If you’re like us, you were pretty bummed when December rolled around and the recording industry decided to go on a mini-break. Fortunately, it’s already February and plenty of impressive albums have dropped. Over thirty of them are in high rotation at WTSR, and here are the biggest highlights to listen for this month:

Vampire Weekend- “White Sky”
Vampy Wknd has been working on this one awhile. Debuted at Pitchfork Festival two summers ago, “White Sky” continues the band’s tradition of witty, idiosyncratic indie pop. Ezra Koenig’s vocal delivery in the chorus- essentially a series of yelps- doesn’t sound all that good in theory, but gives this charming little song much of its appeal.

Yeasayer- “Ambling Alp”
What’s that? Yeasayer are the new Animal Collective? If it turns out to be true, it will have a lot to do with this single. “Alp” almost overdoses on electronic blips, but retains just enough pop edge amongst the weirdness. Basically, if you like silly noises, this is your new favorite song.

Beach House-”Norway”
So, Beach House are 2010’s first indie band to officially blow up. We love all of “Teen Dream” at WTSR, but this lovely song has been our absolute favorite. If you focus too long on how the duo layers gentle vocals, shimmering guitar, and keyboard strokes you just might find yourself drifting away to a much happier place.

Surfer Blood- “Swim”
Bridging the gap between surf rock and blogosphere buzz bands are Surfer Blood, who actually write songs that relate to their name! The best of them is their debut single, which takes some Weezer-esque guitars and cool vocal tricks to make an utterly satisfying bit of crunchy guitar rock.

Motion City Soundtrack- “Pulp Fiction”
The standout track on the new Motion City Soundtrack record is “Pulp Fiction”, which reels the listener in with an insistent, irresistible hook. Listen closely, and you”ll hear shades of Eve 6’s 90’s hit, “Inside Out” in the chorus. And in true MCS tradition, singer Justin Pierre spends most of the track geeking out with pop culture references.

Editors- “Papillon”
When Editors announced their new album would be “completely guitar free”, my stomach turned a bit. Fortunately, the UK four-piece was crafty enough with the keyboard to write “Papillon”, a absolutely dominant Depeche Mode-style jam.

V.V. Brown- “Shark in the Water”
You’re probably used to TSR bringing you great alternative music, but we know what we’re talking about when it comes to pop as well. Ms. Brown is our favorite new pop singer of 2010, and her top song does an exquisite job of melding classic R&B with a contemporary vibe. “Shark” was recently made an iTunes Free Single of the Week, but you can say you heard her here first!

Los Campesinos!- “There Are Listed Buildings”
Okay, so you could say that Los Campesinos! have a few too many members. But when they put them all to good use, look out! On the highlight of their new record The Farmers! put it all together and craft catchy, delightfully off-kilter punk.

Yeasayer
“Odd Blood”
5 Stars out of 5

Within the arms race that is the maddeningly dynamic Brooklyn music scene, 2010’s early leaders are Yeasayer, an oddball quartet who just released their sophomore record on Secretly Canadian Records. Surprisingly enough, “Odd Blood” looks to endure as one of this year’s standout records, regardless of genre.

While “All Hour Cymbals,” Yeasayer’s 2007 debut, worked in stringy, folk-ish stylings, “Odd Blood” embraces a dizzying array of electronics and synthesizer. Building off the musical ambition that flexed its muscles on “Cymbals,” “Odd Blood” flaunts an uncanny knack for wrapping pop songs in offbeat, psychedelic packages.

The charismatic “ONE” pushes the band’s formula close to that of more dance-leaning bands like MGMT and Passion Pit, extending itself to an unexpected fringe of accessibility. The deeply textured, midtempo number “Madder Red” succeeds with a heavy dose of the band’s stellar harmonizing. The single “Ambling Alp” nearly overdoses in electronic beats and blips, yet endures as a curiously upbeat anthem, brandishing the chorus, “You must stick up for yourself son, never mind what anybody else done.” Among the five or six staple tracks on “Old Blood” are several successful intros, interludes and outros, bridging all the madness together and allowing it to coalesce into a cohesive unit.

Key Tracks: “Ambling Alp” and “ONE”
-Chris Payne
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Los Campesinos!
“Romance Is Boring”
3.5 Stars out of 5

Los Campesinos! take the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” and turn it on it’s head. With seven members (sometimes eight at live shows), the Campesinos family bring their funny version of punk-influenced indie-pop to the table. For their third release, they’ve teamed up with producer John Goodmanson, whose credentials include things from Sleater-Kinney to Wu-Tang Clan.

The band’s number of members got them criticism for having excessive noise and not enough focus, but the layers of both male and female vocals, horns, pianos and of course your standard bass and guitar flesh their sound out more than ever. “Romance Is Boring” carries a slight Matt & Kim resemblance with synths added to their vast array of instruments.

Their fast-paced tempos are best combined with harmonious “ba-ba’s” and thrashing guitars on “There Are Listed Buildings,” with vocals occasionally in the style of Art Brut, or talk-singing for those not familiar with the silly British band. Los Campesinos! are still known best for sounding like they’re having good old fashioned fun when they’re making and playing music.

Key Tracks: “There Are Listed Buildings” and “Romance Is Boring”
-Melissa Virzi

THIS Sunday, January 31 – 12 Noon to 3 PM on WTSR FM 91.3 in Trenton, NJ or anywhere in the world at www.wtsr.org :
A special edition of the Oldies But Goodies Show, “THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED”. We will be paying tribute to the three Rock and Roll Stars who lost their young lives in a plane crash over Clear Lake, Iowa on February 3, 1959. Of course, we are talking about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. Mike Piazza will feature their music, trace the events leading up to the tragedy, and feature the artists who were influenced by them. Also, performing live in the studio will be Ed Marra, the only Buddy Holly tribute artist sanctioned by the Buddy Holly Estate in Lubbock, Texas. While other stations will hardly mention the anniversary of this event we will pay tribute to the young talents who had such an impact on Rock and Roll. FORGET BUDDY HOLLY???????? THAT’LL BE THE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 8 PM – St. George Theatre in Staten Island, NY:
Mike Piazza will be presenting live, on stage:
Kenny Vance & The Planotones – “Looking For An Echo”
The Duprees – “You Belong To Me” / Have You Heard”
Vito Picone & The Elegants – “Little Star” / “Little Boy Blue”
Joe Favale & The Emotions – “Echo”
Barbara Harris & The Toys – “A Lover’s Concerto” / “Attack”

For tickets call the St. George Box Office at 718-442-2900 or go to Ticketmaster or www.stgeorgetheatre.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 8PM – Bergen Performing Arts Center in Englewood, NJ :
Mike Piazza will be presenting live, on stage:
Kenny Vance & The Planotones – “Looking For An Echo”
Fred Parris & The Five Satins (We will pay recognition to the group for having the Number 1 song (by a landslide) on our recent Listener Voted Countdown on WTSR) – “In Te Still Of The Night” / “To The Aisle”
The Marcels – “Blue Moon”/ “Heartaches”
The Chiffons – “He’s So Fine” / “One Fine Day”
Cleveland Still & The Dubs – “Could This Be Magic” / “Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely”

For tickets call the Bergen Performing Arts Center at 201-227-1030 or go to www.bergenpac.org

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, VALENTINES EVENING, 7 PM – Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA :
Mike Piazza will be presenting live, on stage:
Charlie Thomas & The Drifters – “Under the Boardwalk” / “Up On the Roof”
Earl “Speedo” Carroll & The Cadillacs – “Speedo” / “Gloria”
The Marcels – “Blue Moon”/ “Heartaches”
La La Brooks, Original Lead Singer of The Crystals – “Da Doo Ron Ron” / “He’s A Rebel”
Johnny Farina of Santo & Johnny – “Sleepwalk” / “Teardrop”
Charlie Gracie – Philadelphia’s FIRST Rock and Roll Star !!!!!!! – “Butterfly” / “Fabulous”

For tickets call the Keswick Theatre Box Office at 215-572-7650

Beach House
“Teen Dream”
4 Stars out of 5

Teen Dream,” the third release from Baltimore’s Beach House, is one to be talked about, be it from blogs or hipster friends who think they know more when it comes to cool new music.

Making the leap from indie label Carpark to Sub Pop, Victoria LeGrand and Alex Scally make slightly dark, hypnotic music that’s impossible to turn away from. Lush, atmospheric and delicate pianos from Scally seamlessly lend themselves to the sometimes-quiet but often-soaring vocals from LeGrand. Fans of Grizzly Bear might recognize LeGrand’s vocals from her guest appearance on their hit single “Two Weeks,” from their latest album, “Veckatimest.”

The single “Norway” demonstrates Scally’s dextrous and intricate piano work while LeGrand’s alto vocals provide their standard gorgeous and haunting aura to the song.

The always-under-the-radar buzz band of 2009, Beach House is looking like the next indie band to “blow up” in 2010. Included with their physical CD is a DVD with videos for every song, including a bonus one, each by different directors, just to add that crazy-cool Beach House touch.

Key Tracks: “Norway,” “Used to Be,” “Zebra”
-Melissa Virzi
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Vampire Weekend
“Contra”
3 Stars out of 5

Following the unlikely success of their 2007 debut, Vampire Weekend found themselves in a difficult situation. The haters who had been calling them out from the start for their privileged backgrounds and pilfering of African music were eager to watch the band fall into the dreaded sophomore slump on its second album. Unfortunately for them, “Contra” works on everything that made the band so appealing in the first place without coming across as tired or repetitive.

“Contra” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Charts, becoming only the 12th independently released album to do so since Nielsen Soundscan began in 1991. Despite the band’s current media saturation, the new record is more musically experimental than its predecessor. Sure, the chirpy guitars, piping keyboards and Ivy League lyrics are still there (singer Ezra Koenig rhymes “horchata” with “balaclava” on the album’s opening song) but the songs reveal an expanded musical ambition within the quartet. “White Sky” finds Koenig using his voice to create a sort of squawking vocal hook and “Cousins” employs break-neck guitars and drums to create an absolutely frenetic lead single.

The success of “Contra” not only affirms Vampire Weekend’s musical prowess but means they’ll never have to worry about flavor of the week or one-hit wonder status ever again. Koenig and the kids are here to stay.

Key Tracks: “White Sky” and “Cousins”
-Chris Payne

Wednesday January 13 at 8 PM
Comedian Chris Rush live on the air via telephone interview.
www.chrisrushcomedy.com