Pitchfork

Here are three proven ways to make any song sound more exciting: 1. During the intro, breathe rhythmically into the microphone. 2. While singing, yell whoo! anywhere you might use a comma, the more staccato the better. 3. Be sure to include a barely discernible shout-out near the bridge.

The Sammies not only check off all three on this compact rave-up from their upcoming sophomore album, Sandwich (out in September on MoRisen, and who vetoed Samwich?), but they sound like they wrote the song around these elements. Bobby Freedom's ecstatically snappy riffing sounds like he's trying to make up for that last Strokes album, and Frank Backgammon's excitable vocals make "pissed off and broke as hell" seem like an attractive lifestyle choice. Coming across these days like a more nuanced Whigs rather than a bar-band Futureheads, the Sammies have managed to refine their sound without losing any of its loser glory. Whoo!

MP3:> The Sammies: "Glisten"
[from Sandwich; due 09/23/08 on MoRisen]