Today is New Music Friday, which means there’s loads of new songs in the world.
Here are the 10 best songs I’ve heard listening to as much music as one person could today.
See the New Music section for all the of tracks and albums featured this week.
1.
Daniel Avery, Kelly-Lee Owens, HAAI
Chaos Energy
Daniel Avery’s forthcoming album Ultra Truth on Phantasy Sound/Mute isn’t going to be a solo endeavour. Collaborators include Ghost Culture, Manni Dee , HAAi, Jonnine Standish (HTRK), AK Paul, Marie Davidson, Kelly Lee Owens, Sherelle, and James Massiah.
As an appetite-whetting for November 4th, ‘Chaos Energy’ featuring a spoken word intro from Owens and a vocal from HAAi pitches Avery’s music into a gentle ’90s-throwback break mode.
The video created using AI technology by close collaborator Claudia Rafael.
“Ultra Truth finds me in a different place to where I’ve been before,” Avery says. “My previous albums have all focused on the idea of music being an escape or a distraction from the world but that’s not the case this time. For me this album is about looking directly into the darkness, not running away from it. There’s a way through these times but it involves keeping the important people in your life close to you and navigating the noise together. This is an intentionally heavy and dense album, the hooks often hidden in dusty corners. I’m no longer dealing in a misty-eyed euphoria. Ultra Truth is a distorted fever dream of a record: riled, determined and alive.”
The album will feature Daniel’s recent tribute to Andrew Weatherall – ‘Lone Swordsman’.
2
Two Shell
Pods
After their recent Chinah-sampling bootleg track that took off, London electronic duo Two Shell are back doing shimmering weird things with vocals with clubby hyperpop music textures.
The pair also debuted an interesting website at https://shell.tech/
3.
Léa Sen
I Like Dis
A name I recognised from her appearance on last year’s Joy Orbison album Still Slipping Volume 1, London-based French artist on Partisan Records, Léa Sen brings a close intimacy to ‘I Like Dis’.
Hey, I Like This.
The EP You Of Now Pt. 1 is out today.
4.
SOAK
Swear Jar
“Where have I been all my life ? / Watching myself from the sidelines / Won’t you wake me up sometimes.”
Derry artist Bridie Monds-Watson’s third SOAK album If I never know you like this again was released today is inspired by 90s college rock and bands like Broken Social Scene and Pavement.
‘Swear Jar’ is a fine example of how SOAK’s music has developed over the years, with an internal confidence, matched with lyrics about depression and the breakdown of a relationship. It’s got some wonderful string and backing vocal flourishes.
“I felt so disconnected from myself and life that I was starting to question if I’d ever truly been present or if I’d always been on autopilot,” said Bridie Monds-Watson of the song.
Tour Dates:
May 25th – Dolan’s, Limerick
May 26th – Whelan’s, Dublin
May 28th – YES, Manchester
May 29th – The Caves, Edinburgh
May 31st – Village Underground, London
June 1st – Patterns, Brighton
June 2nd – Thekla, Bristol
5.
Animal Collective
Cherokee (Dennis Bovell remix)
68 year-old Barbados producer Dennis Bovell is really the dub producer in demand these days isn’t he?
Last week, he was remixing Jonny and Thom and Tom aka The Smile’s recent tune, and here he is pulling the seams of Animal Collective’s recent gorgeous tune ‘Cherokee’ from the Time Skiffs album.
Yep, still out here listening to AnCo in 2022.
They have Irish shows later this year.
6.
Braxe & Falcon, Sunni Colón
Elevation
French producers Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon returned with a bit of French Touch magic and a track with Panda Bear recently, but this new track with Los Angeles singer-songwriter and installation artist Sunni Colón sounds more like Phoenix to me. Nice to hear the range.
Their debut EP Step By Step – slated for June 24th digital release via Smugglers Way with a vinyl release on August 26th.
7.
El Michels Affair, Piya Malik
Kahbi
Reconnecting with Hindi vocalist Piya Malik who featured on last year’s superb best of listed El Michels Affair album Yeti Season, Add in Turkish funk and Bollywood elements, and this one is just crying out for a Ghostface verse.
8.
James Vincent McMorrow
Hurricane
As part of his personal 2022 rejuvenation of two albums to be released this year, James Vincent McMorrow has released a bright and open-hearted song which will feature on The Less I Knew album on June 24th.
James Vincent McMorrow
“There are certain songs you can just build your world around. For me it’s this song. I’ve stood on stage in the last 2 weeks and performed it and I can exist within every single line. I can’t say that about every song I’ve ever written. I listen to it, I get to certain moments, and it makes me smile every time. I believe it will always make me smile. And you’d think “fuck, shouldn’t everything you make be something you exist within totally, something that makes you smile?”. You’d be surprised. I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself the road I was on was the one I was meant to be on. because i could still see the reason i was doing it, but it was shrouded in trees. I thought catching glimpses of it was enough. Now i know that wasn’t the case, because when I made this album, I did it all differently, never forced, never bullshit, I got to a place that i never honestly thought i’d get to, and not to sound like a corny idiot but I can see it all now and I fucking love it.”
Tour Dates
26th May – Barbican – London
12th June – Beyond The Pale Festival – Wicklow
17th June – Piknik I Parken – Norway
28th July – KKL, konzertsaal – Switzerland
04th Sep – Electric Picnic Festival – Laois
9.
Lullahush, Maria Kelly
Our Glass Lake
Irish electronic producer Lullahush teases his collaboration with Mayo singer-songwriter Maria Kelly before the release of his debut album A City Made of Water and Small Love is released next Friday May 27th.
‘Our Glass Lake’ is a glitchy banger bursting at the seams with electronics and guitars that sound like they might blow out the speakers.
10.
Célia Tiab
BIBIBI
Soft Boy Records has formally welcomed their collaborator Célia Tiab to the family. You may recognise her voice from features with Kojaque, Brién and Gaptoof, but here the French-born Belfast-based singer/songwriter is bringing the soulful heat.
Brién also co-produced on the record.
“I wrote this song back in 2019 in the kitchen of my tiny apartment in Lyon, France. I originally produced it with electric guitar and programmed drums, wrote the lyrics and chords all at once – Peter (Brién) and I ended up using the original guitar take, and some of the backing vocals. The lyrics, melody, chords and even the title are also unchanged – I want this first release to capture as truthfully as possible who I am and the vision I had at the time!”
Célia Tiab
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Nialler9 New Music Playlist
