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9 Finest Songs of the Week: The Beatles, MGMT, Peter Gabriel, The Final Dinner Get together, and Extra
Plus Mount Kimbie, Sen Morimoto, Cheekface, and a Wrap-up of the Week’s Different Notable New Tracks
Nov 03, 2023
Welcome to the thirty sixth Songs of the Week of 2023. This week Andy Von Pip, Caleb Campbell, Scott Dransfield, and Stephen Humphries all helped me resolve what ought to make the checklist. We settled on a High 9 this week.
Previously week or so we additionally posted interviews with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Slaney Bay, Thurston Moore, Duran Duran, Viji, Alan Palomo, and others.
Within the final week we reviewed some albums.
Do not forget that we beforehand introduced our new print subject, Difficulty 71 with Weyes Blood and Black Belt Eagle Scout on the covers.
That can assist you kind by means of the multitude of recent songs launched within the final week, we now have picked the 9 finest the final week needed to provide, adopted by some honorable mentions. Try the total checklist beneath.
1. The Beatles: “Now and Then”
Yesterday, The Beatles launched what’s being described as their final tune, “Now and Then.” As we speak, as promised, they launched a video for the tune, directed by Peter Jackson (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Beatles: Get Again) in his music video debut. It options footage of the remaining Beatles engaged on the tune in each 1995 (when George Harrison was concerned) and 2022, as effectively cheeky footage of youthful variations of the band (together with John Lennon) interacting with present variations of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.
We could possibly be cynical or too cool for varsity and never embody “Now and Then.” Actually nobody would argue it’s within the high teir of Beatles songs and the way in which it was recorded and completed, after the deaths of half the band and with assistance from AI know-how, has been divisive for some. However that is the ultimate Beatles tune and the primary “new” tune from them in over 33 years, so that is our one and solely probability to have a Beatles tune in our Songs of the Week checklist. And regardless of the tune’s sophisticated delivery, it’s nonetheless a delight to listen to all 4 members of The Beatles collectively once more on a tune.
The Beatles additionally lately shared an Oliver Murray-directed 12-minute documentary in regards to the making of the tune, Now and Then – The Final Beatles Tune. It options commentary from McCartney, Starr, Harrison, Sean Ono Lennon, and Jackson.
“Now and Then” was introduced final week, once they additionally introduced new 2023 editions of 1962-1966 (aka “The Pink Album”) and 1967-1970 (aka “The Blue Album”), which is able to function the brand new tune and are due out November 10 by way of Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe.
“Now and Then” began with a tough demo John Lennon recorded in 1978 at his dwelling in New York Metropolis. After his tragic homicide in 1980, the recording sat unheard till 1994 when his widow Yoko Ono gave it to the remaining Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) once they had been engaged on The Beatles Anthology challenge. Whereas that challenge did produce two new Beatles songs based mostly on Lennon’s demos—“Free As a Hen” and “Actual Love”—it was determined that the recording high quality of the “Now and Then” demo was too tough to make it work. Nonetheless, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr did file new elements for the tune with producer Jeff Lynne.
Harrison died in 2001. Quick ahead to 2021, and director Peter Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Again docuseries used WingNut Movies’ MAL audio know-how to scrub up among the audio from the unique footage, which additionally led to a brand new 2022 mixture of Revolver. In 2022 this A.I. know-how was used on Lennon’s “Now and Then” demo, with McCartney and Starr teaming as much as work on the tune. The ultimate monitor contains Lennon’s vocals, Harrison’s acoustic guitar half recorded within the ’90s, a brand new drum half from Starr, and bass, guitar and piano from McCartney, matched to Lennon’s unique enjoying. McCartney additionally added a slide guitar solo that was impressed by Harrison. McCartney and Starr additionally recorded new backing vocals for the refrain. Then McCartney teamed up with Giles Martin and Ben Foster to write down and file a string half, recorded at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. McCartney and Martin produced the tune and likewise subtly added in backing vocals from “Right here, There and All over the place,” “Eleanor Rigby,” and “As a result of.” Spike Stent combined “Now and Then.”
McCartney had this to say in a press launch: “There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear. It’s fairly emotional. And all of us play on it, it’s a real Beatles recording. In 2023 to nonetheless be engaged on Beatles music, and about to launch a brand new tune the general public haven’t heard, I feel it’s an thrilling factor.”
Starr says: “It was the closest we’ll ever come to having him again within the room, so it was very emotional for all of us. It was like John was there, you already know. It’s far out.”
Olivia Harrison, George’s widow, says: “Again in 1995, after a number of days within the studio engaged on the monitor, George felt the technical points with the demo had been insurmountable and concluded that it was not potential to complete the monitor to a excessive sufficient commonplace. If he had been right here at the moment, [our son] Dhani and I do know he would have whole-heartedly joined Paul and Ringo in finishing the recording of ‘Now and Then.’”
Sean Ono Lennon, John’s son, says: “It was extremely touching to listen to them working collectively after all of the years that Dad had been gone. It’s the final tune my dad, Paul, George and Ringo received to make collectively. It’s like a time capsule and all feels very meant to be.”
“Now and Then” will likely be launched as a double A-side single, paired, fittingly, with their first ever UK single, “Love Me Do.”
2. MGMT: “Mom Nature”
On Tuesday, MGMT (Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser) formally introduced a brand new album, Lack of Life, and shared its first single, “Mom Nature,” by way of a music video. Lack of Life is due out February 23, 2024 by way of Mother + Pop and would be the band’s first new album in six years. Longtime collaborator Jordan Fish directed the “Mom Nature” video, which mixes animation with reside motion. Try the album’s tracklist and canopy paintings right here.
In a press launch, MGMT collectively say that “Mom Nature” “outlines the archetypical MGMT mythology of 1 hero making an attempt to get the opposite hero to come back on the journey that they ‘should’ go on. One half feels like Oasis.”
The tune’s video is about two animal pals, merely named Canine and Turtle, who “crew as much as take down an evil pet collector,” in keeping with the press launch.
“I hope the story makes folks completely satisfied and really feel related to household, pals and the animal kingdom as effectively,” says Fish.
Lack of Life is the band’s fifth album and the follow-up to 2018’s Little Darkish Age, which many seen as a return to type and was launched by way of Columbia (as had been their earlier albums). Little Darkish Age’s title monitor turned a viral hit in the course of the pandemic and is the band’s third most streamed tune 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 performed with all their earlier albums, Fridmann combined Lack of Life. There additionally further manufacturing work performed 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 function look on an MGMT album when Christine and the Queens seem on the tune “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 completely satisfied to be releasing this child into the world with Mother+Pop. Musically talking, we’re operating at round 20% grownup up to date 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 fellows did it once more! They’re now five-for-five, which final time I checked will get you into just about any Corridor of Fame. This file tasks an aura of plain heat all through, an album brimming with comfy confidence. There are epic tracks and intimate portraits, just a little 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 paintings is a 2006 portray by John Baldessari, Noses & Ears, And many others. (Half Two): Two (Flesh) Faces with (Blue) Ears and Noses, Two (Flesh) Palms, and Interest Horse, 2006.
Learn our 2018 interview with MGMT on Little Darkish Age.
3. Peter Gabriel: “And Nonetheless”
Peter Gabriel is releasing a brand new album, i/o, on December 1 by way of Actual World. On Saturday he shared one more tune from it, “And Nonetheless.”
This album will likely be his first of unique songs in over 20 years. Gabriel has already shared most of its songs.
Gabriel had this to say about “And Nonetheless” in a press launch: “I wrote a tune for my dad quite a lot of years again, which I used to be truly capable of play him, which was ‘Father, Son’. When my mum died, I wished to do one thing for her, but it surely’s taken some time earlier than I felt comfy and distant sufficient to have the ability to write one thing.
“I used to be making an attempt additionally to write down just a little bit within the fashion of the music that my dad and mom responded to, so I feel there’s some music from the 40s most likely that had an affect on the tune. Within the center I wished to write down my mum a wonderful melody. She cherished classical music, so we now have a wonderful cello enjoying there. It took some time to get that proper, it will possibly’t be too emotional or too underplayed, however I feel we received there in the long run.”
For every single from the album, Gabriel is working with a distinct artist to do the duvet paintings. Megan Rooney and one in all her large-scale work “And Nonetheless (Time)” types the only cowl paintings for “And Nonetheless.”
Gabriel says: “The artwork this month is from one in all my favorites, an artist known as Megan Rooney.
“I first got here throughout her when she was doing these very quick faces. She’d do one a day they usually had a lot character, I fell in love with these. Megan was the primary person who was approached about this challenge and he or she confirmed me among the summary work that she’d been doing, which I assumed was lovely.
“There was one piece that I feel we each thought felt proper for the tune, for the temper. Then, in truth, Megan stated, ‘I actually need to create one thing new for this,’ and he or she began it, however similar to with my inventive course of she received to some extent the place she didn’t assume she had fairly nailed it. I do know from my very own work that generally I’ve to go away it and are available again to it to search out the fitting path.
“In the long run Megan prompt ‘possibly we must always use this current one, as a substitute,’ which is what we now have performed. I’m nonetheless hoping that we’ll get to the top with the opposite one, however this can be a lovely piece.”
Megan Rooney provides: “First solely working from the reminiscence of Peter’s tune in order that I may discover my approach into the world he had created. And slowly, as I began to hearken to sections of the tune, a sense of longing grasped maintain of me and I used to be transported again to my mom’s backyard. I usually paint in fast, concentrated bursts and Peter’s tune has a sluggish, undulating tempo to it. The tune actually cradles you in its arms as a lot because it helps you to soar, so I needed to be affected person to discover a solution to reply.”
Beforehand Gabriel shared the album’s first single, “Panopticom,” which featured Brian Eno and was one in all our Songs of the Week. That was adopted by its second single, “The Court docket.” Then the album’s third single was “Enjoying For Time.” The fourth single was the album’s title monitor, “i/o.” The album’s fifth single was “4 Sorts of Horses,” which additionally made our Songs of the Week checklist. “Highway to Pleasure” was the album’s sixth single and it additionally made our Songs of the Week checklist. Then he shared “So A lot,” “Olive Tree,” “Love Can Heal,” and “This Is House” (which was one in all our Songs of the Week).
Gabriel’s final full-length album of unique supplies was 2002’s Up, though in 2010 he launched the Scratch My Again covers album and in 2011 he launched New Blood, which featured orchestral re-recordings of songs from throughout Gabriel’s profession.
Additionally learn our earlier interview between Gabriel and Arcade Fireplace’s Richard Reed Parry.
4. The Final Dinner Get together: “On Your Aspect”
On Wednesday, buzzed about new British five-piece The Final Dinner Get together introduced their debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, and shared a brand new tune from it, “On Your Aspect,” by way of a music video. Prelude to Ecstasy is due out February 2, 2024 by way of Island and options all the band’s earlier three singles. Cal Mcintyre directed the “On Your Aspect” video. Try the album’s tracklist and canopy paintings, in addition to the band’s upcoming tour dates, right here.
The Final Dinner Get together are Abigail Morris (vocals), Georgia Davies (bass), Lizzie Mayland (guitar), Aurora Nishevci (keys), and Emily Roberts (lead guitar). James Ford produced Prelude to Ecstasy, as he did all of the band’s earlier singles. Not solely is he a member of Simian Cellular Disco and The Final Shadow Puppets, however as a producer he has labored with a formidable array of artists, together with Depeche Mode, Arctic Monkeys, Jessie Ware, Every part Every part, Gorillaz, HAIM, Florence + The Machine, Foals, and Pet Store Boys.
The Final Dinner Get together collectively had this to say about their debut album in a press launch: “Ecstasy is a pendulum which swings between the extremes of human emotion, from the ecstasy of ardour to the sublimity of ache, and it’s this idea which binds our album collectively. That is an archeology of ourselves; you possibly can exhume our collective and particular person experiences and influences from inside its cloth. We exorcized guitars for his or her solos, laid naked confessions immediately from diary pages, and summoned an orchestra to deliver our imaginative and prescient to life. It’s our best honor and satisfaction to current this providing to the world, it’s every part we’re.”
Of the brand new single, the band say: “‘On Your Aspect’ is a love tune with its arms tied. It’s about being so dedicated to somebody that it doesn’t matter what they do, irrespective of how a lot it hurts, how a lot you already know you must depart, you possibly can’t escape. The outro got here from an exquisite improvised second within the studio; James Ford had this synthesizer that warped and delayed and performed with the material of no matter you place into it. So Aurora and Abigail sat within the studio after lunch and improvised some piano and vocal traces, letting the sounds construct on high of one another till that ultimate gasp. It was this wrenching shimmering part that feels like the top of a toxic relationship; dissolving, fragmenting, painful but in addition finally liberating.”
The Final Dinner Get together had been getting a substantial quantity of buzz of their dwelling nation based mostly primarily on their reside performances, however in April they launched their debut single, “Nothing Issues,” by way of a music video. “Nothing Issues” was #1 on our Songs of the Week checklist. Then in June they shared their second single, “Sinner,” in addition to a video of them performing the tune reside. “Sinner” once more made our Songs of the Week checklist. “My Woman of Mercy” was the band’s third single, once more shared by way of a music video and once more one in all our Songs of the Week.
Learn our Could interview with The Final Dinner Get together, which is probably going the band’s first ever interview with an American publication.
The Final Dinner Get together had already carried out units forward of Nick Cave and The Rolling Stones earlier than even releasing a debut single.
5. Mount Kimbie: “Dumb Guitar”
Yesterday, Mount Kimbie shared a brand new tune, “Dumb Guitar,” and introduced some 2024 tour dates for North America, the UK, and the EU. They’ve additionally expanded their lineup to a four-piece. Try the tour dates right here.
Mount Kimbie had been a duo consisting of Dominic Maker and Kai Campos, however now they’ve added long-term collaborators Andrea Balency-Béarn and Marc Pell to the line-up.
“Dumb Guitar” was written in California’s Yucca Valley and a press launch says it’s “loosely based mostly round a pair’s futile try to avoid wasting a doomed relationship.” The tune will even be launched as a 7-inch, with the tune “Boxing” (which options King Krule) on the B-side.
The band’s most up-to-date common studio album, Love What Survives, got here out in 2017 by way of Warp. Though in 2022 they launched MK 3.5: Die Cuts | Metropolis Planning, a double album of types (or maybe two solo albums, with one recored by Maker and the opposite by Campos, individually).
6. Sen Morimoto: “Strain on the Pulse”
Chicago-based Japanese American multi-instrumentalist Sen Morimoto launched his third studio album, Analysis, at the moment by way of Metropolis Slang, in partnership together with his personal Sooper Information. On Tuesday he shared one other tune from it, “Strain on the Pulse,” by way of a music video. Morimoto directed the video with New Trash and it’s thought of the third half in a trilogy of movies. The video stars Chicago comedy, drag, and music icon Alex Grelle.
A press launch describes the video in additional element: “The ultimate installment of the trilogy ‘Strain on the Pulse’ finds an evil file label government (Alex Grelle) celebrating the earnings of Sen’s posthumous album streams in an unhinged dance sequence, whilst Morimoto resurrects from the useless. With visible references to movies like Phantom of the Paradise, Clerks, and The Crow, the visible universe of Analysis calls again to MTV period Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry music movies, utilizing humor to steadiness and ship the album’s earnest message.”
Morimoto beforehand shared the album’s first single, “If The Reply Isn’t Love,” which was featured on our Songs of the Week. When the album was introduced, he shared its title monitor, “Analysis,” by way of a music video. The tune was additionally one in all our Songs of the Week. Then he shared one other tune from it, “Deeper,” which was additionally one in all our Songs of the Week.
When explaining this album’s goal, Morimoto stated in a earlier press launch: “I’ve now launched a few albums in a time when probably the most commercially exploitable asset an artist has is their social identification and their trauma. Over this time the dialogue of this sample has come up repeatedly with friends who felt equally bored with being anticipated to share each personal element of an immigrant family or to romanticize the wrestle of their working class upbringing solely to search out questions on the craft itself reserved for artists with out these burdens. Whereas the songs on my third album vary in subject from like to radicalization to spirituality and the inner results of life below capitalism, each tune on Analysis is, at its core, an try to flip the lens round. To carry a magnifying glass over the programs we reside in and empower us to analyze them with the identical scrutiny.”
7. Cheekface: “Largest Muscle”
This week, Los Angeles-based indie rock trio Cheekface shared a brand new tune, “Largest Muscle.” It was shared by way of a lyric video and showcases the band’s signature wit.
The trio is Greg Katz (guitar/vocals), Amanda Tannen (bass), and Mark Edwards (drums). The tune was recorded at New Monkey Studio in Los Angeles, which was arrange by Elliott Smith earlier than his dying.
In a press launch, singer/guitarist Greg Katz says the tune was born out of a dialogue with bassist Mandy Tannen.
“Regardless of the opening lyric, I’m fairly certain your coronary heart will not be truly your largest muscle,” says Katz in a press launch. “Then once more, you shouldn’t essentially look to Cheekface songs for medical data. Higher to verify WebMD.”
Cheekface’s most up-to-date album was 2022’s Too A lot to Ask. It included the songs “Pledge Drive” and “We Want a Larger Dumpster.”
8. TORRES: “I received the worry”
TORRES (aka MacKenzie Scott) is releasing a brand new album, What an unlimited room, on January 24, 2024 by way of Merge. On Wednesday, he shared its second single, “I received the worry,” by way of a music video. Dani Okon directed the video.
Scott had this to say in regards to the tune in a press launch: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everybody I do know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, local weather disaster, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape—it impacts all people, and I do know we’re all feeling it in waves of various diploma on a regular basis. I feel it’s actually necessary that we discover a solution to get our hopes again up. I’m right here to attempt to assist mild the way in which if I can. Most days I actually imagine humanity will discover a approach. However there’s a nagging nervousness that possibly that gained’t occur. One has to surprise if it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy {that a} species that believes it’s doomed will doom itself.”
Beforehand TORRES shared the album’s first single, “Accumulate,” by way of a music video. “Accumulate” was one in all our Songs of the Week.
Scott produced the album with Sarah Jaffe, recording it final fall at Durham, North Carolina’s Stadium Heights Sound. Ryan Pickett engineered the album, which was combined abroad in Bristol by TJ Allen, and mastered by Heba Kadry.
Julien Baker wrote the album’s bio and had this to say: “What I can say about TORRES is I feel the music comes from a convicted place…. And I feel it’s simply extremely good music to hearken to.”
TORRES’ final album, Thirstier, got here out in 2021 by way of Merge.
9. Get Improper: “Too Late to Cover”
Get Improper is the brand new challenge from Naomi Griffin (of Martha) and Adam Todd (of The Spook College). Their self-titled debut EP is due out December 1 by way of Father/Daughter (in America) and Alcopop! (within the UK). Peter Brewis of Subject Music produced the EP. This week they shared one other tune from it, “Too Late to Cover.”
Todd had this to say in regards to the tune in a press launch: “It went by means of a great deal of rewrites which is humorous trigger it’s most likely the shortest and most straightforward tune on the EP. It began with a demo of the refrain bassline and chords that I despatched by means of to Naomi, and Naomi virtually instantly despatched it again with the vocal line and lyrics. Then we received caught. We spent so lengthy swapping out and in totally different verse concepts.”
Then Brewis suggested them to chop straight to the refrain, which was the key to fully the tune.
“In order that’s what we did,” says Todd. “I wish to assume that the weird verse size provides a little bit of shock, a wee feeling of issues being rushed or not fairly proper in a approach that works fairly effectively thematically with the tune. The tune is kind of merely about getting in your head an excessive amount of to the purpose that it ruins your night time, however nothing that just a little one-on-one time with a cutie can’t repair.”
Honorable Mentions:
These songs virtually made the High 9.
Cloud Nothings: “Last Summer time”
Courting: “Rameses II”
Linying: “Porcupine”
Residing Physique: “NO DEBT”
Marnie Stern: “Til It’s Over”
Sharon Van Etten: “Near You”
Wisp: “As soon as then we’ll be free”
Right here’s a useful Spotify playlist that includes the High 9 so as, adopted by all of the honorable mentions (the Courting tune isn’t on Spotify, so it isn’t on the playlist):
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