January heats up with all good music all the time: some old favorites, some “fresh as morning dew” faces and songs to dance, laugh, cry, sleep and hug to.

1. Missy Elliott, “Ching A Ling”
While this song does not fit in thematically in with the rest of this write up I COULD NOT NOT add it into the roundup.
Missy is back.
And its kick ass.
What else is new?

MP3 here via Sitdownstandup

2. Fleet Foxes “Oliver James”
You like Blitzen Trapper? Band of Horses make your nether regions quiver? YOU WILL LOVE FLEET FOXES.
This is as haunting as folk got this week.

MP3 here via Brooklyn Vegan

3. These New Puritans, “Navigate Navigate”
I am not sure when These New Puritans emerged out of (seemingly) nowhere, but they’re here to stay. There is more going on in the first 30 seconds of this song than in does in 3 minutes of most others. But it is all done so subtly and tastefully and layered like the finest cake of psych-candy that you have no choice but to lap it up.

stream here via Stereogum

4. Belle and Sebastian, “Freak Scene” (Dinosaur Jr. cover)
Put this in the general “things that should not work BUT SOMEHOW DO”. But then… most things Stuart and Co touch are gold for me, so don’t take my word for it, just listen for yourself.

MP3 here via YouAintNoPicasso

5. Arctic Monkeys, “Plastic Tramp”
We wake up, we go out
Smoke a fag, put it out
See out friends, see the sights
Feel alright!- Supergrass sang this in 1995 but it pretty much applies to ANYTHING and EVERYTHING Arctic Monkeys put out.

MP3 here via Music Slut

6. Evangelicals, “Skeleton Man”
Ok, so I have been listening to this song on loop non stop since I first heard it. Its 4+ minutes of pure pleasure in all its forms: a dash of freak folk, a splash of glitchy atari-pop, mixed in with mopey shoegaze rock, and it all comes out completely awesome.
And others seem to agree with me: its on Stereogum’s heavy rotation, and so on and so forth.
Remember this band, since you’ll be name dropping it a plenty in the months to come.
Just remember where you heard them first.

MP3 here via Pop Head Wound

7. Beach House, “Heart of Chambers”
And now, its nap time.
Magical, dreamy, beautiful nap time.

stream here via Pitchfork

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