Thee Oh Sees – “Minotaur”

S.F.’s Thee Oh Sees are at it again, with a new album out April 16 called Floating Coffin. As Pitchfork reports, the album comes from “the mindset of a world that's perpetually war-ridden.” The track is more ominous than anything the band has released thus far from the outset, carried through with somber strings that sound amazing in their lo-fi setting, making Thee Oh Sees sound like some zombie orchestra. John Dwyer’s vocals are appealingly deadpan throughout. With having just released Putrifiers II last year and Castemania and Carrion Crawler/The Dream both the year before, Floating Coffin sounds like it’ll continue their tradition of getting better with each release. Hear it at Pitchfork.

Local Natives – “Heavy Feet” video

Local Natives have unveiled an almost painfully charming video for their song “Heavy Feet,” a standout on the excellent recently released Hummingbird. It’s one of the rare videos I’ve seen recently where I immediately thought of the glory days of MTV — this shit would’ve been buzzworthy fo sho. Something about talking sandwiches, cute old people painting planes and burying a cake. It reminds me a bit of the looney Michel Gondry videos of the ’90s, though not as manic. Read my interview with the band here; see photos of their amazing Amoeba performance here.

Alexander Spit – “Artesia” (ft. Action Bronson)

Like most with the travel bug, my desire to visit faraway places takes a backseat to a lack of funds or time to go anywhere. So I’m glad to have this new song by SF rapper Alexander Spit, who along with Action Bronson, “got the summer planned” and takes us on a train across Europe to eat, drink and flirt around the continent, ending up in Queens and Boise. I love how the end goes all Blade Runner cyberdelic with robot voice effects and eerie keyboards. It takes you on a trip, even if you’re just chillin’ in Artesia, California! His album A Breathtaking Trip to That Otherside is out Jan. 29 on Decon. Check out the recently released "That's Spit" as well.

Alexander Spit - Artesia feat. Action Bronson by Decon

Warm Soda Announces Debut LP and Tour

Great power-pop isn’t easy to come by, and Warm Soda spray out fuzzy guitar confection like it’s been bottled up and shaken — how’s that for an overblown metaphor? The Oakland band’s debut LP, Someone for You, is due March 26 on Castle Face Records. Their tour kicks off Jan. 25 at Oakland’s Night Light; they’ll be at SF’s Hemlock Feb. 1, Hidden Temple Feb. 16 and LA’s The Smell Feb. 20. Check out all of their dates on Facebook, and hear their song “Reaction” below.