The Daily Blair: New Muzik Monday!

Today I will recommend you some music that you might not have heard before. We will call it New Muzik Monday! Enjoy!

1. Diagrams - Black Light

Early Rating: B
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Black Light is the most fascinating album I have listened to this year. The album is fascinating because it tries to do just about everything: it tries to be an album you can dance to and an album you can cry to, it tries to be an album that is mainstream while be an album that is groundbreaking, it tries to be MGMT while still being U2, it tries to be aggressive while still being graceful, and it tries to be everything without really ever tying itself down to one particular idea, structure, or genre. Black Light essentially tries to be everything while being nothing at the same time. Even though this idea may sound impossible and illogical, Diagrams are able to pull off on songs like "Black Light," "Peninsula," and "Night All Night." On these songs the band is able to combine many influences (they are able to combine the aggressiveness of MGMT with the awareness of U2,) they are able to have a mainstream sound that could still pass as indie (think Foster The People,) the songs are free (do not really have a particular structure, do not stick to one idea, and could not be classified under one genre,) and the songs are really catchy and have great instrumentation. On other tracks though the Diagrams music sounds like a total mess and it sounds like the band is trying to accomplish a little too much. Still something you should definitely check out.

2. Fay Wolf - Spiders

Early Rating: B+
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Fay Wolf is one of the more versatile female artists I have heard in a long time. Her music seems to be a perfect combination of the "largeness" of Florence + The Machine, the catchiness of First Aid Kit, the radio pop feel of Rihanna, and the wit of the Dum Dum Girls. The album is also incredible honest lyrically but every song still sounds completely different. The beautiful opener "The Thread of this Thing" sounds like one of the softer songs on The Lion's Roar, "Mine" sounds like a poor man's version of "What The Water Gave Me," "Black People" could easily be confused for one of the Dum Dum Girls better songs, and "In The Way" sounds like a ballad we would hear on a Rihanna album. This is a versatile female artist who deserves more attention.

3. Ball Park Music - Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs

Early Rating: B-
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Ball Park Music are a kinky Australian combination of the artists that influenced fun.'s Aim and Ignite, the sarcastic social commentary that made Andrew Jackson Jihad's Knife Man such a fascinating masterpiece, the endless poppy energy that made me fall in love with Say Anything's self titled album, and the vocals that we would hear on a Matchbox Twenty album. This makes the album a very interesting and very "fun" pop-punky album. The album somehow combines the never ending joyful sound of Queen, the Beach Boys, fun, and Matchbox Twenty with the cynical angry sound of Say Anything, Andrew Jackson Jihad, and blink-182. When the album puts all of these influences together it is an absolutely brilliant album.

4. Sister Crayon - Bellow

Early Rating: B+
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Sister Crayon is capable of making absolutely breathtaking music. That is why this is at least worth a listen.

AND OF COURSE

5. First Aid Kit- The Lion's Roar

Early Rating: Orgasmic
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I don't want to get fired.