Thursday, April 30, 2020

The 1975 - "If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know)"


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.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Jónsi – "Exhale"


Sigur Rós frontman Jónsi has returned with his first new solo music in over a decade. It's beautifully produced with a more electronic-leaning sound.

Monday, April 27, 2020

Princess Nokia - "Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T.)"


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.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Black Dresses - "CREEP U"


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.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Dua Saleh - "umbrellar"


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.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Anoraak ft. Slow Shiver - "We Lost"


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.

Monday, April 20, 2020

Fiona Apple - "Newspaper"/"Heavy Balloon"/"Cosmonauts"


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.





Friday, April 17, 2020

Madge - "Ethanol"


Innovative pop artist Madge brings some jeep-rattling bass and industrial leaning madness to this intense future pop track.

Thursday, April 16, 2020

Sorry - "Right Around the Corner"


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.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

The Strokes - "Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus"


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.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Muzz - "Bad Feeling"


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.

Monday, April 13, 2020

Amtrac ft. Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - "Radical"


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.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Selena Gomez - "Boyfriend"


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)."

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Gorillaz ft. Peter Hook and Georgia - "Aries"


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.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Troye Sivan - "Take Yourself Home"


Photo by Danielle DeGrasse Alston

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.

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Empress Of - "Love Is A Drug"


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.

Monday, April 6, 2020

Purity Ring - "i like the devil"


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.

Friday, April 3, 2020

PARTYNEXTDOOR - "THE NEWS"


Late-night breakup track from PARTYNEXTDOOR. This atmospheric song is perfect background music for a long drive through empty streets.

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Jaden ft. WILLOW - "Summertime In Paris"


This is just one of those songs that just SOUNDS like summer. It has a very laidback, shuffling groove and delicate guitar washes.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Half Waif - "Halogen 2"


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.