The Bloodsugars - Light at the End of the Tunnel

Link.

Fav lyrics: Can you say it loud? 'Cause I can't hear - you'll have to shout over the din in my head.

Everyone needs that one song/band that can pull them out of a funk. Well, world, meet the Bloodsugars! They're this crazy little band that started making hits from the hardships they've encountered. Lead singer Jason Rabinowitz writes from life inspiration, like most artists, but what makes him and the rest of the Bloodsugar gang different is the fact that they don't dwell on bad experiences, and in Light at the End of the Tunnel they give you something to smile about alongside a pretty impressive beat.

Reminds us of: Franz Ferdinand
Listen to: when the tunnel's kind of dim
Glitter Pox rating: 85% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

The Boxer Rebellion - Broken Glass

Link.

The Boxer Rebellion knows how to rock slow songs. Every time their music plays it's like a movie montage of your life - it gives you the feeling that someone else is watching it pan out, knowing every twist and turn, giggling at every accident, and gasping at every mistake. They show their London-based roots, but they also have a universal contemporary sound that, when singled out as voice vs. instrument, sounds just as strong as the whole.

“We’ve always been a band that’s had a sense of seclusion, which has helped us extract the essence of what we are as a unit," guitarist Todd Howe is quoted as saying.

And that essence is exactly what locks you into their music.

Reminds us of: Young the Giant, some Coldplay, and Ra Ra Riot's "Foolish"
Listen to: while people watching
Glitter Pox rating: 78.5% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Middle Class Rut - New Low

Link.

Fav lyrics: I've been right; I've been left
I've been wrong; I've been left behind
I've been up but mostly down

A lot of lyricists can work with wordplay, but not all of them can do it as well as Middle Class Rut with their single New Low. The lyrics ring in a way that makes it instantly familiar; it's a really catchy song, but not in the obnoxious way that a lot of stuck-in-your-head radio songs are. It's solid and has a lot of spine to it.

Reminds us of: Jane's Addiction
Listen to: when you hit bottom, because it helps you grow some more backbone
Glitter Pox rating: 82% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Thao + The Get Down Stay Down - When We Swam

Link.

Fav lyrics: When we swam our love to pieces
We washed up on messy beaches

The surfer-style music in When We Swam is really light and upbeat, but when you look into the lyrics there's a really passionate underlining that can be slightly downplayed by Thao's intriguingly unique, brilliant style of singing. I picture this girl having an apathetic face, moving her head back and forth to the music and picking at her nails or something. She sounds almost bored while she's singing, but it somehow works so so well. It's one of those songs that catches you in its waves and you're hooked for the rest of the ride.

Reminds us of: Paul McDonald
Listen to: while doing that whole swimming-dance-move thing they did in the 60s
Glitter Pox rating: 80% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Ramona Falls - I Say Fever

Link.

Fav lyric: I told a friend how I'm feeling and this made her sad. cause she fears that no man will ever desire her so bad.

This entire song is like the fever-induced delirium you get when you're really, really sick. We've liked Menomena for a while, which Brent Knopf (the frontman of Ramona Falls) is one third of. Finding his solo work was like the clarity you get after you break that fever. Like Menomena, Ramona Falls uses a mix of instruments and beats to make each of their songs unique and recognizable. But what makes Ramona Falls so separated, in this song in particular, is the dreamlike vocals alongside the stream of consciousness in the lyrics.

Reminds us of: Fleet Foxes
Listen to: for five years. and also while watching the music video, because it's killer.
Glitter Pox rating: 84% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Marina and the Diamonds - Obsessions

Link.

Fav lyric: I want to erase every nasty thought that bugs me every day of every week.
we've got obsessions
you never told me what it was that made you strong and what it was that made you weak

Marina & the Diamonds has a voice that kicks some serious ass; it's low and dramatic, with an accent and lilt to it that makes it beautiful - it's vulnerable, shaky, and ridiculously strong. The background noise and hissing whispers purposely falter the song, working to create a kind of organized chaos. It's just a hot, hot mess - the kind whose OCD-riddled lyrics make a synonym of the title, and you end up just as obsessed as the words intended.

Reminds us of: Amanda Palmer
Listen to: while writing in lipstick on your mirror
Glitter Pox rating: 78% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

Mudbison - Color TV

Link.

Fav lyrics: and you cut through me like butter
and like a virus, you infected my sweet brother
the only lover you loved is in my color TV

Color TV is the hardest kind of insult, the anger in it similar to Mudhoney's 'Touch Me I'm Sick' (but less in-your-face), but with enough passion and funky lyrics to be able to be compared to The Decemberists. Then, adding about 12 other bands and genres - Franz Ferdinand, Radiohead, Cash Cash - that mix into one mighty, incredibly unthinkable pot of perfection. These guys have an amazing, unheard of talent that far surpasses this song. Mudbison is a band that anyone and everyone will fall in love with from just hearing the first two chords on the keys. They bang out a brand of music unknown to the music world and they will be noticed for the simple fact that they can slay an audience with the first experience. Epically Infectious.

"I'll always remember that first heavenly taste" - Mudbison (little indian)

Reminds us of: everyone and no one
Listen to: after sending their link to all your friends
Glitter Pox rating: 98% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox

A.A. Bondy - When the Devil's Loose

Link.

Fav lyrics: These dogs will tear your flesh / you best give them a bone.

There's something almost apathetic about the way A.A. Bondy sings, like he's making calm observations but not entirely involved. Usually you'd think that's a negative thing about a singer, but it absolutely works here, because he convinces the listener of the story in the lyrics - like he's singing directly to someone - and it's a different experience because of that. It reminds me of country music in that way, except his voice has a more smoky, edgy feel to it.

Reminds us of: Amos Lee
Listen to: while sitting around a fire, telling stories and burning marshmallows
Glitter Pox rating: 80% contagious

Hope you catch it,
The Glitter Pox