Mark yr calendars. Visit Scott, one of the Internet’s most unassuming but follow-worthy bloggers, at Pretty Goes With Pretty. (Also: My brand-new blogroll page.)

Remington Super 60′s Winter EP is five songs and almost nine minutes long. Four of the five are instrumental. And yet, in just a handful of moments, the group says so much: “Sweet Winter” nods to Stereolab and Broadcast’s Jetsons aesthetic; “Cocktail Jazz” gives its lead keyboard an impossibly lovely melody to play under the caress of an unexpected string section; “The Lonely Cowboy,” all whistling and Morricone, is a thrilling homage; “Quiet Afternoon In Space” circles back to “Sweet Winter’s” frosty sweetness.

“Old Man,” the set’s lone vocal track, is humbly harmonized, finger-picked folk that knowingly stays out of the way of the more ambitious instrumentals. The Norwegian group’s brevity is a pretty astounding thing: the songs arise fully formed, like Aphrodite out of the sea foam, to shoot arrows into your heart and vanish into thin air. Until, of course, you press play once more.

Best of all: The EP is free! Download it in full below and visit Remington Super 60‘s site for more info.

Remington Super 60 – Winter EP: ZIP
Remington Super 60 - “Cocktail Jazz”: mp3

Previously: Nine Free Amazing 2010 Records

All photos by David Greenwald

Here’s the thing about playing the hits: it helps when they’re all hits. But even so, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin managed to one-up themselves over and over, playing “Everlyn” — my favorite on this year’s Let It Sway – second and saving “Glue Girls” and “Pangea” for the encore. That, plus an enthusiastically rowdy crowd, made for a night at Spaceland that felt sky-high. (Also: Thanks for the on-stage shout-out, bros! Miss you.)

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – “Sink/Let It Sway”: mp3

Related: Video: “Sink/Let It Sway” | First Look: Let It Sway

A nice little house sessions from L.A.’s Gamble House for L.A.’s Little Videos. Two more songs on their site.

Twin Sister – All Around & Away We Go from Bart McDonagh on Vimeo.

Bands, seriously, even American Apparel is sick of the ’80s. Great song, though. It’s from Twin Sister’s great, free Color Your Life EP. (Via Gorilla Vs. Bear)

About halfway into Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.’s “Simple Girls,” I couldn’t help thinking of the Beatles. Is there a finer compliment? The band’s Horse Power EP offers sincere pop with evocative adornments, the kind of set modern day Beatlephile Jon Brion would likely be proud to put his stamp on. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. aren’t content to offer just songs, using layers of interwoven studio effects to dazzle the head as well as the heart — a 2010 take on The Beta Band, or James Mercer’s last couple albums with more of his early inspiration. The EP closes with a cover of the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” one of the pop canon’s most sacred cows — and yet, the band makes a fine steak of it, offering a charming, off-the-cuff version that spirals into psych-pop voyaging. They’re not Brian Wilson’s band (or John and Paul’s), true, but we’re lucky to let them be themselves.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr – “Nothing But Our Love”: mp3

(The Horse Power EP is out now)

More: New Music | 2010 Album Release Calendar

As Consequence of Sound points out, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals’ III/IV has an Amazon listing with a Dec. 14 release date and 30-second samples which, yes, I clicked all the way through. Click over to listen. Based on the samples, this album is somewhere between the laid-back Ryan of Cardinology and the fiercer wailer of Cold Roses and the unreleased Sad Dracula albums. (It turns out “Dear Candy” is a slowed-down version of the super-awesome Sad Dracula track “I Was Never Here.”)

Ryan just tweeted about a mailing list update in the morning — vinyl pre-order? I’ll update when we know.

Rawkblog year-end lists, essays, etc. will run the week of December 13. When it’s 2011, we can start talking about 2011; in the meantime, I have albums that deserve more spins. If you need a head-start: My albums of the half-year.