Music News

Boy band fever strikes again. The fad which seemed to have faced extinction after the pop groups Backstreet Boys and N’Sync disbanded is becoming all the rage again. According to the British pop sector of things, this new resurgence of the boy band trend was jumpstarted again when the British pop group, The Wanted debuted their 2010 single, All Time Low, becoming the number one single on the UK charts for one week. Rival group, One Direction - first met as solo contestants during the seventh season of the X-Factor, but got together as a band through the guidance of one of the judges on the show –  is also contending for the coveted title of most sought after boy band. Separated into two camps – the Directioners vs. Team Wanted – both appeal to the female fan psyche in different ways. According to Reuters.com, One Direction is the coordinated, clean-cut and media-savvy boy band, while The Wanted is the rebellious and uncensored equivalent to the Directioners.

But even better yet, news has reached that one of the original boy bands, the Beach Boys, who initially comprised of Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine, are reuniting. They recently released their first new single in decades on Wednesday, April 25, making it available for purchase on iTunes and Amazon, reports The New York Times. The single, titled, That’s Why God Made the Radio, is reportedly said to avidly capture the music of the times that the Californian band first introduced to the world back in 1961.

The Beach Boys new studio album is set to be released under the first single’s name in June 5 by Capitol/EMI records. The now reformed Beach Boys will be going on tour to celebrate their 50th Anniversary starting this week in Tucson. They also plan to play in the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this weekend.

Another band also bringing new material to the plate after a brief hiatus is Brooklyn’s Vampire Weekend. CNN reports that the indie-rocker’s headlining gig at the Pitchfork Music Festival in July will mark the band’s first live performance in nearly a year.

The Brooklyn-based artists also told Rolling Stone Magazine that they are hard at work on the follow up to their 2010 LP, Contra.  The magazine mentions that though the band has amassed plenty of material but with no deadline in sight, it might be a while before fans will be getting a sneak peek of Vampire Weekend’s new album.

Photo courtesy of Kenny Shackleford via Flickr