Kerbside Collection - "Red Clay" (Trash Or Treasure)

Not sure what it is but Down Under seems to be on top these days. I thought James Chatburn's covering Prince was pretty cool, but jazz-funk act Kerbside Collection taking on Freddie Hubbard's "Red Clay" has upped the ante. Trash or Treasure's out now on the always reliable Legere Recordings.

Kadjha Bonet - "Miss You"

There's a great, but under-appreciated, compilation released in 2001 called Folky - Acoustic Music In Digital Times. Listening to the first track from Kadjha Bonet's forthcoming EP, The Visitor I couldn't help but recall that collection and just how perfectly "Miss You" would have been on its tracklist.

Safia Nolin - "Igloo"

The full-length, Limoilou, isn't due out for several months (September 11th, in fact), but one of the first two tracks streaming on Bandcamp have me eager to hear more from Safia Nolin.

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - "S.O.B."

Hot damn, if you're not hootin' and hollerin' along to this one, you might be an S.O.B. yourself.

Waterstrider - "Frayed"

The Warriors aren't the only hot act coming out of the Bay Area right now. Oakland sextet Waterstrider released "Frayed" at the end of April but this has "summertime jam" written all over it. Insistent but not urgent, breezy but not light. Boss.

Finland - "No Low Voices"

Maybe it's an inside joke, but the four members of Finland are actually Norwegian. They include bassist Jo Berger Myhre, who has played for Nils Petter Molvær and who served as my entree to the group and their new album Rainy Omen. "No Low Voices" is the album standout, with a push-pull dynamic endemic to post-rock, but what makes it unique is that the song starts with a pop shuffle and Johnny Marr-esque ringing melodic line that eventually folds in on itself around the three minute mark (your standard pop-song length?) at which point it burrows under a blanket of heavy toms and noise for several minutes before shedding it in a chaotic squall.

Theo Jackson - "Moonchild"

I am absolutely infatuated with this song and the way Jackson's voice soars and dips on that chorus while those brushes shuffle.

Also, whistling. How can you not be a fan of whistling?

The album, Shoeless and the Girl, is out now on Dot Time Records.

Ducktails - "Surreal Exposure"

Another gem from the forthcoming Ducktails LP, St. Catherine. Praise be.

ON AN ON - "It's Not Over"

Completely infatuated with this Minneapolis band right now.  And The Wave Has Two Sides is out July 24th on Roll Call Records and this little taste should convince you to pre-order it.