It’s a week of desire. New Jersey indie punks and one of the most consistent bands of the past decade plus, Screaming Females are back with a new album called Desire Pathways and it is full of solid tunes that finds the band doing what they do best, shredding epic riffs in a tight, rocking manner. Hyperpop star Caroline Polacheck released her new record on Valentine’s Day, but it’s already a contender for pop record of the year. Desire, I Want To Turn Into You is an aerobatic odyssey that features vocal gymnastics over hyperdrive-style melodies resulting in an innovation album that pushed the limits of futuristic pop.
It’s been around a decade since Skrillex dropped a proper solo album, but now he’s back with a new one that features his new crew of Four Tet and Fred again.. as well as the likes of Missy Elliot and Pete Wentz. After making EDM what it was in America, the DJ extraordinaire now seems to have his eyes set on a more sophisticated sound.
Pile bring noisey indie rock and post-punk jams together for something rather distinct, but on their new record All Fiction, the band takes more risks and stretches their sound even further. Animal Collective’s Avey Tare has a new one this week as well that takes on dreamy psych-scapes for an audio fantasia through his usual bag of tricks.
Lana Del Ray’s new album is due next month and this week she shared the second single, “A&W.” The sprawling epic clocks in at over seven minutes and takes her usual whispy vocals and inverts them in the second half for one of her most captivating tracks to date.
For her first album in six years, Feist dropped the record announcement along with three of its tracks. The standout, “Love Who You Are Meant To,” is a gorgeous acoustic ballad that puts her vocals on stunning display while gentle guitar adds a slightly magical undertone. Tanukichan shared another new song this week as well and it features fuzzed-out guitar and bleary vocals giving it a classic alternative sound and adds to the hype surrounding the new album.
Indie rock rising sensations Bully and Soccer Mommy teamed-up this week for a new track that finds the two singers merging their strong talents for a singular sound that stays true to their pasts while also highlighting each other’s strengths. Cow-punk trio Country Westerns are set to release a new album this year and the third single finds the band easing off the gas into a cruising lane that still lets their golden-hour guitar riffs shine with ragged glory.
Janelle Monaé hasn’t released a new album in nearly half a decade, but this week she shared what seems to be the start of a new rollout. Her new track “Float” breezes with confidence and sounds like the start of whatever comes next. A new track from Serpentwithfeet also dropped this week and continues the lush path of effervescent, plush, R&B much that bubbles with satin charm.
Dry Cleaning recently wrapped up a tour with Nourished by Time and this week, both acts put out new singles. The post-punk sound of Dry Cleaning remains on their new tracks, but Nourished by Time introduces himself as a new face of luxurious and pop-centric R&B that recalls ‘90s slow jams with fresh vibes and a bumping beat.
Albums:
Screaming Females | Desire Pathway
Caroline Polacheck | Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
Pile | All Fiction
Skrillex | Quest for Fire
Avey Tare | 7s
Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs | Land Of Sleeper
Orbital | Optical Delusion
Shonen Knife | Our Best Place
Songs:
Lana Del Ray | “A&W”
Feist | “In Lighting” / “Love Who You Are Meant To” / “Hiding Out in the Open”
Bully | “Lose You” (ft Soccer Mommy)
Tanukichan | “Take Care”
Country Westerns | “Speaking Ill of the Blues”
Janelle Monaé | “Float” (ft Seun Kuti & Egypt 80)
Nourished by Time | “Quantum Suicide”
The New Pornographers | “Angelcover”
Serpentwithfeet | “Gonna Go”
Men I Trust | “Ring of Past”
Omar Apollo | “3 Boys”
Larry June | “60 Days” (ft The Alchemist)
Princess Nokia | “closure”
Dry Cleaning | “Swampy” / “Sombre Two”
James Holden | “Common Land”
Bibio | “S.O.L.” (ft Olivier St Louis) [Alan Braxe edit]
If you’re a Spotify user, you can listen to these songs (and more from 2023) here!