Richard Swift – “Lady Luck”

Aquarium Drunkard reports that Richard Swift has finally set a release date for his fourth LP (April 7th, 2009). If the name sounds familiar, you’re probably a Wilco fan like myself — Swift not only opened up for Wilco on the Sky Blue Sky tour, but he also began recording his eagerly awaited full-length album at their Chicago loft. “Lady Luck” is off his 2008 EP entitled Ground Trouble Jaw.

Girls – “Hellhole Ratrace”

The Fader recently featured  Morning Light by San Francisco’s Girls as a slept-on release (albeit a limited press 7-inch that’s now sold out). Gorilla vs. Bear also featured them as one of the top 5 artists most likely to succeed in 2009. Even more interesting is the fact that I’m a Vague Panther and they are signed to a label called True Panther Sounds (fate?). Although details about a forthcoming full release are hard to come by, “Hellhole Ratrace” is enough to convince me that these guys are going to kill it.

Real Estate – “Fake Blues”

Waiting for more information about full-length albums seems to be a theme for this post, so you might as well add Real Estate to the list. For now take a listen to “Fake Blues” and just try to tell me that’s not one of the freshest guitar tones you’ve heard in a while. If I were lucky enough to be going to SXSW this year I would definitely make time to catch their live performance.

Thomas Function – “Conspiracy”

Whenever I read brooklynvegan I feel like it can be pretty hit or miss. But then again, you probably think the same about me. However, I did digg a recent post featuring Alabama’s Thomas Function and a fine little tune called “Conspiracy.” Maybe it’s the use of the organ, the guitar solos that wind around and around, or Joshua Macero’s vocal stylings, but I feel like they belong on a Wes Anderson soundtrack. You can get your hands on Celebration, their 2008 release over here.