The Monthly - August 10

1. BEST COAST – Boyfriend Hot Off The Press
Recent Rough Trade album of the month band, Best Coast are a m/f duo from LA, and their hi-fuzz, big chorus combo is a summer winner in my book. New album Crazy For You recently came out on the ever-reliable Wichita label.

2. WAVVES – King Of The Beach Hot Off The Press
More west coast US indie pop, this time from San Diego’s Wavves. This track is the title track from their recently released third record, and again if you cut through the noise there’re some great melodies in there.

3. HURTS – Better Than Love Hot Off The Press
Manchester duo Hurts have been picking up tips since last summer and showed well in the BBC’s Sound of 2010 poll. Their album Happiness is due out in a week and this was their first single from May. Excellent track.

4. LISSIE – Little Lovin’ New To Me
Illinois native Lissie released her debut record, Catching A Tiger, in June, and while it might be a slow burner, now I’ve got into it lately, it’s a real regular for me. Like a much cooler KT Tunstall, with a lot more edge thrown in.

5. SHUGO TOKUMARU – Rum Hee Hot Off The Press
Japanese singer/songwriter Tokumaru only came to my attention through a blog recently, but he’s been releasing music since 2004. This track was used in a Sony ad so immediately brings Jose Gonzalez’s Heartbeats to mind.

6. ARCADE FIRE – Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) Hot Off The Press
Canada’s Arcade Fire appear to have found unlikely levels of fame, with a #1 album (the recently released Suburbs, from where this comes) and some massive gigs booked. It’s well-deserved – this is a brilliantly crafted song.

7. BELLE & SEBASTIAN – The Boy With The Arab Strap New To Me
This probably falls into the category of “I can’t believe he didn’t know this song before”. Well, I didn’t, but now I do it’s hands down my most played track this month. It comes from their 1998 album of the same name.

8. ROOTS MANUVA FEAT. RIDDLA – Butterfly Crab Walk Hot Off The Press
Always good to have Roots back. Not really sure what the song comes from (other than a random blog) so I can’t say if it’s from a new album or what. Either way, it’s very cool, so it’s on The Monthly!

9. JAMAICA – I Think I Like U 2 Hot Off The Press
French buzz band Jamaica are just starting to release their tracks, and this is their first official single. The production’s lo-fi but it’s got all the trademarks of good French pop, shared by Phoenix, The Teenagers and Housse De Racket.

10. MAXIMUM BALLOON FEAT. THEOPHILUS LONDON– Groove Me Hot Off The Press
This is a solo project of David Sitek of TV On The Radio, and features his production and what he calls some of his favourite voices in the world – including rapper London on this track, as well as Karen O and David Byrne on the album.

11. MAGNETIC MAN – I Need Air Hot Off The Press
While the Mercury nominated Burial put dubstep on the critical map, there’s been a lot of high-brow hype about Magnetic Man, a collective of three dubstep producers. And what starts off here kind of ravey, settles down into a classy dance cut.

12. THEE OH SEES – Ruby Go Home New To Me
Underground hero John Dwyer (of the Coachwhips amongst others) started Thee Oh Sees as a side project, but they’ve now released 11 albums in 6 years. Psychy, grungy and always exciting, they deserve more attention than they’ve had.

13. JUDY COLLINS – Hard Lovin’ Loser New To Me
This came up on a random Elektra compilation and both song and artist are new to me. This was Collins’ debut single in 1967 and she seems to be classed as folk, but this has a much more Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra vibe to it. Groovy.

14. MEN WITHOUT HATS – The Safety Dance Rediscovery Of The Month I
Totally forgot how awesome this track was till I found a recent instrumental version from the late, great hip hop producer J. Dilla. A top ten hit for this Canadian band in 1983 and it’s already in the bag for next time I DJ.

15. DETROIT SPINNERS – It’s A Shame Rediscovery Of The Month II
New festival Vintage at Goodwood launched this year, and I don’t remember the last time I danced as much as I did in their Soul Casino tent. Norman Jay’s set was a highlight, and he played this classic twice on a night to remember.