a legion of guitarists from post-punk to shoegaze and beyond.
Everyone from Siouxsie's second guitarist, the legendary John McGeoch, to the Edge to Kevin Shields cite him as an influence. To give you a taste of his playing, I'm choosing "Playground Twist" from the Banshees' second album, Join Hands.
-Diego
NOBRO – “Not Myself”
When I saw the title of this album Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar, I thought, “Hmm, something's got to be in here.” Sure enough… I really love this band. They're playing SXSW this year. “Not myself” is my pick for February. The band is called NOBRO. And again, Words to live by: Live Your Truth Shred Some Gnar.
-Din
Loopsel – “Poison Tree”
My Pandora pick for February 2024 is Loopsel and the song “Poison Tree” off the album Öga for Öga. It translates into “an eye for an eye,” which is also my favorite Corrosion Of Conformity record, thank you very much. “Poison Tree” is like Scandinavian noise. A next take on a potential Leonard Cohen song that doesn't exist but actually kind of does and you've heard it before but you've never heard it before. Whatever. It's cool. This came out last year. Slept on it. Sorry. Get weird. Peace out. No more war.
-Chris
For my February 2024 Pandora Picks, I chose this little instrumental number by LA LOM. Hope you like it. Thanks.
-John
My pick for Pandora Picks is the latest from Swiss cosmic black metalers, Darkspace. It is titled “Dark-2.-2.” They swap out some of the sci-fi buzz and blast for something much more inward looking. It's a dense swirl of black ambient and creeping atmospheric malevolence that once again perfectly captures the bleak sonic expanse of the unknowable universe. It's one song. It's the whole record. That's just how it is. Check it out.
-Andee