Ears still ringing from the fireworks? Hope not. This week’s handbook of sounds is a can’t miss; from several of Chicago’s finest, to a veteran’s proper return to sound, and another enviable export from Exploding in Sound. Catch it below.
10. Twin Peaks – “Irene”
Now that the Smith Westerns have pushed past 20, it seems time for a new bunch of Chicago teenagers to hit the scene with surprisingly confident and mature indie rock chops. The 19-year-olds in Twin Peaks wrap a classic pop melody in fibrous lo-fi fuzz. “Irene, would you tell me what you said,” Cadien Lake James lilts, a loping guitar figure purling at the song’s core. The chorus riff’s insistent garage tweaking is equal parts Bradford Cox and Julee Cruise’s roadhouse, a sugary, compelling tune that’ll dig into your brain in just two and a half minutes. “Irene” is another early taste of Twin Peaks’ upcoming LP, Sunken, due July 9th via Autumn Tone. –Adam Kivel
9. Obits – “Taste the Diff”
Reaching for all the rasp in the back of his throat, Obits frontman Rick Froberg rails against needless spending on “Taste the Diff”, the lead single from the band’s forthcoming LP, Bed & Bugs (out September 10th via Sub Pop). “I’m not a pirate or a sadist,” Froberg howls. “Just face the void on the cheap.” Fans of Les Savy Fav should be pleased by his rabid delivery and the spry, clean-toned guitars. –Jon Hadusek
8. Ovlov Feat. Sadie Dupuis – “Where’s My Dini?”
The hits from Exploding in Sound just keep on coming, this time from Connecticut outfit Ovlov. The trio aren’t alone, but have some help from Speedy Ortiz front woman Sadie Dupuis. “Where’s My Dini?” pairs her vocals with Steve Hartlett’s winsome mope, chunks of distortion and aching drums rumbling underneath the sleepy lead guitar. The fuzz overtakes things three minutes in, the cymbals splashing out and battling with an uncontrollable guitar solo. The track is a sample of Ovlov’s recently released debut album, AM. –Adam Kivel
7. The Chills – “Molten Gold”
The Chills have been a staple on New Zealand’s Flying Nun Records since signing to the label in the early ‘80s and releasing classics like “Pink Frost”. Although they’ve toured intermittently through the decades, new single “Molten Gold” is the band’s first release since 1996. It’s a luscious track that retains all of the band’s signature sonics (warm strings, jangles, and Kiwi accents) and the romanticism of frontman Martin Phillipps. “Pray for love,” he sings. “You’ll find it’s always there.” –Jon Hadusek
6. 2 Chainz feat. Pharrell – “Feds Watching”
Apparently, 2 Chainz and Pharrell wrote and recorded “Feds Watching” during a post-Grammy all-nighter while still wearing their tuxedos. There’s certainly an off-the-cuff vibe to the track, as 2 Chainz drops hilariously simple similes (“I’m known to kick it like the captain of a soccer team”) and Pharrell croons a timely, NSA-themed chorus: “I’m gonna be fresh as hell if the Feds watching.” The bass-y pulses and synths — all handled by Pharrell — add a suitably sinister backdrop. –Jon Hadusek
5. Grumbling Fur – “Protogenesis”
Built on a drone of synth chittering and string chugs, Grumbling Fur’s “Protogenesis” is the sound of a raga wafting out of a cave where the world’s last humans fight off giant mechanical insects. The track builds and sways like a claustrophobic take on Yeasayer, pitch-shifted falsetto versions of Alexander Tucker and Daniel O’Sullivan’s dolefully intoned vocals flitting through the background. But there are doses of Eno and krautrock here too, the groove mechanizing and digging deeper as the iterations compile. –Adam Kivel
4. Radiator Hospital – “Our Song”
Waxahatchee touring bassist Sam Cook-Parrott delivers his own music under the name Radiator Hospital, a rotating cast of friends helping fill things out. The Philadelphia-based outfit rip into “Our Song”, Cook-Parrott’s nasal vocals and brokenhearted lyrics leading the charge. Over pitch-perfect jangle, hetells the tale of a relationship drifting apart, deciding to pull the plug before things get too bad. “So when you call your mom back, tell her that I’m the one leaving/ you know she wouldn’t understand / she shouldn’t have to/ I won’t hold it against you,” he calls out, an incredible, honest detail of holding onto love as it swirls down the drain. “Our Song” is a taste of Cook-Parrott’s Something Wild, which you can download on Bandcamp for a price of your own choosing. –Adam Kivel
3. Woods – “Be All, Be Easy”
Brooklyn folk rockers Woods have been relatively quiet since releasing last year’s excellent Bend Beyond, a cleaner departure from the trio’s murky, lo-fi roots. New 7” single “Be All, Be Easy” runs with that concept, as it’s a re-recording of one of the band’s older songs that now better captures “the live form that’s taken shape since its original release.” Jangling guitars are layered and overdubbed over the left and right channels, while singer Jeremy Earl puts his voice high in the mix, unhampered by muddy 4-track hiss. The fuller arrangement improves significantly on that of the original. –Jon Hadusek
2. Beck – “I Won’t Be Long”
Beck is arguably pop music’s most amorphous artist. He seamlessly shifts between party-song shenanigans, rock-rap fusions, and even brooding folk, often touching all these genres on the same album. His latest single, “I Won’t Be Long”, veers toward his more melancholic material, though an infectious bass line gives it the same upbeat vibe that made Modern Guilt such an enjoyable record. The track is a followup to last month’s “Defriended” and the latest in a 12” series that will precede Beck’s forthcoming album. –Jon Hadusek
1. Nylo – “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
LA-via-Chicago songstress Nylo faces the past on the smooth R&B groove of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, and the results are beautifully conflicted. “I can barely breathe without you,” she lilts in the chorus, circularly rephrasing her inability to just get an ex out of her system. The woman Nas called his “favorite new artist” delivers a confident melody (particularly on the shimmering high end), syllables flitting between legato swoons and rippling jumps. If you found yourself looking for the middle ground between Aaliyah and Miguel, we might be getting close. The track is an early taste of Nylo’s Indigo Summer mixtape (due July 16th), the followup to last year’s criminally overlooked Memories Speak EP. –Adam Kivel
