Top 5 Songs of the Week (Excited for Taste of Tremont Edition)

Despite the tremendous heat and humidity, last night was a *great* evening. Not only was it lovely spending time with close friends, we also had the fortune of running into other friends randomly. We were especially excited to have the opportunity to check out Coventry's latest addition, Bodega (thanks to Terry Travis), where we captured an image of their immaculate bar above. The vibe and atmosphere was very sleek and hip, while the sounds of a jazz band gave way to a dj spinning r&b and hip hop grooves. We took in our surroundings, sipping on Belvedere martinis and sampling a variety of small plates (our favorites being the hummos, pita, and calamari) and thought to ourselves what a welcome addition to Coventry this lounge is.

Following Bodega, we decided to hit up one of our staples, B-side's Patio, where we enjoyed the laid back environment and the sounds of Good Life Mike on the 1's and 2's. The evening concluded at none other than Jimmy Johns -- that's when you know you've had a good time ;)

This afternoon we are heading over to the 6th Annual Taste of Tremont. We have gone before and if you have not, we highly recommend you do so. For now, we just hope the weather cooperates and the rain stays away. . .

Until then, enjoy these Top Five Songs of the Week:

5. (mp3) Hearts of Palm UK - People & Logistics These ladies who do not hail from the UK but from the City of Angels make fun, cute, indie-electro pop. They remind us of Aurevoir Simone, Stereolab and Camera Obscura rolled up into one.

4. (mp3) Maps & Atlases - Artichokes This Chicago band has a new ep that just came. They make angular math rock with catchy melodies much in the vein that Minus Bear used to make but there is something about them that also makes us think of Battles (although that is probably just us). They are going to play at The Grog on August 5th w/ Portugal The Man and Rx Bandits.

3. (mp3) Menahan Street Band - Make The Road Walking By This is a new effort from Tommy Brenneck who is the awesome lead guitar player in the Buddos Band, The Dap Kings and for Amy Winehouse. Jay - Z sampled this song for his hit "Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)". It is the sh*t!

2. (mp3) Sam Champion - Be My Everyone This Brooklyn quartet has been gaining a ton of hype lately and with catchy as hell guitar riffs like the ones in this song you can understand why. We wouldn't be at all surprised if this song is used in a commercial soon. You should definitely check out this great session they did for WOXY Lounge Acts last fall.

1. (mp3) Sharleen Spiteri -All The Times I Cried Upon the recommendation of Venus, we got hip to this lovely lady. This is a solo effort for the lead singer of Texas. You might be thinking okay, yet another case of female singer from the UK channeling the 60's (ala Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Candy Payne) but Ms. Spiteri is doing it different and doing it better than any of those ladies. Jose doesn't even like songs like that and he can't help but get this song stuck in his head so that should tell you something right there ;)