For nine albums and over two decades Brett and Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family have been releasing music that has garnered lofty praise from critics and audiences alike. For instance, Mojo called their 1998 album Through the Trees one of the “ten essential Americana records of all time,” and Uncut declared In the Air “one of the most important records of the 21st century.” While originally from Chicago, the duo now records all of their material in a converted garage studio in their Albuquerque home where their song writing process is that Rennie composes the lyrics while Brett Sparks sets the music and gives voice to his wife's words.

Their newest album, Wilderness, was released May 14th of this year and is a twelve track concept album about wildlife animals, their potential to be destructive, and as such, the parallel capacity of humans.  Read on for my complete thoughts, to hear more from the album, and to sneak as peak of the official video for their song Woodpecker. You dig?

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The Melodic is a new four piece band out of the UK that will release their debut EP On My Way on June 25th. They are signed to Anti Records and the members are: Huw Williams, Rudi Schmidt, John Naldrett, and Lydia Samuels. On My Way is ripe with warm harmonies, infectious melodies, and tasty instrumentation that does not shy away from lesser used instruments such as the charango, the melodica and the kora. As a side note, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the melodica, the timbre of that instrument is always and will always be associated with good times. In fact, I dare you to compose a funeral dirge for melodica, it won't work, everyone will just end up smiling. 

Regardless, On My Way from The Melodic is set to work its way into both your regular rotation and your summer mix tapes. This is a do not miss EP for the summer of 2013. Give the title track a listen below and then get the full release on June 25th to enjoy the remaining songs. You can also stay in touch with the band via their Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You dig?

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Our friends in Beat Radio and a whole bunch of other great musicians have come together to create a benefit record for their friend & fellow musician Will Stratton. Check out some awesome music for an important cause.

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It's no secret we are big fans of Hey Anna here at Those Who Dig. Simply put, they are great. If you haven't heard them yet, get acquainted via their awesome new EP Pompette. Also, you can go see them live tonight at Rockwood Music Hall.

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First Blush is a NYC based band that boasts Charles Sekel on vocals/keyboards, Zach Honoroff on drums & Zak Croxall on bass. I've enjoyed this band since they debuted their self-titled EP over a year ago, however, I've never been comfortable describing genre titles when things get this blurry, so I'll let them do it. "First Blush makes genre-bending synthpop, combining ethereal electronic elements with strong, catchy melodies and riffs." My thought is that it doesn't matter what you call it, so long as you call it good.

Regardless, in March of this year First Blush released their second EP entitled Supersynthetic. Supersynthetic is six tracks of engaging music that showcases sensitive and thoughtful consideration for musical shape, coupled with a unceasing understanding of groove. Charles Sekel and First Blush show real growth between the two EPs and I look forward to seeing where the band goes as they continue to progress.

Read on to check out the full EP for yourself and then stay in touch with the band via Facebook, Twitter, their Official Webpage, and even their Youtube channel. You dig?

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Last week, Belle Mare released their debut EP The Boat of the Fragile Mind. I dig it.

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Just before embarking on an extensive European tour this May, TWD favorite Dark Dark Dark is set to release a new EP April 23 entitled What I Needed. In anticipation of this they have released a three song teaser with the superb title track What I Needed front and center.

If you need a reminder of Dark Dark Dark's previous work, check out my past TWD articles about them here. Read on for my full thoughts. 

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Madeleine Peyroux is the most recognizable voice in contemporary jazz vocals. It is also easy commentary to say that this voice sounds like it belongs more to the first half of the 20th century than the 21st. However, her success is built not just on this voice, but on her impeccable phrasing, succinct backing backing band, and uncanny ability to recognize a song outside of the boundaries of her genre and then successfully reallocate it into her language. Finally, it is this last performance talent that makes Peyroux quintessentially 21st century.

Her next album, The Blue Room, is set for release on March 5th from Decca Records. The founding idea of this project was to set Peyroux's fresh perspective on the controversial Ray Charles classic Modern Sounds In Country Western Music, but the project soon expanded to include the like minded material of Randy Newman's “Guilty,” Warren Zevon's “Desperadoes Under The Eaves” and John Hartford’s “Gentle On My Mind.” As a teaser for the forthcoming album, Madeleine Peyroux has released a video for Changing All Those Changes. The song was originally penned by Buddy Holly and underneath Peyroux's sultry voice and cultured backing band you can still hear the heartbeat and healthy reverb of Buddy Holly's version.

Read on for my full thoughts as well as tour dates after the album's release.

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Django Unchained is the new film by Quentin Tarantino due out this Christmas. We at Dig Central are huge fans of both Tarantino as well as the canon of westerns. The Django character was originally used in the spaghetti western of the same name in 1966, but reappeared in differing permutations in many films since its inception. With a cast of Tarantino's usual suspects and all his trademarked stylized violence amplified by a flawless soundtrack, this film promises to hit its mark. Read on to see the trailer.

Tarantino has a unique way of pairing Scenes and Songs together which create an indelible experience for the audience. The music is in this sense re-contextualized in your memory to include the films visual component as if it was the musicians original intent. Spanning Ennio Morricone, Jim Croce, and Rick Ross, this eclectic soundtrack is a wonderful and evocative collection. I can't wait to see how it all comes together next week. 

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Released on October 9th of this year Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's newest album The Heist was welcomed with a number 1 spot on the US ITunes download listing. However, before it's release, The Heist was getting major love from NPR and as recently as today, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were given the Ellen DeGeneres bump with a performance on her show.

The current wave of success the hip hop duo is enjoying may have been kick started by the viral explosion of their infectious song and video Thrift Shop, but the message the duo wants you to hear is marriage equality. Their newest single, Same Love, addresses the issue.

In the duo's native state of Washington, voters will decide the fate of this issue on the November ballot with Referendum 74. As a Marylander, I know that we will be looking forward to a similar decision on our ballot in Question 6, and nationwide the issue is a major talking point of the election.

Read on and check out the video for Thrift Shop, my thoughts concerning The Heist, and it's newest single Same Love. Get the album, get informed, and vote. You dig?

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