At the beginning of “Norway”, the new single from Baltimore’s Beach House, there’s a hint of the second-hand organ that dominated most of their self-titled debut.  But then they come crashing in with pristine, breathy harmonies that make it sound like they’re putting that Sub Pop money to good use.  Over a deliriously warped guitar straight out of Kevin Shields’ playbook, Victoria Legrand steps out on this heady Nordic drama, her voice less obscured than usual.  To top it all off, she accompanies herself and makes like a one-woman Supremes on some misty cascading backup vocals.

Teen Dream is out January 26.

Beach House, Norway

MP3 Download

When a band drops an unreleased jam on Minnesota public radio, chances are most people outside of the Twin Cities won’t really catch on. But when that band is Girls, chances are most people outside of the Twin Cities will be trying to figure out how to cop said jam. The kid-tested, Pitchfork-approved act busted out a San Francisco treat for the listeners of the Land of 10,000 Lakes in the form of “Heartbreaker” – a mid-tempo lament that finds lead Girl Christopher Owens pining for a lost youthful love. “When I said that I loved you honey, I knew that you would break my heart.” I think this dude needs a hug. Check it out below or over at the Current, where you can take in a gab sesh with Mr. Owens and hear live takes of Album faves “Ghost Mouth” and “Lauren Marie.”

This is the part where the girl walks away. Most likely it’s in slow motion and the camera pulls out on the guy as he drops the flowers to the floor. The girl is making her way to the door, pausing momentarily to look over her shoulder at him. There’s a hint of a smile, or a smirk, or something that no one can pin down before she heads out and the credits roll. Ever so slightly everyone winces in a heartbroken agony. “Now that we’ve lost our way, the rest can all fall apart.” Jeez. Tearjerker material here. Asobi Seksu have recorded a few bare bones updates of their already-cinematic dreampop for the album Rewolf, recorded in a flash at London’s soon-to-be shuttered Olympic Studios. Beneath those gossamer vocal effects and fuzzy blanket guitars lay some sublime melodies and affecting lyrics that are given a life of their own with this set of revisions. Check it out 11/10 on Polyvinyl.

Asobi Seksu, Thursday

MP3 Download

The New York Times reports that a Minnesota woman has been ordered by a federal jury to pay $1.92 million to several major record labels for illegally sharing 24 songs on Kazaa. For those of you doing the math at home, that’s roughly $80,000 per song. At her original trial in 2007, 32-year-old Jammie Thomas-Rasset was ordered to pay $222,000 – a mere $9,250 per song. The jury in the retrial was not as lenient. Over 35,000 have been sued by the RIAA in the past few years, but this is the only case to have gone to trial. The RIAA does not intend to collect the full amount, hoping to reach a settlement with the mother of two. After the trial, she told reporters there was no way she could have paid it anyway. “The only thing I can say is good luck trying to get it, because you can’t get blood out of a turnip.” MOM!