The 25 best songs of the month
15.
Leon Bridges
Shy
An album highlight from the Fort Worth Texas singer Leon Bridges’ second album Good Thing. Authentic soul.
16.
The Internet
Roll ( Burbank Funk) – Kaytranada remix
Kaytranada on the remix. Enough said. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
17.
Mutual Benefit
Storm Cellar Heart
Over a series of vinyl records and digital long-players the American songwriter Jordan Lee has quietly and confidently put out consistently edifying work of indie folk with wistful country and orchestral bent. With his fourth official record Thunder Follows The Light coming later this year, the quiet majesty of Storm Cellar Heart lodges itself in a space once occupied by Sufjan Stevens’ early work.
18.
Oneohtrix Point Never
Black Snow
Having earned a ton of attention and praise for his work on the Good Time movie soundtrack, Oneohtrix Point Never continues to push the envelope on just what electronic music iscan bewith his new single ‘Black Snow’. A sometimes strange mix of trap, dance and electric folk a la Bon Iver, ‘Black Snow’ is at once captivating and unnerving. One of the most experimental tracks you’ll hear all week. What else would you expect from an artist signed to Warp Records?
19.
James Blake
Don’t Miss It
Having cropped up on an Andre 3000 song this month and the Black Panther soundtrack earlier this year, James Blake returns with a solo track that plays to the core of his strengths. The track, a collaboration with Mount Kimbie’s Dominic Maker, is a piano ballad torch song with Blake’s trademark electronic pitched-up production.“When you get to hang out with your favourite person every day / when the dull pain goes away /don’t miss it,” he suggests.
20.
Natalie Prass
Short Court Style
The Virginian singer-songwriter ripped up the plans for her second album once Trump won the US election and started again. The result, new album The Future and the Past finds her wearing some soul and funk influences and it suits her. The lead single is infectious and sparkling with new energy.
21.
Rosie Carney
Bare
Donegal-based singer songwriter Rosie Carney blends aspects of folk, indie and ambient in her breathtaking new single ‘Bare’. The track’s first half is distinctly folky, with Carney’s hushed vocals over a lone acoustic guitar. However, the track gradually adds tracks of ambience. By its climax, much of the song has been washed away in a sea of reverb, leaving only Carney’s own vocal harmonies to cut through the mix. An emotive track that invites the listener to go on a journey with it.
22.
White Denim
Magasin
The Texas band some of who were recently backing up Leon Bridges return to create their own idiosyncratic rock jams. They have a new album Performance, out August 24th through City Slang and ‘Magazin’ is a brass-inflected treat for the ears.
23.
Disclosure
Ultimatum (feat. Fatoumata Diawara)
A one-off single from the Disclosure brothers and it has all the hallmarks of it TBQH. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of summery Afrobeat house music at all, especially if they’ve drafted in the excellent Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara to sing it rather than sample something. It’s a fine tideover for now and a lot better than more than half of Caracal, which was mostly awful.
24.
Jealous Of The Birds
Plastic Skeletons
Naomi Hamilton returns with a new five-track EP called The Moths Of What I Want Will Eat Me In My Sleep and a lead track that delves into a throwback indie rock sound. It reminds me a bit of Elastica and has shades of psychedelic English folk.
Hamilton says, “’Plastic Skeletons’ was written once I got back from SXSW in 2016. That was my first trip to America and I brought a journal and wrote a bunch of stuff in it. When I got home, I went through it and wrote that song in full. It’s a collection of little words and images that I picked up.” The EP arrives on July 13th via Hand in Hive (UK & Europe) and Canvasback Music (US).
25.
Baba Stiltz
Maze
Swedish producer Baba Stiltz, yes, that’s his real name, is a young 24-year-old who has made a name for himself with some emotionally-charged dance music like ‘Can’t Help It’. XL Recordings have taken note and signed him up for a new EP called Showtime, lead by ‘Maze’ a parping slice of electronic pulses and warped mumble-rap style vocals. He plays Wigwam on October 13 this year.
