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10 Finest Songs of the Week: MGMT, Björk and Rosalía, Geese Ltd., The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Extra
Plus Katy Kirby, Grandaddy, Future Islands, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Different Notable New Tracks
Dec 01, 2023
Welcome to the thirty ninth Songs of the Week of 2023. This week’s record contains songs from the final two weeks, as we didn’t do a Songs of the Week final week because of the Thanksgiving vacation. Though the vast majority of the songs had been culled from this week’s releases.
This week Caleb Campbell, Matt the Raven, and Scott Dransfield all helped me determine what ought to make the record. We settled on a Prime 10 this week.
Previously week or so we additionally posted interviews with Trendy Nature, the forged of the brand new season of Fargo, The Polyphonic Spree, Kevin Drew of Damaged Social Scene, Disgrace, Drop Nineteens, Emma Anderson, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and others.
Within the final week we reviewed some albums.
Do not forget that we beforehand introduced our new print challenge, Concern 71 with Weyes Blood and Black Belt Eagle Scout on the covers.
That will help you type by the multitude of contemporary songs launched within the final two weeks, we now have picked the ten greatest the final two weeks needed to supply, adopted by some honorable mentions. Take a look at the total record under.
1. MGMT: “Bubblegum Canine”
MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser) are releasing a brand new album, Lack of Life, on February 23, 2024 by way of Mother + Pop. This week shared its second single, “Bubblegum Canine,” by way of a music video that pays homage to a number of the traditional Nineties different music movies. Julia Vickerman and author/director/The Finest Present co-host Tom Scharpling directed the video.
Vickerman and Scharpling collectively had this to say concerning the video in a press launch: “All of us noticed the video for ‘Bubblegum Canine’ as a chance to mix the charming, DIY, surreal, cardboard craft aesthetic of exhibits like Yo Gabba Gabba and The Mighty Boosh with these ultra-serious grunge movies we grew up watching on MTV—all that heavy, brooding angst smashed up towards absurd childlike enjoyable.
“Ben and Andrew are legitimately humorous guys, so we had been excited they bought to actually go for it with their performing, paying homage to the eternally moody mid-’90s rock stars they appeared as much as after they had been youngsters. They had been utterly recreation for every thing, taking part in round with completely different wigs/costumes/personas/facial hair and regularly chiming in with new concepts alongside the way in which. That was a beautiful feeling, as a result of it tell us they had been having time. For the climax of the video, they allow us to shoot gallons of pink slime at their faces, which we appreciated. Ben bought fairly a bit in his mouth, which was unintentional…however he thought it was humorous, so then we had been allowed to assume it was humorous.”
Beforehand MGMT shared the album’s first single, “Mom Nature,” by way of a music video. “Mom Nature” was considered one of our Songs of the Week.
Lack of would be the band’s first new album in six years. It’s the band’s fifth album and the follow-up to 2018’s Little Darkish Age, which many seen as a return to kind and was launched by way of Columbia (as had been their earlier albums). Little Darkish Age’s title observe turned a viral hit through the pandemic and is the band’s third most streamed music of all-time, behind their early hits “Electrical Really feel” and “Children.”
This time the duo labored with producer Patrick Wimberly (Beyoncé, Lil Yachty) and longtime collaborator Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Spoon). As he’s carried out with all their earlier albums, Fridmann blended Lack of Life. There additionally extra manufacturing work carried out on the album by Daniel Lopatin (aka Oneohtrix Level By no means), Brian Burton (aka Hazard Mouse) and James Richardson. Miles A. Robinson was additionally an affiliate producer and engineer on the album.
Lack of Life contains the primary ever characteristic look on an MGMT album when Christine and the Queens seem on the music “Dancing in Babylon.”
MGMT had this to say about Lack of Life: “All joking apart (by no means!), we’re very pleased with this album and the truth that it was a comparatively painless delivery after a prolonged gestation interval, and are comfortable to be releasing this child into the world with Mother+Pop. Musically talking, we’re operating at round 20% grownup modern and not more than this, please.”
Author/director/The Finest Present co-host Tom Scharpling has written an essay about Lack of Life and had this to say: “Merely put, the blokes did it once more! They’re now five-for-five, which final time I checked will get you into nearly any Corridor of Fame. This file initiatives an aura of plain heat all through, an album brimming with snug confidence. There are epic tracks and intimate portraits, a bit of little bit of glam right here, some psych-folk there. It’s a slice of magic that matches completely into the MGMT oeuvre whereas increasing the boundaries as soon as once more.”
The album’s cowl art work is a 2006 portray by John Baldessari, Noses & Ears, And so forth. (Half Two): Two (Flesh) Faces with (Blue) Ears and Noses, Two (Flesh) Palms, and Passion Horse, 2006.
Learn our 2018 interview with MGMT on Little Darkish Age. By Mark Redfern
2. Björk and Rosalía: “Oral”
Final week, Björk and Rosalía shared their beforehand introduced charity music, “Oral,” by way of an AI-assisted music video. Proceeds from the music will assist fund the authorized combat to cease foreign-owned fish farming in Björk’s native Iceland. Carlota Guerrero directed the “Oral” video, wherein avatars of the 2 singers spar with one another and have interaction in some swordplay.
Björk wrote and produced “Oral,” with extra manufacturing and vocal preparations from Rosalía. Björk initially wrote the music between 1997’s Homogenic and 2001’s Vespertine, and solely rediscovered it this previous March.
When “Oral” was introduced in October, Björk issued this assertion: “I’m providing a music me and Rosalía sang collectively. The income will to assist the combat towards fish farming in iceland… Individuals on the fjord Seyðisfjörður have stood up and protested towards fish farming beginning there. We wish to donate gross sales of the music to assist with their authorized charges. And hopefully it may be an exemplary case for others.
“Iceland has the largest untouched nature in Europe. And nonetheless at present it has its sheep roaming free within the mountains within the summers. Its fish has swum free in our lakes, rivers, and fjords.
“So when Icelandic and Norwegian enterprise males began shopping for fish farms within the majority
of our fjords, it was a giant shock and rose up as the primary subject this summer season. We don’t perceive how that they had been in a position to do that for a decade with nearly no laws stopping them.
This has already had devastating impact on wildlife and the farmed fish are struggling in horrid well being circumstances and since plenty of them have escaped, they’ve began altering the DNA within the icelandic salmon to the more serious and will finally result in its extinction.
“There’s nonetheless an opportunity to secure the final wild salmon of the north. Our group wish to dare these enterprise males to retract their farms! We might additionally like to assist invent and set strict laws into Iceland’s authorized system to protect nature. The vast majority of the nation already agrees with us. So this protest is about placing the need of the folks into our rule-systems.”
Proceeds from the music “can be used to assist a authorized case towards the fisheries, introduced forth by residents of the city of Seyðisfjörður on the jap facet of Iceland.” You can even donate straight right here.
Björk launched a brand new album, Fossora, final yr by way of One Little Impartial. By Mark Redfern
3. Geese Ltd.: “Hollowed Out”
This week, Toronto-based duo Geese Ltd. introduced a brand new album, Hurt’s Approach, and shared a brand new music from it, “Hollowed Out,” by way of a music video. Hurt’s Approach is due out February 9, 2024 by way of Carpark. Colin Medley directed “Hollowed Out” video. Take a look at the album’s tracklist and canopy art work, in addition to the band’s upcoming tour dates, right here.
Geese Ltd. is Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis. Hurt’s Approach is the follow-up to Trendy Fiction, which got here out in 2021 by way of Carpark and was considered one of our Prime 100 Albums of 2021.
“Hollowed Out” options backing vocals from Ratboys’ Julia Steiner and Marcus Nuccio (who additionally performs drums on the observe), Dehd’s Jason Balla, and Moontype’s Margaret McCarthy. Finom’s Macie Stewart organized and carried out the strings.
McGreevy had this to say concerning the single in a press launch: “There was a sinkhole that opened up on Dundas West a short time in the past, in an space close to to the place I dwell. It shut down the street for a month. It had an odd resonance, partly as a result of plenty of the streets in Toronto was once rivers and streams operating right down to the lake that roads had been then constructed over. It felt like an encroachment of nature into an city surroundings–the river coming again to break down a chunk of civic infrastructure, and I constructed the music across the feeling that evoked. It’s about residing with decline. Concerning the feeling that the horizon of risk on the earth is eternally being drawn in to align with the sides of the imaginations of a small group of careless wealthy folks. And about current by a state of ongoing disaster over which we now have no management.”
McGreevy had this to say about the remainder of the tracks on the album: “They’re songs about struggling. About watching folks I take care of undergo, and making an attempt to determine how one can be there for them. And concerning the pressure of residing on the earth when it feels prefer it’s able to collapse.”
Geese Ltd. beforehand shared the album’s first single “The Important Factor,” by way of a music video. “The Important Factor” was considered one of our Songs of the Week.
Dave Vettraino (Deeper, Lala Lala, Dehd) produced the album, which was recorded in Chicago.
Geese Ltd. say they discovered themselves in a extra assured place when recording Hurt’s Approach.
“Once we bought signed, we had performed possibly 5 – 6 exhibits ever. After final yr, it’s within the tons of. That have can change your notion of your personal music and songwriting,” says McGreevy. “Previously once we bought caught on a music we had a bent to take a look at our favourite information to see how they tackled it. However now, as an alternative of asking ‘what would Orange Juice do?’, we’d ask, ‘what would we do?’”
The band launched a brand new single in 2022, “Sheets of Gray.” It was considered one of our Songs of the Week however isn’t included on the brand new album.
Final yr the band launched a canopy music collection, The Sincerest Type of Flattery. It included a canopy of The Remedy’s “In Between Days,” which featured Jane Inc (the mission of Carlyn Bezic), in addition to a canopy of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s 1989 music “Head On.”
Learn our The Finish interview with Tom McGreevy. By Mark Redfern
4. The Jesus and Mary Chain: “jamcod”
Forty years since The Jesus and Mary Chain launched their debut single, Scottish brothers William and Jim Reid are again with their first new materials since 2017’s Injury and Pleasure. This week the band introduced a brand new album, Glasgow Eyes, and shared its lead single, “jamcod,” which accommodates the band’s signature sound and a few experimental digital thrives. Glasgow Eyes is due out March 8, 2024 by way of Fuzz Membership. Take a look at the album’s tracklist and canopy art work right here.
The Mary Chain will have a good time their fortieth yr in 2024 with an autobiography (printed by Orion/White Rabbit) and a serious UK and European tour. Jim Reid spoke to Beneath the Radar not too long ago and stated of the album: “Will probably be a bit completely different; it’s fairly experimental and digital. Not a lot that you just gained’t acknowledge it because the Mary Chain, however yeah, we messed about with the sound a bit.” You may learn the total interview HERE.
Within the Glasgow Eyes press launch, it reveals the album is influenced partially by the Reids’ love of Suicide and Kraftwerk, in addition to “a contemporary appreciation of the much less disciplined attitudes present in jazz.”
Jim Reid additional explains: “However don’t anticipate ‘the Mary Chain goes jazz.’ Individuals ought to anticipate a Jesus and Mary Chain file, and that’s actually what Glasgow Eyes is. Our inventive strategy is remarkably the identical because it was in 1984—simply hit the studio and see what occurs. We went in with a bunch of songs and let it take its course. There are not any guidelines; you simply do no matter it takes. And there’s a telepathy there—we’re these bizarre, not-quite twins that end one another’s sentences.” By Andy Von Pip
5. Katy Kirby: “Occasion of the Century”
Katy Kirby is releasing a brand new album, Blue Raspberry, on January 26, 2024 by way of ANTI-. This week she shared one other music from it, “Occasion of the Century,” by way of a lyric video.
Kirby had this to say concerning the music in a press launch: “I wrote ‘Occasion of the Century’ on FaceTime with my good friend Christian Lee Hutson, simply kinda haphazardly sending lyrics we’d saved in our respective notes. It became a type of slow-danceable, semi-sweet love music about in search of connection when it feels just like the chaos might be by no means going to cease. It’s type of additionally about physics and anti-natalism, and local weather change, and likewise how a lot we love our mates. Once we recorded it, I requested my band to attempt to make it sound like an Ed Sheeran music, which they refused to do.”
Blue Raspberry is Kirby’s first album for ANTI-. Beforehand she shared its first single, “Cubic Zirconia,” by way of a music video (it was considered one of our Songs of the Week). When the album was introduced, Kirby shared its second single, “Desk.”
Kirby’s debut album, Cool Dry Place, got here out in 2021 by way of Keeled Scales. Learn our overview of Cool Dry Place right here. By Mark Redfern
6. Grandaddy: “Cabin in My Thoughts”
Grandaddy are releasing a brand new album, Blu Wav, on February 16, 2024 by way of Dangerbird. This week they shared a brand new music from it, “Cabin in My Thoughts,” by way of a music video. Aaron Beckum directed the video.
Grandaddy’s frontman Jason Lytle had this to say about “Cabin in My Thoughts” in a press launch: “Some time again I used to be touring with a good friend, doing a little exhibits and simply riffing, and he got here up with this phrase. It made a lot sense to me and had so many issues simply throughout the title itself: shutting off and simply, like, going inward. It’s enjoyable to think about actually a cabin inside your thoughts. ‘I’m out of right here, see ya, guys’ and also you stroll within the entrance door, shut the door and disappear for some time.’ It was good like an outdated nation music the place the title says every thing. I remembered the phrase, and it was straightforward for me to select it up and simply make it work.”
When the album was introduced, Grandaddy shared its first single, “Watercooler,” by way of a music video. “Watercooler” was considered one of our Songs of the Week.
The album’s title Blu Wav is a mash-up of “bluegrass” and “New Wave,” as the brand new album tries to mix the lyrics related to bluegrass waltz’s with the synthesizers and digital sounds of ’80s New Wave, with the latter being extra in Grandaddy’s wheelhouse. This took place when Lytle found a traditional nation radio station whereas driving by the Nevada desert and heard Patti Web page’s “Tennessee Waltz” and questioned what it sound like in additional of a Grandaddy model. “There’s an inordinate quantity of pedal metal [on the new album],” says Lytle.
In 2017 Grandaddy launched their comeback album, Final Place, which was their first album in 11 years, since 2006’s Simply Just like the Fambly Cat. Blu Wav is their first new album since Final Place, however they’ve been busy with archival releases since then.
Earlier this yr they launched Sumday Twunny, a twentieth anniversary field set reissue of their 2003 album, Sumday, which included Sumday: The Cassette Demos and Sumday: Extra Baggage, a 13-song assortment of rarities and B-Sides that was additionally launched individually.
In 2020, Grandaddy launched a twentieth anniversary reissue of The Sophtware Hunch, which included a solo piano model of the album performed by Lytle.
Grandaddy had been on the quilt of Beneath the Radar’s very first print challenge, in 2001, wherein we interviewed them about The Sophtware Hunch.
Grandaddy additionally options Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, and Tim Dryden. The band’s Kevin Garcia handed away in 2017.
Learn our 2017 interview with Grandaddy about Final Place.
Grandaddy additionally contributed to our Covers of Covers twentieth anniversary album, the place they lined Metric’s “Blindness.”
We additionally interviewed Grandaddy for our twentieth Anniversary Concern and you’ll learn that article right here. By Mark Redfern
7. Future Islands: “The Struggle”
Future Islands are releasing a brand new album, Individuals Who Aren’t There Anymore, on January 26, 2024 by way of 4AD. This week they shared one other music from it, “The Struggle,” by way of an animated music video.
Future Islands co-produced Individuals Who Aren’t There Anymore with Steve Wright, who additionally blended the album with Chris Coady. Future Islands is Samuel T. Herring (vocals, lyrics), William Cashion (bass, guitars), Gerrit Welmers (keyboards, programming), and Michael Lowry (drums).
Individuals Who Aren’t There Anymore contains three beforehand shared singles. “Peach” was launched in 2021. “King of Sweden” got here out in 2022 and the band carried out it on The Late Present with Stephen Colbert. “Deep within the Evening” was shared in August by way of a music video and it was considered one of our Songs of the Week. When the album was introduced they shared one other new music from it, “The Tower,” by way of a music video. “The Tower” was considered one of our Songs of the Week.
The band’s final album was 2020’s As Lengthy As You Are, which made it to #17 on our Prime 100 Albums of 2020 record.
Learn our interview with Future Islands on As Lengthy As You Are.
In 2022 the band additionally shared a canopy of Wham!’s “Final Christmas.”
Learn our 2014 cowl story article on Future Islands. By Mark Redfern
8. Wings of Want: “Angels”
British duo Wings of Want (Chloe Little and James Taylor) are releasing a brand new singles assortment, Life Is Infinite, on December 8 by way of WMD Data. Final week they shared two new songs from it, “Angels” and “Higher Late Than By no means,” the previous by way of a music video. We most popular “Angels,” however “Higher Late Than By no means” additionally makes the honorable mentions record under.
Of “Angels” the band collectively had this to say in a press launch: “Can you’re feeling the cosmic wave crashing down timelines that now not serve us? The ethereal and actual lastly merge into our collective dreamscape and assist us paint a greater world and re-shape our celestial future. We’re falling down like angels.”
Of “Higher Late Than By no means” they are saying: “Within the west, we’re ingrained to assume getting older is a nasty factor.
“Within the east ageing is championed and seen as a chance to achieve nice perception and knowledge.
“The music is about letting go and permitting time to take you on a grand journey of self discovery, and discovering empowerment in all of the life expertise you have got gained.
“We have to discover the transcendent in a world rooted in fixed change and destruction. In any other case we danger being washed ashore.”
Life Is Infinite is just not a debut album, however as an alternative “collects collectively the formative tracks of their opening period,” in accordance with a press launch.
When it was introduced, the band shared two new songs from it—“A Gun in Each Residence” and “001 [Tame the War, Feed the Fire]”—in addition to a dwell video for the previous music. “001 [Tame the War, Feed the Fire]” was considered one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared two extra songs from it, “Probability of a Lifetime” and “I Will Strive My Finest.” “Probability of a Lifetime” was considered one of our Songs of the Week.
Life Is Infinite contains two new songs—“Fabricated from Love” and “Be Right here Now”—the band shared in August. The latter is not an Oasis cowl, but it surely did make our Songs of the Week record.
Life Is Infinite additionally options “Runnin’,” a brand new music the band launched in January that was considered one of our Songs of the Week, and “Select a Life,” a brand new music the band shared final yr that was additionally considered one of our Songs of the Week.
In 2021, Wings of Want launched the EP Amun-Ra.
Choose up our present print challenge, Concern 71, to learn our Happy to Meet You interview with Wings of Want. By Mark Redfern
9. Dutch Uncles: “On the Wheel”
This week, British art-pop quartet Dutch Uncles introduced No Hooks, a brand new cassette assortment of rarities and beforehand unheard tracks, and shared a brand new music from it, “On the Wheel.” No Hooks can be out there on the band’s headlining December UK tour.
Guitarist and keys participant Peter Broadhead had this to say concerning the new single in a press launch: “‘On the Wheel’ winds itself round a central sustained dissonant drone from an ’80s Casio CZ-3000 and a easy two be aware guitar riff impressed by the evocative electro-acoustic atmosphere of Darkside. Duncan’s warped lyrics might sound seem acquainted because the surreal phrases discovered an unique comfortable dwelling on the observe Poppin’.”
Vocalist/lyricist Duncan Wallis says: “The lyrics are a lament of the dreadful feeling that comes with bumping into outdated faces (normally within the supermarkets of hometowns you haven’t visited for years) who had been current at your most embarrassing reminiscences. The farcical pretence one places on to look like they’ve grown and moved on from the previous by no means works after all, as a result of nicknames are likely to rhyme with precise names. And thus, ‘Spunkan’ lives on.”
On the No Hooks assortment, bassist Robin Richards provides: “A number of followers had requested us the place they might discover the music ‘Jinx’ (Cadenza-era B-side c.2010), because it wasn’t out there on-line wherever. This bought us interested by the opposite DU songs that weren’t out there on Spotify and the concept of placing them collectively as a rarities compilation. Reasonably than simply placing the tracks straight out on-line, we thought it could be good to maintain the songs considerably uncommon and a restricted version cassette felt like a becoming launch.”
“That is the primary ever Dutch Uncles cassette launch, and options career-spanning recordings from the final 15 years. It options Fabio Acapella – our purely vocal conceptual tribute to the in the end disappointing 2010 England crew, and the completely bangin’ Dolby Anol remix of ‘The Ink.’”
Dutch Uncles launched their sixth album, True Leisure, in March by way of Memphis Industries. By Mark Redfern
10. Ladytron: “All Over By Xmas”
Iconic electro-pop band Ladytron usually are not the primary act you’d suspect would launch a festive single and but right here they’re with a model new Christmas music, “All Over By Xmas,” shared at present. We predict it’s their first foray into vacation music.
Ladytron launched their seventh studio album, Time’s Arrow, again in January by way of Cooking Vinyl.
In June they shared new remixes of their 2015 music, “Destroy Every little thing You Contact,” by DJ/producer Area Movement on Beatport. “Destroy Every little thing You Contact,” initially launched on Ladytron’s 2005 LP Witching Hour, has lengthy been one of many band’s hottest songs, and has discovered new dwell but once more, being featured in Emerald Fennell’s new movie, Saltburn.
Beforehand Ladytron shared Time’s Arrow’s first single, “Metropolis of Angels.” “Metropolis of Angels” is the album’s opening observe and was considered one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared a cinematic video for “Metropolis of Angels.” Then Ladytron shared its second single, “Distress Keep in mind Me,” and introduced some new U.S. tour dates. “Distress Keep in mind Me” additionally landed on our Songs of the Week record. The album’s third single, “Faces,” was additionally considered one of our Songs of the Week
Learn our 2019 interview with Ladytron on their self-titled album.
Learn our First Concern Revisited interview with Ladytron on their debut album, 604, from our twentieth Anniversary Concern.
Learn our overview of Time’s Arrow.
The Liverpool-formed band options Helen Marnie, Daniel Hunt, Mira Aroyo, and Reuben Wu. By Mark Redfern
Honorable Mentions:
These songs nearly made the Prime 10.
Kirin J Callinan: “Crazier Thought”
Peter Gabriel: “Dwell and Let Dwell”
Good Morning: “one evening”
The Excessive Llamas: “Hey Panda”
Actual Property: “Water Underground”
The Umbrellas: “Echoes”
Wings of Want: “Higher Late Than By no means”
Chelsea Wolfe: “Tunnel Lights”
Yard Act: “Petroleum”
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