Muzak

Off the top of my head, I can list four groups that I've been listening to a lot recently. It's kinda mixed, and I'm gonna to start out with the easier ones:

Now, Now

These guys are awesome. It's just a three-piece, but they make a lot of sound for such a small number. Overall, they convey a very ethereal quality with their stuff. The angelic vocals really give off a sort of sadness and nostalgia for something that isn't quite clear. Most of the tracks on the album end up being really mellow and soothing, while still retaining a sense of darkness. But the more poppy tracks like "Prehistoric" and "Threads" really kick you out of that melancholic stupor.

Shakey Graves
I just found this guy and think his style is pretty cool. It's nothing mind-blowing; very folky and very lo-fi. However, there's so much energy in his work, and the sort of old-timey intonation to his voice make the tracks feel like your listening to some sort of rustic, bluegrass tune. And then there's "Business Lunch". I really can't stop listening to this track. The gravelly bass voice makes it feel like some old railroad song, but the softer hums and arpeggios give it a modern, indie feel. I feel conflicted. But it's so easy to tap your feet to the slight electronic beat and near nonsensical lyrics that you don't think about it too much.

Death Grips

Okay, now it gets weird. Death Grips is, plain and simple, a great hip-hop/rap duo (could be trio now; not sure). The album starts with my favorite track on the album, "Get Got", which I feel adequately represents the work as a whole. It's scary. I mean, not at first. Surprisingly, the songs can be really catchy and fist-pumpingly mad. It's when you really look into the album that it starts revealing all of its little secrets. The sirens in "Fever (Aye Aye)". The revelations in "I've Seen Footage". All over, the production is manic and slightly over the top, but never repetitive. The same could be said about the vocals. They're really hard to get past (they're not unlike an angry hobo screaming into your ear), but when you do and you realize what this guy's saying, the album really kicks you in the teeth. You start feeling the very schizophrenia  the front man keeps yelling about, but you can't stop banging your head.

Deafheaven

Deafheaven can be a bit difficult to get into. Maybe not as difficult as Death Grips, but they're very different. They sort of take shoe-gaze rock and black metal and try to meld them together. If you know what those genres are, you probably understand how difficult that might be. But something about this album works for me. I think the vocal tracks can be a bit long, but their pacing isn't unearned. When the album ratchets up, it really blows your hair back. And while the dichotomy of black metal and post rock can be a bit weird, it works fairly often. Really, though, it's the instrumentals that get to me. "Windows" is amazing, and there aren't really any lyrics; just a recording of what seems to be a drug deal and a preacher going on about God. But the layer of synths and piano really add this layer of mystery that just make me want to study the track. Or just sit back and listen to the story unfold, whatever that may be.

So, that's what I've been digging recently. Give it a listen.