Get to know a few of 2014’s most interesting young electronic labels, London’s PC Music and Sydney’s Future Classic, via new songs from their rosters. Plus Purity Ring get us excited for their sophomore LP, Lana nails another soundtrack, and Chance the Rapper goes full soul.
Purity Ring — “Push Pull”
The first new song in two years from Canadian electronic duo Purity Ring shows off the new tricks they’ve learned in the downtime. “Push Pull” elevates what Purity Ring started with their impressive 2012 debut, Shrines, to bigger, sharper heights. Their sophomore album is expected next year.
—
Hannah Diamond — “Every Night”
“Every Night” has been out for a couple weeks now, but its slightly warped take on a digitized bubblegum pop love song hasn’t left my mind since. Hannah Diamond is the most visible of experimental British pop label PC Music‘s stars, and her too-perfect-to-be-real aesthetic translates into her music. Listen, or look, closely and something’s just not right. In this case, it’s Diamond’s obsession with her love interest, which goes beyond infatuation with a knowing wink.
—
Touch Sensitive — “Teen Idols”
Rising Sydney electronic label Future Classic is putting out what I expect will be a very solid year-end compilation, titled Teen Idols, on December 19. This week, FADER premiered the title track, from producer Touch Sensitive, and it’s sort of like listening to four-part a cappella harmonies but your record player keeps getting stuck in the same spot and you’re too tired to get up to move the needle manually so you just listen to the loop until it sounds comforting. I mean that as a compliment.
—
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment — “Sunday Candy”
Chance the Rapper is juggling a few projects at the moment, the most promising of which may very well be this new Donnie Trumpet LP, Surf. The group here is comprised of Chance, Donnie Trumpet, Peter Cottontale, and Nate Fox; Jamila Woods provides the hook on “Sunday Candy,” their first song. “Sunday Candy” takes one of the most interesting aspects of Chance’s Acid Rap — the gospel and soul influence — and commits to it fully.
—
Lana Del Rey — “I Can Fly”
This week, Lana Del Rey’s new songs for Tim Burton’s Big Eyes leaked online. “I Can Fly” is the closing track, and boy does it feel like it. Military-style drum cadences keep the song from drowning in its own sweeping drama, but its the over-the-top strings and pillowy vocals that make “I Can Fly” so cinematic. Lana’s aesthetic has proven to be a good match for major soundtracks, from The Great Gatsby to Maleficent.
—
Bonus: Woman’s Hour’s Dazed Mix is a solid listen connecting Patsy Cline to Scott Walker.