It's Memorial Day. Take a moment and remember someone you know that has served in the Armed Forces. I try to appreciate what I have (EVERYTHING, basically) and what so many of them gave (EVERYTHING, completely). In memory of those that gave theirs for you, thank and love the ones that are still here.

---

The past couple weeks have had some great new albums and singles from Hot Chip, Shamir, Surfer Blood, and Ducktails, to name some. This first track from Hot Chip is probably my favorite on their new album, their sixth, Why Makes Sense? Hot Chip is in that echelon of very well respected Electro-Pop artists because they've been doing this for a while, and they know how to throw a party. They're coming to Outside Lands this year in SF, and they'll be acting in place for Cut Copy (who put on one of my favorite shows of the year at OSL last year) as the band I will most likely dance to like my pants are on fire.

Speaking of dance tracks, maybe you've heard about Shamir. What an interesting kid. He's 20 years old and from Las Vegas. He recorded his debut album in Brooklyn, and he's been getting a lot of love for his album around the interwebs. Well deserved, in my opinion, and this track, "On the Regular," is completely ridiculous and catchy (YES THAT'S A COWBELL).

One reason I love Twitter (people, I have like four followers, help a buddy out! @layersandsounds) is that you can actually connect to artists. Case in point: I just tweeted Matt Modanile, the guitarist from one of my favorite bands of the past many years, Real Estate, and the man behind the band Ducktails (probably my favorite solo project of any band member I can think of), that I loved his new song, "Headbanging in the Mirror," and I just wanted to thank him for providing me some joy. He then favorited my tweet. Who cares, you say? I DO! That's really freaking cool to get through to someone like that. It happens a lot more than you'd think ( ** TANGENTIAL ALERT ** About a year or two ago, Michael Rapaport - yes, THAT Michael Rapaport - and I started Direct Messaging because he was tweeting about whether Jay-Z or Nas was better, so I told him I'd make a Best Of playlist for each on Spotify (Best of Nas is on the blog btw!) and then he would tweet the playlists out to his followers (which is a lot of people!), and they would vote on the winner. He was totally down to do it, but he could never get the playlists to open, and I don't think he really trusted me to blast out a link he couldn't open. So that fell through but was a hilarious experience coming from the guy who directed an amazing documentary of one of my favorite bands of all time, A Tribe Called Quest. If you haven't seen that documentary - GET ON IT because it's really, really good, and then you can tell Michael he owes me one ** TANGENT OVER), and you can provide some love and support to people that may not always be getting it. So with all that being said, Ducktail's new album, St. Catherine, comes out July 24th. If you haven't listened to his last album, The Flower Lane, and you like Real Estate (and this song), I guarantee you will love this album. It's so chill yet keeps you engaged and wanting more the whole time. It was my fourth favorite album of 2013!

Oh Surfer Blood. I've been a fan of these guys for years. They make consistently good indie rock with tinges of 90s alternative. I wasn't super impressed with the album the first go through, but it's one of those albums I have found myself listening to again and again and liking more. I don't know if I can settle on my favorite track, but "Other Desert Cities," is my choice at the moment.

The mixtape ends with a few more great rocks songs. The first track is from Hop Along, and it's their first track from their new album which has gotten some good buzz. Lead singer Frances Quinlan has a raspy and raw voice that really gives their songs some originality and passion. The drum beat that starts "The Knock" is great too. I have no idea who Adult Mom is, but their EP is six songs lasting a full 10 minutes! Clearly mom had better things to do. Finally, Eternal Summers is a band from Richmond, VA, so I gotta rep my home state!

Happy Memorial Day.