“You are the music while the music lasts.” -T.S. Eliot
Bleeding Rainbow – “Drift Away”
“Drift Away” is the latest track in a 7” series by Philadelphia noise rockers Bleeding Rainbow (who used to be called Reading Rainbow until Carrie Brownstein told them that their band name sucked). The track is a swirling, gusting fuzz bomb, but vocalist Sarah Everton tames the chaos with her delicate deadpan (think Liz Phair by way of Black Tambourine’s Pam Berry). An undercurrent of shoegazer noise echoes Everton’s daydreaming: “I don’t breathe/ I just sigh/ constant droning of each day/ makes my mind drift away.” Bleeding Rainbow’s debut album, Yeah Right, comes out on January 29th via Kanine. -Jon Hadusek
Ceremony – “Everything Burns”
As Ceremony’s Ross Farrar repeats the lines “everything burns/ everything heats” on their new “Everything Burns”, you can imagine the scene at one of the band’s upcoming live dates, hordes of punks pulling lighters out of their pockets and flicking the wheel. Whether you see that scene ending in appreciative flame-waving or mass arson depends on your feelings toward pure, galvanized punk rock, full of ratcheting guitars Farrar’s perpetual wide-eyed leer. “Everything Burns” is Ceremony’s half of a limited edition, tour-only 7″. The other side features tourmates Titus Andronicus’ new single, “In A Big City”, and the whole thing is limited to 500 copies. So, yeah, this is a collector’s item. –Adam Kivel
Flock of Dimes – “(This Is Why) I Don’t Wear White”
Jenn Wasner is the methodical and restrained force behind Wye Oak. But alone — under the moniker Flock of Dimes — she pokes and prods at her established sound. These sonic experiments propel “(This is Why) I Don’t Wear White”, the A-side of an upcoming 7” due out on November 20th via Frenchkiss Records. Wasner’s become smitten with electro loops (even with Wye Oak), and this track quivers to jittery beats and spiraling guitar leads. Despite the song’s contortions, Wasner holds down a tight melody, controlling every nuance in her voice, from smoky lows to high-pitched accents. -Jon Hadusek
Robert Glasper – “Twice” (?uestlove’s Twice Baked Remix)
?uestlove and The Roots add their own stylistic embellishments to this remix of the Robert Glasper Experiment’s cover of Little Dragon’s “Twice”. The “Twice Baked” remix will be featured on Glasper’s Black Radio Recovered: The Remix EP, due out October 9th via Blue Note Records. The most notable alteration to the track, though, is the addition of vocalist Solange Knowles (more on her later in this list), whose silky pipes inconspicuously float alongside chiming bells, boom-bap drums, and a sweeping string arrangement. -Jon Hadusek
Josh Homme – “Nobody To Love”
It’s been a while since we’ve heard that raspy croon of Josh Homme’s. To put it simply: welcome back. Homme co-wrote “Nobody To Love” with composer Dave Sardy, the song backing the end credits of cop drama End of Watch. The incredibly fuzzed, knife-twisting guitar lines, dive bar blues piano, and rattling percussion set the stage for his exceptionally moody laments. “No pill gonna kill my ill/ there’s nobody to love,” he crows, the jagged edges evident to the very core. -Adam Kivel
Solange Knowles – “Losing You”
Sure, her sister may be a pop superstar, but Solange Knowles has her finger directly on the indie pulse. She’s collaborated with Of Montreal and covered the Dirty Projectors with the Dirty Projectors. Her next step is, of course, co-writing with Dev Hynes (aka Lightspeed Champion) on “Losing You”, and releasing it through Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor’s imprint Terrible Records. “We used to kiss all night, but now there’s just no use,” she coos over a very Tom Tom Club blend of off-kilter African rhythms and bubbling synths. Her blend of R&B, pop, and indie aesthetics is seductive, the whole track going down like a spiked lemonade in the middle of the best picnic. The track (b/w “Sleep in the Park”, featuring of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes) is available digitally this very second, and on November 6th via Terrible Records. -Adam Kivel
Kendrick Lamar feat. Dr. Dre – “Compton”
Kendrick Lamar’s latest single, “Compton”, is an ode to both his hometown and the gangsta rap that it spawned, specifically N.W.A. and its mastermind Dr. Dre, who guests on the track. The two trade verses while producer Just Blaze sets off cymbal crashes and whining sirens — an obvious g-funk callback. Lamar spits crammed wordplay (harsh realities we live/ may our music translate/ to the coke dealers, the hood rich, and the broke niggas who play”), and he gives a nod to Dr. Dre in more than a few stanzas. Lamar respects the rappers who came before him, but he isn’t rehashing the past. He’s celebrating it. N.W.A. haunted the Compton of ’88; Lamar haunts the Compton of now. “Compton” is just the latest taste of good kid, m.A.A.d. city, which will be available October 22nd via Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope. -Jon Hadusek
Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire – “Telephuck”
“Release my semen/ unleash my demons.” No couplet better illustrates the ridiculousness that is Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire. Recorded at the Converse Rubber Tracks pop-up venue, “Telephuck” is a raw representation of eXquire’s live persona. Sweaty, booze-fueled verses are shouted to the point of exasperation, and the beat (produced by El-P) punches through the speakers. eXquire relies on hyperbolic bombast and shock imagery, but there’s a speck of poignancy to his words (“staring at my life through a kaleidoscope/ ten different me’s I don’t know how to cope”). For all of his outrageousness, the Brooklyn emcee really does have his demons. Perhaps this is how he exorcises them. –Jon Hadusek
Sunglasses – “Cold Shoulder”
Brooklyn dance-pop duo Sunglasses find a way to turn anything into a tool to make your feet move, “from acoustic guitars to iPhones.” The end results are similarly flexible, ranging from the slinky synth goodies on their recent EP, Namesake/Swim, to the beachy, lite-psych acoustics of “Cold Shoulder”. Here, their soft toms, piano twinkles, lilting guitars, and clap-along build do the heavy lifting, and the sugary harmonies that Samuel Cooper and Brady Keehn reach are downright majestic. The track comes from their debut LP, Wildlife, which will show up on November 13th via Mush Records. -Adam Kivel
So, Heavenwas pretty great, but it seems that The Walkmen had even more up their sleeves. “Dance With Your Partner” is one of a pair of tracks to come from those sessions that the band are selling as a 7″ (pre-orders available here), and its galloping bass line and hard-strummed charm underline every one of Hamilton Leithauser’s lilting concern about “haunting melodies” and being “halfway there.” But in the end, it’s all about embracing your love, and making your own happiness: “you’re Ginger Rogers/ and I’m Fred Astaire.” -Adam Kivel
