Charli XCX & Rina Sawayama - "Beg For You"

Charli XCX's new album Crash comes out soon. New single "Beg For You" teams her up with rising star Rina Sawayama. The song takes part of the lyrics and melody from September's club anthem "Cry for You." 

Disclosure x Zedd - "You've Got To Let Go If You Want To Be Free"

Groovy house track collaboration between Disclosure and Zedd. 

White Flowers - "Daylight"

White Flowers, the duo of Joey Cobb and Katie Drew, conjure up memories of Cocteau Twins on the ethereal dream-pop of "Daylight."

Girlpool - "Lie Love Lullaby"

LA duo Girlpool is set to drop their new album Forgiveness. "Lie Love Lullaby" is a darkly catchy track with low rumbling bass, eerie synth lines, and whispered vocals.  

Pedro The Lion - "Making The Most Of It"

Achingly beautiful track from Pedro The Lion's new surprise record Havasu. Bandleader David Bazan's voice is haunting and moving.

Yard Act - "The Overload"

UK upstarts Yard Act meld charging post-punk guitars with witty Britpop musings on their debut album The Overload. The title track features hilarious lyrics over a shuffling beat, a catchy bassline, and raging guitars. Check out the full record, it's an auspicious debut.

Fred Again.. ft. Romy & HAAi - "Lights Out"

Fred Gibson, aka Fred Again.., has a knack for picking amazing collaborators for his dancefloor productions. He teams up with Romy of The xx and DJ HAAi for this set-closing banger. 

dj poolboi - "i know you tried"

 

Although this song is from last year, I just recently stumbled across it and was mesmerized by its quiet beauty. Over heartbeat-like percussion, dj poolboi wraps us up in warm synths and haunting piano chords. It's moving and gorgeous. 

Nosaj Thing & Kučka - "Gemini"

Los Angeles producer Nosaj Thing teams up with Australian singer Kučka on this atmospheric/ambient-esque track. Nosaj Thing provides a bed of pillowy synths for Kučka's plaintive, child-like vocals.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - "Into The Light"

British DJ/Producer Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs returns with the 4-track EP called The Distance. I really like the track "Into The Light" with its whimsical beats and bright and shiny synths.  

Matt Lange ft. Deniz Reno - "Ordinary Love"

Matt Lange teams up with vocalist Deniz Reno on this atmospheric slow-burning track. Reno's voice curls around the synth strings, guitars, and skeletal drums.

Burial - "Upstairs Flat"

Burial's latest release is the ambient/collage EP called Antidawn. Pretty much all the tracks are formless and beatless, merging found sounds, heavily treated vocal samples, and ghostly synths. Even though the tracks lack his trademark 2-step beats, it is still pure Burial. "Upstairs Flat" ends the EP with haunting vocal snippets singing things like "alone in your loving arms" and "come back to me" over soft synths and background ephemera.

The Weeknd - "Gasoline"

The Weeknd's new album Dawn FM is one of his most solid albums yet, filled from start to finish with banger after banger. "Gasoline" is a proto new wave/synthpop dance floor slammer. The accompanying video is weird and disturbing, with The Weeknd fighting his older doppelganger. 

Sasami - "Say It"

Sasami returns with this hard-edged rage rocker about lack of communication in a relationship. This is her most hard-hitting track yet with lots of power chords and industrial-strength beats.

The Presets - "You Belong"

Aussie duo The Presets returns after a 4-year absence with more irresistible electropop on the infectiously optimistic track "You Belong."

Majid Jordan ft. Drake - "Stars Align"

Majid Jordan returns with their third album Wildest Dreams. The standout track on the record is their collaboration with Drake, who sings the hook and the first verse. "Stars Align" features smooth production with 80s-style R&B percussion and twinkling synths.

The Smile - "You Will Never Work In Television Again"

The Smile, a side project from Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead and Tom Skinner of Sons Of Kemet, has released their first single, and unpredictably it is a The Bends-era guitar rocker. 

2021 Favorite Songs

Instead of a usual list of my favorite songs of 2021, I ended up compiling a Spotify playlist. It goes in order from #1 down to #90. I hope you enjoy it.

Art School Girlfriend - "I Would Die 4 U (Prince Cover)"

Art School Girlfriend, aka Polly Mackey, shares her cover of the Prince classic "I Would Die 4 You." Mackey eschews the original's go-for-broke energy and turns the song into a moody dreamscape.