LITTLE JOY - Next Time Around

This new Little Joy video makes me really nostalgic, but I'm not sure for what. Maybe it's the carefree vibe of friends driving around in a VW bug or possibly the beautiful footage of a South American summer vacation. Whatever it is, the video perfectly suits the lovely track from Little Joy's debut album, released last year on Rough Trade.

LITTLE JOY

I've been absolutely hooked on Little Joy's debut LP lately. The side project of Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, Little Joy has an easy going tropical folk-rock sound, with Rodrigo Amarante and Binki Shapiro rounding out the trio. The self-titled LP is a great album full of catchy tracks and vocal melodies that sometimes really sound like...The Strokes. Fortunately though, that similarity doesn't dominate Little Joy's music, but rather helps the overall nostalgic tone to really sink in.

Little Joy is available now on Rough Trade Records. Enjoy the new video for "No One's Better Sake"...

MEGAPUSS - Surfing

Megapuss is the new band formed by Devendra Banhart and Greg Rogove of Priestbird. Though this project initially started out as a joke, the duo fleshed out the band with three other members, not least of which is Fabrizio Moretti (The Strokes) on drums. And now the joke has evolved into a full album release with Surfing, available now on Vapor Records.

Speaking of Fab Moretti, he also just released a new album with his other, other band Little Joy.

Megapuss clearly have a whole tongue 'n' cheek, homo-erotic, psychedelic freak-folk sensibility going on, but the music is actually kind of good. Check out the video for the first single "Adam & Steve", which Banhart says was inspired by George Michael's "Faith" video and "I'm Too Sexy", a bizarre combination for sure. But really, the whole concept around Megapuss is pleasantly...bizarre. And yes, that's a "Careless Whisper" riff you hear in the song.

Listen to Megapuss here. Buy the album here.