Minks (Photo: DM Harrington)

Ben: I spent a significant period of time in traffic last weekend failing to identify which ’80s or ’90s British band it is that MINKS seems to be emulating on Tides End. Brooklynite Sean Kilfoyle’s latest LP has a classic feel — sleek, nimble indie pop — but he ultimately avoids being pegged as “the new” anybody. That’s a good thing too, because the songs are winners, especially “Painted Indian”, which I have found myself circling back to a lot lately — there’s something about the way the chorus is phrased that is pure gold.

Jason: Joseph Childress‘ debut The Rebirths was remixed and released by Arvel Hernandez’ Empty Cellar Records this past Tuesday, and the result is tremendous – especially considering what the original product must have sounded like after being recorded seven years ago in the bathroom of his childhood home in Colorado and released on hand-signed CD-Rs. Childress’ bare bones Appalachia-tinged folk is an intimate and beautiful thing, with just his voice and plucked guitar providing more atmosphere than most artists can with substantially more equipment. Listen to album cuts “Dance With Me” and “Whispering” below, and stream the whole record over on American Songwriter.

Nicole: Only because I’m really ready for the weekend, my pick for this week is dance music producer Jacques Greene‘s new cut, a transformation of Ciara’s latest hit “Body Party”. He also took a stab at “Sorry”, one of her hits from 2012, which you can hear on his Soundcloud page. Put this on repeat while you get ready for Friday night, all workday, and you’ll be in good spirits by the time you get to happy hour.

Christian: After witnessing their great performance at Outside Lands this year, I’ve been listening to Daughter‘s latest release, If You Leave, quite a bit this week. I ran into Daughter’s folk pop sounds about a year ago with their EP His Young Heart and was enchanted by her smooth and passionate vocals layered over delicate-yet-thick guitars. For me, “Youth” takes center stage on this album, combining their unique vocal and guitar elements with the addition of a strong percussive drive. I highly recommend this album to soundtrack a 68°F, partly cloudy day at about 4pm. Enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/ruizit0/daughter-youth