I’m Going To Mars To Understand Texas

Rifle Nice “Bubble Trouble” – “Bubble Trouble” is surprisingly graceful for a song with some bits of very goofy singing and a general low-budget sci-fi soundtrack vibe, but the quality comes through in the group’s craft and control. The song has a strong center in its rhythm section, but all other elements in the track casually float around as though they were in a gravity-free environment. (Click here to buy it from Rifle Nice’s official site.)

The God Damn Doo Wop Band “Talk Too Much” – It’s really too bad that indie audiences generally treat even top quality non-rock pop pastiches with a condescension normally reserved for Civil War reenactors and cosplay enthusiasts, because there’s really no good reason for there not to be new songs written in appealing old traditions. Relative to the number of lame-ass trad-rock retreads out there (not to mention the sheer number of mindblowingly bad acoustic singer-songwriters, GAH), I don’t feel like there’s nearly enough girl-group pop stuff being written these days. The God Damn Doo Wop pull off their song with minimal irony, full commitment, and loads of melody, so let’s hope that God blesses rather than damns them. (Click here to buy it via the God Damn Doo Wop Band’s MySpace page.)