Sam Isaac

Off the British singer-songwriter's newest record Bears is the title track "Bears", which features flittery synths, happily brooding guitars, slightly dramatized vocals for emotional factor, and enough uplifting moments to get you out of that rainy day slump.

"Bears"

The Tallest Man on Earth new EP

Swedish folk singer The Tallest Man on Earth isn't content with only coming out with a perfect album this year, The Wild Hunt (get it now if you haven't heard it!!!). A few days ago, Kristian Matsson quietly released a five-song EP entitled Sometimes the Blues is Just a Passing Bird. In addition to his typical running-through-the-fields fingerpicking and whiskey-scratchy voice, new details include the electric guitar that fuels "The Dreamer," an anthemic song that matches the intensity of Wild Hunt closer "Kids on the Run."

New Sufjan Stevens - "Too Much"

Now, I apologize for what is essentially a Pitchfork front page ripoff, but "Too Much" from Sufjan Stevens' upcoming album The Age of Adz is simply one of most wildly inventive songs I've heard in a while. Before a typically delicate melody floats in, "Too Much" frolics through layers of squelching electronics that sound like a lost Trent Reznor backdrop from Year Zero. Illinois horns and woodwinds flutter among the explosions as the song progresses to a cataclysmic ending.

The Age of Adz drops October 12th.

Sufjan Stevens - "Too Much"

M. Ward

I'm a huge fan of She & Him's Volume Two (my most listened to album of the year so far), so I decided to check out singer-songwriter M. Ward's solo stuff. His 2009 release Hold Time features lush retro-rock compositions quite similar to his work with Zooey Deschanel, but with his softly scratchy vocals at the front of the mix. The album includes one of my favorite tracks this summer, "Never Had Nobody Like You." Ward croons over a basic blues progression and overdriven guitars that bear more than a slight resemblance to The Beatles' "Revolution." Deschanel even joins in for some backing vocals, making for a pretty fun song.

M. Ward - "Never Had Nobody Like You" (ft. Zooey Deschanel)