New Music of the Day, January 7:

Tomas Barfod f Jonas Smith, "Family"

It's another chilly day in New York, so I thought I'd share this track where the vocalist seems to be shivering as he sings, his delicate high-pitched voice quavering out the unanswered question, "Is it okay? Is it okay?" as icy synths swirl around him and electronic drums throb like a racing heartbeat.

New Music of the Day, January 6:

Serena Ryder, "Ice Age"

I'm in New York right now, where it was bitterly cold yesterday and promises to be even colder today (8 F/-13 C as I write). So this seems like a good day for Canadian popstar Serena Ryder's "Ice Age," which is a blatant Florence & the Machine ripoff, but happens to be such an effective Florence & the Machine ripoff that her unoriginality is easily forgiven.

New Music of the Day, January 5:

Wombats, "Lemon to a Knife Fight"

This song seemed like an appropriate soundtrack for my day, since I'm presenting a paper at an academic conference in a couple of hours, and there's nothing like big conferences to bring out one's sense of impostor syndrome. When you're rubbing shoulders with academic superstars, you might feel like you've only brought a lemon to a knife fight.

Of course, the song is great in its own right, as is its harrowing music video. It's nice to see that the Wombats are still going strong after eleven years, and that the band who brought us songs like "Backfire at the Disco" and "Let's Dance to Joy Division" is still continuing its tradition of eye-catching song titles.

New Music of the Day, January 4:

The Night Game, "Once in a Lifetime"

The Night Game are so expert at late-80s revivalism that I had suspicions their last single, "The Outfield," was actually being performed by the band The Outfield under an assumed name. (The Alarm actually did this in 2004 and got to 28 in the charts, after realizing that UK radio stations wouldn't play new music by The Alarm, but they would play a new band named "The Poppyfields"). Their latest, "Once in a Lifetime," reminds me a bit of David & David or the best songs by Don Henley, the kind of music Rolling Stone magazine raved about in the late 80s.

New Music of the Day, January 3:

Ten Fé, "Single, No Return"

This is my last morning in Florence, South Carolina, and though it was great getting to see my old home and visit many old friends, I don't know when I'll be getting back here (probably not any time soon). So it seems appropriate to cue up this new single from Ten Fé, one of my favorite new bands (who absolutely rocked when I saw them play a little Hackney club last year).

The song reminds me a lot of that weird period in the late 80s where many British bands played with American western iconography and wore a lot of leather jackets. It's an anthem for rugged individualists and romantic loners.

New Music of the Day, January 2:

Rosborough, "Burn Blue"

This single from Northern Ireland's Rosborough is the kind of moving piano-driven ballad I used to listen to a lot in the early years of the millennium (think Elbow's "Asleep in the Back" or Starsailor's "Silence is Easy") but don't hear a lot anymore. It starts off slow, but it builds to a dramatic climax that makes it surprisingly good workout music.

New Music of the Day, January 1:

Nik Brinkman, "Years Go By"

Let's start the New Year off right with a short-but-sweet burst of Kiwi power-pop from New Zealand singer-songwriter Nik Brinkman, who also records as Junica. "We're always looking for something," he sings in the chorus. May you find what you're looking for in 2018.