This week’s list of Top Songs is packed full of musicians who forged their own path. Wolf Eyes have been consummate noise-makers for nearly two decades, now arriving at Third Man Records of all places. FKA twigs works with a more approachable sound, but does so with a decidedly unique voice and aesthetic. And no one’s going to take a look at or listen to Danny Brown and think the guy broke big by playing it safe. In any genre or scene, the artists on this week’s list have carved that path into the mysterious wilderness, and listening to the songs ahead will give you a glimpse at those exciting realms.
10. Frog Eyes – “Two Girls (One for Heaven and the Other One for Rome)”
Before recording upcoming album Pickpocket’s Locket, Frog Eyes frontman Carey Mercer was in radiation treatment for throat cancer. In fact, if that didn’t work, he explained to Noisey in a recent interview, he’d need surgery on his throat, which would theoretically completely change his voice. While he seemed jokingly interested in that prospect, let me say thank goodness that electric voice of his remains intact. Either way, his beautiful, poetic lyrics would remain, as evident from the new “Two Girls (One for Heaven and the Other One for Rome)”. His evocative talk of bishops, crystals, honey, and smoke rides like a winding river among lithe saxophone, upright bass, nimble drumming, and his trademark guitar, which arrives like brief bursts of summer thunderstorm. Pickpocket’s Locket arrives August 28th via Paper Bag. –Adam Kivel
