As much as I will be grooving alone to Giorgio Moroder’s long, dramatic remix of Coldplay’s “Midnight” all weekend, there’s better stuff for your ears this week. Some options:
Lily Allen — “Sheezus”
Allen beats the bloggers to pop star comparisons. Her teeth show musically, too, as she sing-raps about periods over slight trap beat. I love every second of it.
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Montreal Sex Machine — “Blackout”
Brooklyn label Godmode has assembled an impressive roster of up-and-comers across aesthetics, as seen by the collection of Godmode players here in Montreal Sex Machine. Mr. Dream vocalist Adam Moerder leads this squelchy dance party with all the style of early DFA but none of the tight-pants pretentiousness.
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Torres — “New Skin”
Mackenzie Scott, aka Torres, is working on the follow-up to her arresting 2013 debut. For the Shaking Through web series, she partnered with Sharon Van Etten — a kindred spirit in sound and lyrical themes — and members of the War on Drugs and Ted Leo’s Pharmacists to record “New Skin.” Seeing the process, filled with Torres’ humanizing doubt, would be enough to endear most to the ode to giving in to giving up. Its redemptive crescendo makes it a gem all around, regardless of backstory.
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Gonga — “Black Sabbeth” (feat. Portishead’s Beth Gibbons)
Bristol stoner-metal band Gonga get an assist from Portishead singer Beth Gibbons on a cover of Black Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath,” misspelled on purpose to capture the gnarliness of said cover. (I will not use the word “epic,” but you get the idea.)
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Popstrangers — “Don’t Be Afraid”
The second single from Popstrangers’ Fortuna (out May 27) has an eerie bassline I could not get out of my head this week. This song sounds like a warped record on purpose.
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Bonus: This isn’t a new song, but Arts & Crafts band The Darcys have a new video out this week that’s worth a watch. “Hunting” captures the compacted chaos of city living through intricate animations. The song’s off The Darcys’ lovely fourth album, 2013’s Warring, and the video’s by Grandson & Son.