Finally, Some New Bands; 4-Spot Friday

It's definitely been a good year for new releases but I've either been paying less attention lately or the best albums came out in the first half of the year. I'm enjoying new releases from Jose Gonzalez, Eddie Vedder, Band of Horses, etc. but I haven't been truly excited about anything in what feels like months (in reality it's probably just a couple weeks but that's life in the internet age). Almost on cue, I was introduced to 3 new bands over the last week and I've hardly listened to anything since.

Division Day: These guys have been around for awhile and I have no idea how I've missed them. Beartrap Island, I believe, is their debut full length and was released this month on iTunes with hard copies out in stores next Tuesday (Oct. 2). It's easily one of my favorite albums of the year and it's exactly the kind of refreshing new sound that I've been looking for. The songs are fairly evenly split between rock and mellow and there's not a bad song on the album.

MP3: Division Day - "Tigers"

Dragons of Zynth: Another one that I'm not sure how I've missed. Yes, there are obvious influences from TV on the Radio. Yes, their album was produced by Dave Sitek. And yes, this is seriously some good shit. They've received a lot of good buzz from their live shows here in NYC but for some reason their album was released without much fanfare. Prefix gave the album an outstanding 9 out of 10. Others need to take note.

MP3: Dragons of Zynth - "Get Off"

Destroy Cowboy: This is a rare instance of receiving random music in our mailbox that I actually really like. They are an unsigned band out of Birmingham, UK and their songs contain everything that I love about British rock today - an excellent combination of keyboards, guitars and drums. You can stream 4 songs on their MySpace page. The below mp3, although about 45 seconds too long, is my favorite.

MP3: Destroy Cowboy - "1000 Candles"

The XYZ Affair: This unsigned band got some good publicity this summer when Insound named their debut the best album of the year, so far. I've been listening to their songs for awhile but haven't had a chance to post a song yet. Reminds me of the good ol' days with Weezer back in '94.

MP3: The XYZ Affair: "Ideals"