It’s summer, let’s dance and/or rage with some new tunes!
Jessie Ware — “Tough Love”
The first taste of Jessie Ware’s anticipated sophomore LP is the perfect mix of hard and soft. Her echoing vocals float above ambient electronics and a midtempo beat, all with a spacious yet edgy futuristic vibe. But this being Jessie Ware, the song is inherently a sexy slow jam, one whose lyrics linger towards the sad side of romance.
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Alt-J — “Hunger of the Pine”
For the first single off their sophomore album, British breakout band Alt-J layer synths, drum machines, keyboards, guitars, drums, vocals, brass, what sounds like an oboe… and a Miley Cyrus sample. The clip from Bangerz album cut “4×4” (“I’m a female rebel”) is likely the most ethereal use of the singer’s voice yet, but it’s just one of the memorable aspects of this crescendoing single. Alt-J’sThis Is All Yours is out on September 22.
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The Antlers — “Surrender”
This isn’t technically a new single, but it’s off The Antlers’ new album, Familiars, which is out this week. “Surrender” took my breath away the first time I heard it, and that feeling hasn’t left me entirely, now probably ten listens down the line. Frontman Peter Silberman’s vocals relate how “Life is a fatal race for all contenders” atop a trumpet-riff interplay that would make The National jealous. But for me, the intoxicating part here is the jazz-style percussion that opens “Surrenders” and continues to skitter throughout, underneath it all.
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Beverly — “Planet Birthday”
“Let it ride,” Frankie Rose deadpans repeatedly over fuzz guitars, feedback, and straightforward punk percussion. She sounds like she barely cares — as a stylistic choice, not as an indication of her talent — while the background noise — a mix of grunge, hardcore, and pop — grows increasingly frantic. “Planet Birthday” is the second single from Beverly’s forthcoming debut, Careers (out July 1), the first single from which you should absolutely listen to as well.
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Total Control — “Glass”
Aussie post-punks go full Kraftwerk, and it’s the greatest thing. Their sophomore LP, Typical System (June 24), is also excellent, though in a way that’s different from the New Wave chaos of “Glass.”
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Remix of the week: Holy Ghost! brings the Off the Wall vibes of Katy Perry’s Prism stand-out “Birthday” into a time period that’s either the mid-80s or the faraway future Daft Punk imagined.