Jerry's Pick: "Harlem"

"HARLEM"-NEW POLITICS

Are your ears tired? Listless? Run-down? Looking for that perfect piece of poppy punk to raise your energy level several notches?

Well, I just may have discovered the rock anthem of 2013!

It's a tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick BOOMing track called "Harlem" performed by three hyper Danes in Brooklyn who call themselves New Politics.

You may have already heard about these guys. It was only a couple of years ago when their debut single "Yeah Yeah Yeah" received moderate airplay on a handful of alternative radio stations, drew comparisons to the Hives, and was chosen as the theme to Dew Tour 2010. And like "Yeah Yeah Yeah," "Harlem" contains enough aural-caffeine to stimulate the alternative-rock lobe of your brain to keep the rest of your body pumped-up.

The party begins with cheerleader-like chants, a strong My-Sharonian backbeat, lyrics touting the frolicsome females of Upper Manhattan, all of which is held together by a kick-ass chorus: "When it gets loud, I turn it up! Shake it like a bad girl up in Harlem!" (Then there's a not-so-subtle nod to masturbation -- "Here come the jets, hide my money in your tube socks" -- that would make the Violent Femmes proud.)

"Harlem" is one of those tracks that works just as well as a Red Bull.  Side effects may include heart palpitations, rhythmic foot tapping or, quite possibly, spontaneous car-karaoke. Listen liberally. And as John Lennon once instructed, "Play Loud!"

Jerry's Pick: "Plaster"

"PLASTER"-BEAST PATROL

You know that old "judging books" adage?  Turns out that proverb works for band names too.

As I was about to hit "play" on a song called "Plaster" from Beast Patrol, I was limbering up my neck for some serious head-banging while expecting to hear sounds akin to Megadeth meets Gargamel blaring from my speakers.

Instead, just the opposite happened.

The Beast Patrol single "Plaster" is what music from Surfer Blood would sound like after downing a couple shots of NyQuil.  But I mean that in a good way.

The track's drowsy feel is due to a combination of Vanessa Bley's lazy, subtle, dreamy vocals and Robert Granata's distorted, whammied, reverb-heavy power chords.  "Plaster" is actually quite intoxicating, providing you just relax and let the song's surreal sound-waves wash over you.

Apparently the Brooklyn-based trio has only been together for a little over a year and "Plaster" (one of four new tracks from an EP titled Fierce & Grateful) was a tune Vanessa had with her long before going on Patrol.

“‘Plaster’ came so quickly when I wrote it. Total explosion. I actually hated it at first because it was so personal, but over time the lyrics applied to more and more,” Bley explained to Rolling Stone. “We all fall apart and try to clean it up. It’s important to step outside yourself and try to get in. Keep the beast in check.”

So, no need to be afraid.  Go ahead… get (placidly) plastered! 

Jerry's Pick: "Closer"

"CLOSER"-TEGAN AND SARA

Indie-rockers Tegan & Sara have been on my favorites list for quite a while and I've been surprised they have yet to score a hit single on the US pop charts.  I mean, "Back In Your Head," "I Know I Know I Know" and "Walking With a Ghost" were all chart-worthy in my book. But it now looks as though the identical twins from Alberta, Canada may finally get that shot with a track from their forthcoming seventh album Heartthrob, due out this January.

Working with Greg Kurstin (who just recently help put P!nk's "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)" into Billboard's Top-10) -- Tegan & Sara have come up with their most radio-friendly recording to date, a perfectly crafted piece-of-pop called "Closer."  Like other T&S tracks the synths are there, but not in your face… and their lyrics (about young love) come with an uptempo hook that should grab a hold of your ears not long after that first listen.  (I'm guessing the way the girls twist those last syllables upwards suggest innocence.  Or flirtation.  Maybe both?)

Tegan Quin told Rolling Stone, "Although I do imagine that this would be an okay song to make out to, all I intended was to write something sweet that reminded the listener of a time before sex, complicated relationships, drama and heartbreak.  In short, I was writing about my youth -- a time when we got closer by linking arms and walking down our school hallway, or talked all night on the telephone about every thought or experience we'd ever had."

Okay… your first piece of business is to get "Closer."  Next, check those Tegan & Sara tour dates as they're opening up for the Killers this month and then the Black Keys in November and December.  Now that's a pair of terrific twin, twin bills!  Matthew & Gunner never had it so good.