The Electric Eclectic crew is proud to announce that singer/songwriter Laura Warshauer will be joining us on February 27th at 10:30am.

Laura will be rocking the station by performing some acoustic songs, talking about her Island/Def Jam self-titled EP, record company woes, touring in 2010, and hanging out with Ryan, Jeff, and Samantha for a hour and a 1/2!!!

For more info check out Laura at http://www.myspace.com/laurawarshauer

Check out Electric Eclectic with Ryan, Jeff, & Samantha every Saturday morning from 9am-12pm.

The station has lost power due to the storm. Programming will resume as soon as humanly possible.
Update: We are back online!

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