Dan Condon: Sick Tunes, August 8, 2013

No theme this week, just five songs I think are great. I hope you do too.

TV ON THE RADIO – Mercy

Their Splendour In The Grass performance proved yet again what a unique band TV On The Radio are. They have shades of the kind of danceable indie rock that has been on the precipice of the mainstream for the past decade or so, but they seem to be both more direct and more experimental at the same time. They're the kind of band that seems wholly unhateable.

Anyway, they've just unleashed Mercy. It's a song that features disco beats but doesn't suck, a song that very quickly gets into fifth gear and doesn't let up, a song that you want to listen to over and over again to try and figure out why the sum of its parts are so thrilling.  

TRANSISTORS – Method Actor

After catching them at BIGSOUND last year, I have tried telling just about anyone on the internet who will listen just how good Transistors are. They have just dropped their new record and it is fucking killer; melodic, tough, weird, straight-ahead, dirty power pop.

Listen to the pre-chorus on the album opener Method Actor and tell me that you don't want this record, which is out Friday 16 August. The clip for first single Your Life Could Be So Easy is brilliant too. Why are New Zealanders so good at film clips (and rugby)?

AVABEREE – Running Out

I wouldn't go so far as to say Avaberee are ready to be one of the country's best up and coming bands, because, when you see them, you notice that they're most definitely still figuring out what they are trying to be. Having said that, this Running Out single stuck with me after seeing the band live, the sound is so incredibly dated that it feels like it would always sound futuristic.

The girls have incredible voices and can harmonise like nobody's business, and when the rest of their songs reach this level of production (and hopefully much higher – or at least dirtier), they'll be a brilliant act.

SUPERCHUNK – Me & You & Jackie Mittoo

The new Superchunk record, I Hate Music, is out in a couple of weeks and I can tell you in no uncertain terms that it absolutely rules. If you're a fan of the band – or just a fan of '90s indie rock in general – you should be very much looking forward to this record because it's not going to let you down.

Without trying to sound like too much of a wanker, I still think the best Superchunk song of the year is I Hate History from the Matador Singles Going Home Alone 7” singles club, but there are plenty of tunes on I Hate Music that give them a bit of a run for their money. Me & You & Jackie Mittoo isn't the best song on the new record, but it sees them bring their sardonic wit and unmistakable slacker guitar breaks back and it just feels… right. They play Harvest later this year!!!

MAC DEMARCO – Takin' Care Of Business, Enter Sandman, Message In A Bottle, Blackbird, Unknown Legend.

Mac DeMarco's two great albums have finally got an Australian release through Spunk and hopefully that will mean we'll get to see him down in Australia sometime soon. This hilarious covers medley will either make you really want to see him or really not. It's DeMarco and band playing a stack of well-known songs with complete irreverence as DeMarco changes plenty of lyrics to “suck my dick”.

When he launches into The Beatles' Blackbird it's just about the funniest thing you could imagine coming from a guy with such great songs; and it's because he has such great songs to back this ridiculousness up that makes this shambles feel kinda okay. Unless you hate it when people yell “suck my dick”, in which case you probably won't like it.

Apparently he usually does Limp Bizkit's Break Stuff as well, but that doesn't feature here. [EDIT: Yes it does. I am a fool. I was just waiting for another "suck my dick"]

Shoot me a line or tweet me if you reckon you have a song that belongs here.