One Day I went To Ohio. It was So Insane I had to take The First Train Home

I listen to a great morning show out of Philadelphia called The Preston And Steve Show. This isn't your typical lame local morning show either. The first time I listened they were talking about how one of the DJ's didn't have toilet paper in the stall at work that morning so he had to go to the next stall and because it was so early he didn't worry about anyone coming in so he didn't really pull up his pants. Well one of the co-hosts walked in on him. Needless to say the show is hilarious and I have been hooked ever since. Besides being funny they have great celebrity interviews and have some killer bands every now and then. I listened to a show this morning and I became a fan of Matisyahu because of the show. I knew who he was before and heard a few of his songs a long time ago but never really checked him out. If you don't know much about him he's an American Hasidic Jewish reggae musician. His music is very uplifting and heartfelt. Yeah, he talks a lot about religion, which I don't mind but I know a lot of people get turned off by that. However I would say give it listen, the music is awesome, the guy can rap/beatbox, and has a sweet beard. He has a new album coming out August 25 called Light. This is the first single, One Day, from the album played live in studio on WMMR's The Preston And Steve Show.
Matisyahu - One Day (Live On WMMR's The Preston And Steve Show) (No Longer Available, But This Is)

The Low Anthem are a three piece band from Rhode Island that know how to kick out some blues influenced folksy down home jams. They just released a CD called Oh My God, Charlie Darwin which is such a clever title. The faster songs are rough stomps with vocals that are raw and remind me of a Tom Waits song and the slower songs are beautiful porch sitting back roads driving songs. The first song "To Ohio" is low key and has lyrics like a CSNY song. "The Horizon Is A Beltway" is a song that will have you tapping your toes with it's prominent drum beat and belting (pardon the pun) out the sing along chorus.
The Low Anthem - To Ohio
The Low Anthem - The Horizon Is A Beltway

Discovery is a side project for Vampire Weekend keyboardist and producer Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot lead singer Wes Miles. The band is gaining acclaim from music critics all over because of it's synth driven electro-pop. This song is just So Insane as the titles says. It jumps from fast to slow and back again, but what makes it shine is the great sunshiny singing and melodies reminiscent of Passion Pit, and you can never have too much of that. Discovery also have a great cover of I Want You Back by Jackson 5. To check out more about them click here.
Discovery - So Insane

I love songs about going home. They make great road trip songs. I once went to a music festival many years ago where we took a school bus from Michigan to Kentucky straight with few stops. It was not a fun trip, the fest was great but the transportation to and from sucked. It was 90+ degrees and loud. Have you ever tried to sleep on a school bus? It doesn't really work. Anyway I wish I had this new single from Imogen Heap back then. It would have helped a lot. The track First Train Home is the first single from the new album Ellipse which is her third studio album and will be released on August 24th/25th. Hey, thats the same time Matisyahus album drops. Looks like thats going to be a pretty damn good week for new music. The other track I have for you is a remix of my favorite Imogen Heap song, Hide And Seek.
Imogen Heap - First Train Home
Imogen Heap - Hide And Seek (Enigma Remix)

In my effort to make things more accessible, I have decided that I am going to try and post links to the bands websites that I post about. That way if you like them you can find out information about them, upcoming shows and where to buy their albums. I don't think I'll post links for iTunes or Amazon but you can always use those great services too.