Tame Impala, whose follow-up to “Lonerism” will be out this year.
The sun is out, so it’s time to get groovy. This week we’ve got a head start on the songs that are sure to rule your spring, with electro-funk from Grimes and straight-up funk from Tame Impala. Meanwhile, Kacey Musgraves goes back to her country roots with a song whose chorus mentions biscuits and gravy. Mmm.
Grimes — “REALiTi”
Grimes has axed her early cyber-pixie sound, but for what, we don’t know. Because it isn’t the fuzzy pop synths of “REALiTi,” even though she just released it: this is a scrap from the planned/abandoned Visions follow-up (which is also where “Go” came from). That’s a bummer, though, because “REALiTi” is great, a kind of upbeat evolution of chillwave that abandons the sometimes harsh electronic vibes of Visions while managing to be just as effortlessly transcendent and endlessly danceable. The video ain’t no slouch, neither, and is worth your undivided attention, which is saying a lot in 2015. — Shane Barnes
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Tame Impala — “Let It Happen”
I’ve been listening to the new single from Australian psych revivalists Tame Impala on loop, which makes the eight-minute journey all that groovier. What I appreciate most about “Let It Happen” is that the song never devolves into a structureless jam. A strings section, Daft Punk-esque beats, and the sickest ‘70s fuzz guitar riffs this side of Mark Ronson’s new album help to break up the song into clear movements. — Jillian Mapes
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Girlpool — “Ideal World”
Maybe it’s the cold freeze of the East Coast steeling these L.A transplants, but Girlpool —who recently relocated to Philly — are even more musically menacing than they were last year when they first emerged. “Ideal World,” off the band’s forthcoming debut (Before The World Was Big, June 1), pairs unsettling vocal harmonies and sparse, discordant post-punk with commentary on the anesthetization of the fucked-up world in which we live. Sure-to-be-classic Girlpool. — JM
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Kacey Musgraves — “Biscuits”
Last week, the first single from country favorite Kacey Musgraves’ next album leaked online. Quickly the song about minding one’s own business, titled “Biscuits,” disappeared from the internet. As Rolling Stone points out, the song will hit country radio come Monday and iTunes Tuesday, but I just can’t wait. I’ve been watching the above live performance of the song on loop for the last week. The simple throwback country sound — led here by Musgraves and her cowriter Shane McAnally — mixed with a chorus as sassy as, “”Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy,” has me coming back for seconds. — JM
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Ava Luna — “Coat of Shellac”
“Coat of Shellac” is, pardon the expression, all about the bass. It’s also all about Felicia Douglass’ voice, and the way it manages to be both old and new as it harmonizes with itself atop that bass and the rest of the swaggering track.
“Coat of Shellac” will appear on Infinite House, which is set for an April 14th release from Western Vinyl. The band produced the album themselves, but it was mixed by Dave Fridmann, who has also mixed Tame Impala and is surely responsible for some of the groovy-ness of this thing. — SB
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Beauty Pill — “Dog With Rabbit In Mouth Unharmed”
An intricate, disorienting freak folk gem from a reinvigorated Beauty Pill, the D.C. early aughts indie rockers now led by Chad Clark. — JM
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Bonus: Ellie Goulding covering Hozier’s “Take Me Church” turns the bluesy hit into a cold cave of longing. — JM