I've been listening to the Walkmen a lot lately, and when I say a lot, I mean like a lot. Besides for their last album, Heaven (my album of the year in 2012) and the song, "The Rat" I really hadn't listened to much of their music. I really missed out. They've consistently put out solid album for more than a decade. It's hard to call indie rock bands underrated, because most are, but I feel like the Walkmen don't get the credit they deserve.

The two album I've most enjoyed (also the two albums you should listen to right now) are You & Me and Pussy Cats.

(Pussy Cats is a cover of the exact same album Harry Nilsson and John Lennon put out in 1974. If you haven't heard it listen to it and then listen to The Walkmen's take on it. There's not much difference, but I love them both.)

Two albums that I'm really into right now are Darlings by Kevin Drew and Guilty of Everything by the band Nothing.



Darlings is great because it's like a new Broken Social Scene album. It's front man Kevin Drew's second solo album and I dare say it's the better of the two. It's a little sensual or sexual or perhaps adult themed, so our younger readers might steer clear. Songs like "Body Butter" and "Good Sex" are about exactly what the titles suggest. This isn't the first time KD (not Kevin Durant, but wouldn't that be funny) has dove into sexual themes on songs("Lovers Spit", "TBTF"), and probably won't be the last which is a good thing, probably. He finds a way to make these themes tasteful. It's not like 50 cent rapping about hooking up with girls on the club floor, it's artistic.



The second album is by a band called Nothing. Lead vocalist  Dominic Palermo recently did a little time in the slammer and appropriately titled the album Guilty of Everything. I'm not sure what to compare it to, but it's most definitely rock n roll. It has kind of a garage rock 90's feel, kind of like Mikal Cronin, but lounder and distorted. A couple of my favorite songs are "Hymn of the Pillory" and the title track "Guilty of Everything".

There are two albums I currently can't stop listening to, Morning Phase by Beck and Burn Your Fire for no Witness by Angel Olsen. Both albums are new this year. Beck's album came out just this last Tuesday and Angel Olsen's the week before.
They're both similar in the fact that they're very easy listening albums, but that's about it. Morning Phase has rich production with strings and an orchestra. It's so big, yet really simple. It's a Sunday morning album. I'm in love with it right now, especially after seeing him perform two of my favorite songs ("Blue Moon" & "Wave" along with J. Tillman) on SNL last night.
Angel Olsen's album on the other hand sounds like it could have been recorded in my parents garage. The low production makes this album so sweet and  intimate. I want to sit and listen to it in the dark by myself with my headphones on with my cat on my lap ( a little bit of man died in me as I wrote that). It's a brilliant, brilliant album. Her voice is haunting, it's one of the best female voices in independent music right now.
If you haven't heard either of these two albums, you can listen to them on Spotify or better yet just buy them. They're worth it.