Anna: Seeing Lord Huron at this year’s Treasure Island Music Festival was an unexpected treat. I had previously listened to the band’s 2010 EPs (Mighty and Into the Sun), but had not yet heard the Lonesome Dreams full-length when the band took to the Bridge Stage on Sunday of the festival. I had idly enjoyed Lord Huron’s early EPs – meaning, I listened while at work and didn’t necessarily pay much attention – and seeing the band’s energy and hearing the live renditions made me wish I’d made more of a previous effort to actively listen. Since then, I keep finding myself hitting play on Lonesome Dreams, most often on “She Lit a Fire,” one of the album’s standout singles and a beautiful, echoey soundscape that both excites and soothes.

 
Jason: Two weeks ago, the artist behind one of my favorite albums of 2013, Kurt Vile, quietly dropped a stunningly beautiful collaboration with ambient psych act Sore Eros, an EP entitled Jamaica Plain. The title track was recorded with Sore Eros frontman (and former Violator) Robert Robinson back in the early part of last decade in the Boston neighborhood that shares its name and features some mesmerizing guitar noodling from Mr. Vile. It’s actually the second collab between the two artists this year – they previously released the Feeding Tube split 9-inch on 2208 Records. Stream “Jamaica Plain” below, don’t miss out on the album’s two b-sides, and be sure to also check out Vile’s other new EP it’s a big world out there (and i am scared), out next Tuesday on Matador.

Ben: “t h e _ s t a r s _ w e r e _ g o n e” is the newest track from local band Exray’s. The retro-futuristic hymnal-turned-pop-song is real headphone candy, a hushed gem powered by worn electronics and Jon Bernson’s wizened, world-weary vocals. The synths might sound aged, but there’s a deceptively rich layering going on as well, and that makes this one something to have on repeat.

https://soundcloud.com/exrays/thestarsweregone