Sleek, 80s inspired track from The 1975's upcoming record Notes On A Conditional Form. If you pay attention during the intro, you can hear FKA twigs singing. It's a fun song that draws from Tears For Fears to every slick 80s pop band with a saxophone.
Like a grittier Lizzo, Princess Nokia serves up a brilliant self-empowerment anthem and also lyric-checks her viral video showing her throwing soup on a racist on the subway. It's an awesome song.
Canadian trans-power noise-pop duo Black Dresses have released their new record, the inspiring Peaceful As Hell. Their music whiplashes between Crystal Castles' like 8-bit synthpop to an electro version of Green Day. Standout track "CREEP U" borrows a mood from Radiohead but injects their own electro-punk attitude to it.
Minneapolis-based gender non-binary artist Dua Saleh's latest single "umbrellar" is another striking single in their unique canon. "umbrellar" focuses more on guitars and Saleh's interesting voice.
Anoraak, the musical project of French musician Frédéric Rivière, just released their new EP called Figure. "We Lost" is a standout track that fuses his swooning synths with deeply heartfelt vocals from Slow Shiver, AKA Valente Bertelli. The song reminds me of The Blue Nile's effortless synthpop.
Fiona Apple's new album Fetch the Bolt Cutters is pretty much the album of the decade so far, and certainly one of the best albums I have ever heard. I tried to pull out one song I loved above all others, and it is just impossible. So, here are three that are on constant repeat.
UK buzz band Sorry are making ennui sexy again. From their brilliant debut album 925, "Right Around the Corner" uses rolling piano riffs, Pavement-esque slacker guitars, sleazy horns, and some cribbed lyrics from Tears for Fears for an instantly memorable introduction to this killer band.
The Strokes go new-wave on their single "Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus," which is on their new record The New Abnormal. It's a great track and sounds like they are enjoying playing together again.
Interpol's Paul Banks teams up with members of The Walkmen and Bonny Light Horseman to form a new band called Muzz. Their first single is the quiet, delicate ballad called "Bad Feeling," which has quite a striking horn mix towards the end.
Amtrac and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs team up for the song "Radical" which is a wonderful deep house excursion. The track can be found on Amtrac's record Oddyssey.
The sleazy bassline on this bonus track off Selena Gomez's record Rare quickly establishes that this song is not a sweet love ballad, it's all about carnal needs. "There's a difference between a want and a need/Some nights, I just want more than me/I know that there's a fine line between/It's not what I need, but (Yeah)."
Gorillaz returns with a new single in their Song Machine series. This time they recruit former New Order bassist Peter Hook on bass duties along with up and coming synth-pop goddess Georgia on drums. It's turning out to be one of my favorite Gorillaz tracks. It's a playful update of the New Order sound and is completely charming.
Troye Sivan got tired of waiting to release music while home under self-quarantine, so he decided to go ahead and release a new single. "Take Yourself Home" starts as a lovely acoustic guitar-led ballad, but gradually gains steam with bursts of gospel-like vocal samples, synth stabs, then ultimately to a house-inflected conclusion. The song is all about self-care during this surreal time, "If I'm gonna waste my time, then it's time to go/ Take yourself home." It's a lovely track.
Empress Of roars back after the disappointing album Us with the phenomenal I'm Your Empress Of which is stocked full of club-ready bangers. "Love Is A Drug" is a throbbing synth-pop track that is propelled by her forceful vocals.
Purity Ring comes back from a 5-year absence with the intoxicating WOMB. It marries the dark foreboding sound off their debut Shrines with the exquisite maximalism of their last record Another Eternity. "i like the devil" is the perfect embodiment of this.
Half Waif has been putting out solid electro-pop records for several years and keeps getting better and better. Her new record is called The Caretaker is her best yet. If you love Kate Bush, Tori Amos, and/or Bat For Lashes, you will fall in love with Half Waif.
