It feels like every time I write one of this posts, I open with an apology for the lack of bi-weekly updates. Life just gets in the way of these things, especially since it’s the end of the semester where panic becomes your default state of mind. But now that all uni work is over and done with, I can devote myself to all the new music that has come out recently. 2013 is rapidly surpassing 2012 in terms of quality music and we’re not even at the halfway mark. Anyway, here are 10 songs that will literally make your mind and ears sploosh:
10. Sandman (I’ll be There) by Rosario Dawson & Rick Smith.
Danny Boyle’s Trance is one of my most anticipated films of the year and while I haven’t seen it yet, I have heard its soundtrack by Rick Smith which is amazing. I don’t know how this song exactly fits into the film, but I can tell you that by itself it very effective. Equal times foreboding and mesmerizing and all to the tune of Rosario Dawson’s utterly soothing voice.
9. Goldenheart by Dawn Richard.
Even though I don’t like Goldenheart as a whole, the album does have some cool songs mainly the title track. To be honest, the only reason why I really like this song is because its built around Debussy’s Clair De Lune. Normally I’d say sampling such a classic is insulting, but Dawn Richard manages to turn into something quite lovely.
8. Future by Paramore.
Paramore’s new album is good as you’d expect, but the one track that totally surprised me was this one right here. First of all, it is an instrumental track which I never ever expected from Paramore and secondly, it is a fucking brilliantly epic guitar-driven spectacle song. Pure greatness all around and the perfect way to close of the album.
7. Losing You by MMOTHS.
For some time now I’ve been on a James Blake state, he is practically all I listen to. So in my search for similar artists I stumbled upon MMOTHS. The saddest thing about MMOTHS is that he has released enough music. His EP Diaries is remarkable from start to finish. It’s a great collection of instrumental tracks drenched in splendour and longing that’ll make you feel so many things.
6. Sweet Talk by Jessie Ware.
No idea who this girl was until someone posted this song and I gave it a listen. I was immediately hooked from the deceptively cheerful tone to the awesome vocals. It has an old R&B vibe mixed with some modern tinges that results in a song that works on many levels. Her album Devotion isn’t a knockout but 70% of the songs are like this one, just fantastic.
5. Take a Fall For Me (feat. RZA) by James Blake.
People consider Pitchfork as one of the best websites to read music reviews. As I understand it their reviews hold a lot of weight and so forth. The first review I ever read there was for James Blake’s Overgrown. I agreed with some of it and had a huge disagreement in regards to this song. The review called this song James Blake’s first real failure whereas I view it as an admirable and increasingly great experiment. It’s a welcome departure both lyrically and sonically, and it gets more and more interesting the more times you listen to it. Who ever imagined RZA and James Blake would be so awesome together?
4. The Place by Inc.
One of the albums of 2013 that is on constant repeat, especially while I cooking, is Inc.’s No World. The whole thing is pure soulful brilliance but the intro track is by far one of the best. It is so charming and addictive and fucking amazing that it’s super difficult to stop listening to it. I just cannot get enough of them.
3. Open by Rhye.
When I play Dead Space, I like to have the volume down on the TV and listen to an album on my iTouch. I do this because the game scares the fuck out of me and the neighbours have already complained a lot about the manic screaming. At any case, last time I played I decided to listen to Rhye’s Woman and to say that album blew my mind and made me brain jizz would be an understatement. As intro song, Open sets things up beautifully from the majestic minimalist orchestration to the sensually hypnotic vocals.
2. Always by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
I took me about 20 minutes to chose which song to feature on this list. Mosquito has way too many gems and as a whole is a really strange trip, but I’m going to go with Always. This is one of the more straight forward and minimalistic songs in the album, but it is a testament to how much brilliance YYYs can convey with so little. Always is also really catchy so once it starts drilling into your mind will linger for quite a while.
1. Truant by Burial.
A couple of years ago I was introduced to dubstep through the album Untrue by Burial. That album, which I believe to be one of the best albums in existence, marked a turning point for me in terms of music taste. Untrue is the reason why I would rather listen to an atmospheric melancholically somber song than literally anything else. Ever since then I been waiting for Burial’s follow up to Untrue and while Truant isn’t from an album but an EP, it is still a prime example of Burial’s brilliance. It’s unfortunate that dubstep has become synonymous with Skrillex, because not all dubstep is like that. Burial’s version is not only extremely different but also a million times greater.
Here’s the LINK to download the whole list.
Quick notice: some people have been having trouble with the links in previous posts. I tried the links in different computers and they all work fine for me so I’m a bit confused. I’ve updated them and since I haven’t heard if the problem persists, I assume they’re fine. If you have troubles with this week’s link please do let me know.
As always, thank you for reading.
