This week, we globe-trot to Italy and France and lend an ear to genre-bending new material from acts big (of Montreal) and small (Wild Nothing). We also have Passion Pit covering the Smashing Pumpkins, Mates of State covering Belle & Sebastian, and six more songs you really need to hear. Don’t forget to Right Click + Save As after the cut.
1. Samuel – “I Heart NY” Samuel’s tribute to the Empire State starts off like something by Coconut Records. But then it picks up heavy brass, whimsically sprinkled with lightweight keys, resulting in some major sing-along moments.
2. Mura Mura – “Rabbit” Hiding somewhere between Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin and Beirut are two friends from Minnesota called Mura Mura who are just cranking out incredibly dynamic, orchestral pop songs. If you’re swayed, grab their free EP here.
3. of Montreal – “Coquet Coquette” Having been in the studio, grooving along with Jon Brion, Kevin Barnes drops some knowledge on both new and old of Montreal lovers by upping the experimental poppiness, the ’70s R&B infusion, and his trademark lyrical mysticism. And we’re smitten.
4. Passion Pit – “Tonight, Tonight” Having already proven themselves more than capable of covering an early ’90s classic with aplomb, the Pit return with yet another. This time, Michael Angelakos launches the grounded despondency of Corgan’s “Tonight, Tonight” to a very different planet.
5. Mates of State – “Sleep the Clock Around” Mates of States’ take on one of our favorite Belle & Sebastian songs may not be as climactic as the original, but that’s not to say that we don’t still savor the extravagant trumpet solo at the end and the perfect boy-meets-girl vocals we’ve come to expect from the two.
6. His Clancyness – “How It’s Done in Italy” The We Were Never Being Boring crew knew what they were doing when they pulled Jonathan Clancy out of bed to cover this song by Danish trio My Bubba & Mi for the label’s one-year anniversary. It’s some festive shoegaze that’s less washed out than Wavves and reeks of Band of Horses.
7. Aeroplane vs. Friendly Fires vs. Flight Facilities – “I Crave Paris” To celebrate their 10,000th fan on Facebook, the now-solo DJ, Aeroplane, lovingly mashes together Au Revoir Simone’s remix of Friendly Fires’ “Paris” and the hyper-remixable Flight Facilities song “Crave You” from a couple months ago. It’s not a marriage as much as a tasteful ménage à trois.
8. Wild Nothing – “Your Rabbit Feet” We’re not surprised that lucky Jack Tatum has produced such a satisfying mix of heady drums and psychedelic fuzz. The release of his already sold-out EP, Evertide, also commemorates the launch of Warmest Chord, a new imprint in the shadow of Rough Trade Records.
9. Sunday Girl – “Self Control” London’s own Sunday Girl has been making the rounds in the remixsphere from bigwigs like Diplo and Russ Chimes, and once the chorus of “Self Control” starts spinning, we can see the hype is well deserved. Her youthful take on Laura Branigan’s original is a refreshing glass of summery indulgence.
10. Cherry Chapstick – “The Line” This Montreal trio must have sticky fingers from all the syrupy reverb that they’ve conjured in this three-minute chilltronic gem. The spacey vocal lines cooed over Passion Pit-like synths will have you smacking your lips for days to come.
Download the mix all at once here.
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