New Music of the Day, December 28:

City Calm Down, "In this Modern Land"

This seemed like appropriate music to accompany my 26-hour trip from Yerevan, Armenia back to my former home of Florence, South Carolina. The US has a reputation as a "modern land," whereas Armenia is perceived as an ancient land, sometimes even as a backward one. But as I compare the efficient automated check-in I just went through at Yerevan's airport with the nightmare I'm likely to encounter at JFK later today, I think those reputations might be a little exaggerated.

Now, on to the song: it's a fucking epic. It feels like what would have happened if The Church, Echo & the Bunnymen, and David Bowie had a baby. I've been a fan from Australian band City Calm Down for a while, but this is their best song yet.