Bob Moses - "Love We Found"

 

Electronic duo Bob Moses returns with their new record Desire, a concept album that dissects and is "a meditation on the themes of desire."  While the album is mixed as one long track, each song flowing effortlessly into the next, each song stands out on its own.  This is definitely their best record yet.  While I love every song the one that sticks out to be is the opening song "Love We Found," which takes their usual deep house and adds a sinister bass line that just feels like a creeping pit in your stomach, adding heft and weight.  Also, the duo's vocal harmonies are exquisite.  I can't recommend this record more highly.

Disclosure ft. Kelis - "Watch Your Step"

 

Disclosure return with a really fun record called ENERGY (out today) that is chock full of guest stars.  My favorite collaboration is with Kelis that is a club-ready banger.

Mint Field - "Delicadeza"

 Mexican shoegaze duo Mint Field shares a new song from their upcoming second record, Sentimiento Mundial, which will be released next month.  "Delicadeza" is an intimate track with gauzy guitars and breathy vocals that takes you into the band's exquisite world.

 

Tame Impala - "Is It True? (Four Tet Remix)"

 

Four Tet provides a meditative remix to Tame Impala's single "Is It True?," which trades the slinky disco-vibe of the original for zen-like harps and twinkling synth pads.  While the track maintains a dreamy quality throughout, it does have a steadily shuffling beat that pushes things to a lovely conclusion.

Cigarettes After Sex - "You're All I Want"

 

Surprise new single from Cigarettes After Sex, that has some pretty evocative imagery:

"And with
Cristal and pink champagne
On our wedding day
You had a Hollywood sign made of cocaine
For us
Then you got on top of it
And you sang to me
As the snow was falling"

With that noted, it's a typically lush track with dreamy guitars and soft-spoken vocals.  It's gorgeous.

Perfume Genius - "Without You"

 

I will admit I am late to the game in liking Perfume Genius' new record Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, but now I am hooked.  I love the gentle track "Without You," with his plaintive vocal, twinkly piano, lonely guitar, and building strings.  It's an excellent introduction to this great record.

Troye Sivan - "In A Dream"

 

Against All Logic - "If Loving You Is Wrong"

 

From his latest album 2017-2019 under his Against All Logic alias, producer Nicolas Jaar sends out this sleek and mesmerizing ambient techno track.  The music shifts with loping beats, clanking loops, murky synths, and hangs it all on a sample of Luther Ingram's "If Loving You Is Wrong."

Dehd - "Month"

 

Dehd's new record Flower of Devotion is a modern update of college radio staples from the 80s (think Lemonheads, Superchunk, Juliana Hatfield).  The trio brings life back to the basic guitar, drum, bass setup with crystalline production, wonderful harmonies, and astute, detailed lyrics. "Month" is one of my fav tracks.

Babeheaven - "Cassette Beat"

 

Warm and luminous new song from London-based five-piece Babeheaven called "Cassette Beat," which will be on their upcoming debut album.  The song focuses on a languid beat, soft synths, strings and horns, and vocalist Nancy Anderson's heavenly vocals that are like an earthier Sade.

Active Child - "Painted Staircase (Joe Goddard Remix)"

 

On his record In Another Life, Active Child's (a.k.a. Patrick James Grossi) song "Painted Staircase" is ghostly, minimal, and celestial.  Joe Goddard of Hot Chip takes the track and remixes it into a deep house groove, sending you off the dancefloor and into the heavens.

Sufjan Stevens - "Video Game"

 

From his upcoming album The Ascension, Sufjan Stevens releases the second single, "Video Game."  It's a sleek synthpop jam, featuring booming beats, sparkling synths, and a really great melody.  The song is about just being yourself and not living your life trying to get "likes" on social media and in life in general.

Ólafur Arnalds ft. JFDR - "Back to the Sky"

 

Icelandic composer/producer Ólafur Arnalds collaborates with singer JFDR on this poignant track that touches on love and loss.  The music is minimal with low clicking percussion, synth drones, and gradually building strings.  The affecting lyrics move from despondency to eventual acceptance.  I love the last lines: "And then when stars align with some kind of peace/I know I'm loved by you, either way/Where did you go? You’re going home/You're going home."

Taylor Swift - "hoax"

 

Honestly, there is not even one so-so song on Taylor Swift's folklore, it is pretty much a perfect record.  Of all the songs though, I keep coming back to the melancholy closer "hoax."  It is such a raw, personal song about a toxic relationship she was in and how it brought her to the edge of hopelessness.  It is almost painful to listen to, but that is its beauty.

The Psychedelic Furs - "Turn Your Back On Me"

 

From their first record in over 29 years Made of Rain, The Psychedelic Furs have done what few older acts do, which is make a record that is a Furs record but is also of the here and now.  Richard Butler's gravel and smoke-stained vocals are in full effect, especially on the haunting song "Turn Your Back On Me," about a couple that continually tries to make things work and it always ends in disaster.

Gojira - "Another World"

French metal band Gojira return after a 4-year absence with a new single "Another World," which continues the band's concern for the earth and environment.  It comes with a great animated video that is their interpretation of Magellan and Planet of the Apes.

Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion - "WAP" (NSFW)

Absolutely filthy (a.k.a. awesome) song from Cardi B with Megan Thee Stallion. NSFW.

Alanis Morissette - "Nemesis"

One of the standout tracks from her excellent new album Such Pretty Forks In The Road, "Nemesis," starts out as a tender piano ballad, but over the course of the 6-minute song it takes off with fluttering, soaring drums, metallic guitars, and sensuous bass.

Nicholas Bougaïeff - "Nexus"

Berlin-based musician Nicholas Bougaïeff has just released his debut album, the NIN riffing The Upward Spiral. "Nexus" is an intense techno banger.

Blaqk Audio - "Hiss"

AFI's Davey Havok and Jade Puget have announced their new album Beneath The Black Palms, which is being released in two parts. Side A is out now, and the first single is the EBM indebted "Hiss."

Billie Elish - "my future"

The first track Bille Elish has created under quarantine, "my future" is a love song to her future. It begins with just Billie's voice and some muted keyboards and then changes to a jazzy-R&B number in the back the half. Her voice is quite lovely and is taking advantage of the stronger tone she took on her James Bond theme earlier this year. The video is pretty spectacular, a lovely tribute to the animated films of Studio Ghibli.