Hot Panda — Volcano... Bloody Volcano

I'm a little bit in love with Volcano… Bloody Volcano, and it's primarily thanks to "Chinatown Bus." Vocalist/guitarist Chris Connelly naively sings "Let's move to New York and live out of a van/We can plaster ourselves, fall in love all over this town" in the most endearing way. This song will make my party playlists even though it's not the most rocking song on the album.

Though it's super-indie, Volcano... Bloody Volcano manages not to be ironic, pretentious or excessively artsy. Hot Panda have assembled a back-to-basics debut LP that encompasses all kinds of stories and instrumentation. They talk about real things — small towns, growing up, drinking and sexcapades — but they do it in a sweet, youthful fashion with unique vocals and rhythm schemes.

Drummer Maghan Campbell provides perfect accompanying vocals on "It's Worth Eight Dollars" and "Whale Headed Girl," the two songs from their Whale Headed Girl EP that caught Mint Records' attention. Though the whole album is pretty decent, it's "Chinatown Bus" that successfully won me over.