Earlier this week, Maynard James Keenan essentially told the Phoenix New Times he was sick of Tool and the band’s fans. Now, we all know dude’s totally mischievous and I would wager there was more than a little deadpan impishness to that statement. That said, the artists jumping into our list of the week’s best new songs aren’t pretending to play hard-to-get, instead delivering a 10-pack of totally intense, heartfelt tracks. So, if you’re looking for something without that sheen of irony, click through and enjoy!
10. Fotomachine – “Black Punk”
Brixton’s Fotomachine (formerly PhOtOmachine) has repeatedly re-envisioned the sounds of the UK underground. Normally dabbling in soul-infused house as the force behind Technicolour Records, Fotomachine makes a shift and builds “Black Punk” atop the “Amen Break” of drum ‘n’ bass lore. Hushed with shoegazing ambiance, the lo-fi approach leads to a far more textured experience than those offered from standard junglist cuts. Though distant from typical punk rock sounds, the stand-alone single still embodies the retaliatory ethos of the genre. As grime and garage rise into the pop realms, Fotomachine is piecing together a new sound for the subterranean masses to explore. –Derek Staples
09. Eleanor Friedberger – “He Didn’t Mention His Mother”
As a member of The Fiery Furnaces, Eleanor Friedberger would sing about blueberry boats, little thatched huts, and Vietnamese Telephone Ministry — though always imbuing the songs’ characters with a startling sense of rounded humanity. On her solo albums, her songs cut even deeper to the bone, digging through emotions and stories that sound less fantastical in their details, far closer to home. Such is the case with the evocative new track “He Didn’t Mention His Mother”, in which Friedberger’s golden-toned guitar rings autumnally under her rich vocals. “Today I’m frozen, but tomorrow I’ll write about you,” she shrugs, seemingly unable to process a loss and instead going through a list of domestic artifacts and dull tasks in the meantime. This and the rest of her latest solo LP, New View, will be available January 22nd through Frenchkiss Records. –Adam Kivel
08. Adele – “Hello”
The moment Adele’s comeback single, “Hello”, hit the internet, it began to draw comparisons to hits both new and old. Although the phone-related links to Drake’s “Hotline Bling” are somewhat chuckle-worthy, it’s the song’s echoes of Lionel Richie’s “Hello” that resonate more. Like Richie’s classic, Adele’s “Hello” is an expression of full-bodied longing, but there’s little hope to be found here. As on the titanic “Someone Like You”, she breaks our hearts with a beautifully mature sense of resignation. In five measured, piano-led minutes, the British pop star traverses the wobbly line from tentativeness to knowing self-effacement and finally, an acknowledgment of separation. Hello indeed, Adele. You’ve been missed. –Karen Gwee
07. CTM – “Cézanne”
Cæcilie Trier is known for working with Elias Bender Rønnenfelt, the lead singer of Iceage, on his solo project Marching Church, but the compositions she spins on her own sound worlds away from the Danish band’s lean and smirking post-punk. As CTM, Trier works in a more abstract, literary mode; her forthcoming record Suite for a Young Girl, due out in January, peeks inside the world Vladimir Nabokov explored in his famous novel Lolita. “Cézanne” doesn’t adopt a strict narrative, though; its layered piano snippets and vocal loops serve more to build a claustrophobic atmosphere, mounting tension and then refusing to resolve it. The vocal work takes on a fascinating timbre; Trier crafts a voice that’s both a boom and a whimper at the same time, like a child scaring herself in the dark, like a fractured mind chasing itself around its skull. –Sasha Geffen
06. Blood Orange – “Sandra’s Smile”
We know music has great potential to save lives, but when it comes down to a life-or-death situation, a song can’t stop a bullet, especially a bullet that carries out unflinching, systematic predation. Nevertheless, musicians haven’t stopped reacting in their own ways to the epidemic of police brutality against black people in America. Some have crafted protest songs and others force listeners to face facts. As Blood Orange, Dev Hynes has chosen to memorialize the murdered Sandra Bland with the somber, jazz-tinged “Sandra’s Smile”. Hynes’ exhaustion in the choruses doesn’t stop him from ruminating on forgiveness and “the role of the black mother in society” on the second verse. Ultimately, “Sandra’s Smile” leaves us with more questions than answers. –Karen Gwee
