The 20 best songs of the last month

My favourite songs of the past month – all in one place.

Listen on Spotify

An absolute electronic monster from Fort Romeau on Running Back. ‘Emu’ is the 6-minute lead off track from the release and it moves from propulsive mechanical synth dance to siren-building constructions. It sounds great in a club as I confirmed at Lumo this weekend.

‘Day I Die’ is a highlight among many on Sleep Well Beast, which may well be The National’s most interesting and rewarding album yet. It’s a song that echoes the rest of the album’s themes – the difficulties of being in a long-term relationship (somewhat complicated by the fact that Matt Berninger’s wife co-wrote the words).

Mount Kimbie’s new album Love What Survives finds them moving away from post-dubstep towards kraut and electronic textures. I love this instrumental that falls somewhere between the middle with cheap car horn sounds, noise rock and intertwining synth lines.

Every time I listen to this, It confirms my gut feeling that Dermot Kennedy is going to be absolutely huge.

https://soundcloud.com/dermot-kennedy-777714337/moments-passed

My current favourite from James Murphy’s American Dream. Their 3-night residency in Dublin’s Olympia confirms the vitality of a reformed band that ironically make their reputation from being jaded. Murphy is the ultimate micromanager, changing bass amp settings, loosening the cymbal and memorably, scrubbing out a song with a black marker on every member of the band’s setlist.

Maximalist Irish electronica with dark shades from a Hard Working Class Heroes highlight for many.

London duo recently signed to Glassnote making sweet comforting Maggie Rogers-esque pop.

Just great rock’n’roll with a Dublin accent.

The Northern Irish artist has since been developing her music with the support of Cork label Feel Good Lost. The just-released Hold On is the first public sign of that development, an emotionally resonant song written produced by Nick Raynor with a delicate chorus line.

A post From Night To Night track from Permanent Vacation’s new 10th anniversary collaboration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1Ki-lk4jMM

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