The top mp3s have gone through many incarnations since the beginning of Consequence of Sound in 2007. What used to be an exhaustive roundup of all the singles, remixes, covers, and undiscovered gems emailed to us any given week evolved into a compilation whittled down to our 10 favorite new songs. For 2013, we’re again changing up the format with the hope of giving our selections some added weight. We’re still posting about our 10 favorite songs, but they’ll be ordered in quality from 10-1. Who takes home #1 this week? You’ll have to click ‘Next’ to find out.
10. Screaming Females – “Poison Arrow”
The Screaming Females had to cancel a bunch of tour dates due to frontwoman Marissa Paternoster catching a case of mononucleosis. Luckily, she’s not sounding too sick anymore, as evidenced by her throaty delivery throughout “Poison Arrow”. This kraut-y growler was recorded for Chalk Tape, a cassette-only collection for Don Giovanni Records’ 10th Anniversary Showcase at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in NYC on February 9th. More of a slow-burner than the barbed jams on last year’s Ugly, “Poison Arrow” hinges on Jarrett Dougherty and King Mike’s cranking rhythm section and some seriously cataclysmic imagery. -Adam Kivel
9. Pusha T feat. Wale – “Only You Can Tell It”
“Trunk tight, trunk white / can’t relate if you ain’t bled nothing,” spits Pusha T on “Only You Can Tell It”, a teaser track off the emcee’s new mixtape, Wrath of Caine. While his coke-dealer shtick is starting to grow a little tired, Pusha’s nimble flow keeps the song fresh; which is to say, it’s less about the words and more about how damn cool he sounds when he rhymes them. The track’s unsung hero is Chicago producer Boogz Da Beast, who takes an obscure Yes song from 1991 and makes it the hook. Touché, Boogz, touché. -Jon Hadusek
8. Akron/Family – “No-Room”
In the past two years, the dudes from Akron/Family have both released an adapted kids’ rock track called “Silly Bears” and guested on Swans’ The Seer. They bring that insane versatility to “No-Room”, an early taste of their upcoming seventh studio LP, Sub Verses (due April 30 from Dead Oceans). Skittering guitar riffs and fluttering vocal moans catch the attention, but the dramatic engine is the combination of brooding, tom-heavy percussion and a ritual mass of vocal/guitar/noise. Tribal moans and feedback collide in a spectral rallying cry, building to a deafening altitude before forming into a single owl and winging swiftly away. -Adam Kivel
7. The Strokes – “One Way Trigger”
Upon first listen, The Strokes’ “One Way Trigger” is… startling. The track’s intro riff resembles a calypso adaption of A-ha’s “Take On Me”, and Julian Casablancas’ voice is all hazy, his lyrics indistinguishable. It’s a curveball, no doubt, but don’t let the initial alarm scare you away. Casablancas’ pulls off a variety of drawls, whines, and falsettos as the song progresses, as if he’s testing his voice to see how far it’ll go, all without dropping the melody. Albert Hammond, Jr. plays along in a similar fashion; always hyperactive on the frets, he jumps from note to note, riff to riff, chord to chord — never staying in one spot too long. The track is a preview for The Strokes’ fifth LP, Comedown Machine, out on March 26 via RCA. -Jon Hadusek
6. Depeche Mode – “Heaven”
After four years of silence, synthpop luminaries Depeche Mode have returned with “Heaven”, the lead single from their forthcoming LP, Delta Machine (out March 26 via Columbia). Chief songwriter Martin Gore likens the record to the trio’s strongest output, namely Violator, with its steady pulses and climactic buildups. “Heaven” certainly fits that template. Frontman Dave Gahan broods to the methodical crashing of piano chords and drums before harmonizing with Gore during the chorus: “I will scream the word / jump into the void / I will guide the heart up to heaven.” The end of the song is overwhelmed by a symphony of glitchy sound effects. Take a listen at KROQ. -Jon Hadusek
5. Surfer Blood – “Weird Shapes”
With its debut album, Astro Coast, Surfer Blood proved that they could emulate their ‘90s-rock influences while writing catchy hooks along the way. But this new single, “Weird Shapes”, sees a more mature version of the Californians. Frontman JP Pitts gets conceptual lyrically, writing “about someone who is about to go through a manic episode.” No longer do his vocals cower behind a wall of reverb; instead, they’re placed high in the mix, above the crunching guitars and plodding beat. Pitts sounds confident carrying the melody, and his rabid scream during the chorus it terrifying. “Weird Shapes” will be included on Surfer Blood’s sophomore album, Pythons, out this summer via Warner Bros. -Jon Hadusek
4. The Haxan Cloak – “The Mirror Reflecting (Part 2)”
On the Facebook page for his project The Haxan Cloak, Bobby Krlic lists two “Artists We Also Like”: Ligeti and Corsano. Makes sense, as the experimental, dramatic compositions of Gyorgy Ligeti and the highly emotive rhythms of Chris Corsano both worm their way into the dark electronics on Krlic’s new album, Excavation (due April 30 via Tri Angle Records). The chilling tension built throughout early release “The Mirror Reflecting (Part 2)” recalls the horror soundtrack spookfests of Umberto, though pushing into more modern films. The seven-minute track dips into the muck, industrial lows counteracted by menacing knife-flashes of synth. Quality headphones highly recommended for this one. -Adam Kivel
3. Wavves – “Afraid of Heights”
Wavves’ Nathan Williams is getting deep. “The general theme of the record is depression and anxiety, being death-obsessed and paranoid of impending doom,” he said of Wavves forthcoming album, Afraid of Heights (out March 26 on Mom + Pop Records). And when you listen to the title track, Williams definitely sounds more introspective and uncomfortable than he ever has before. “Holding a gun to my head / send me an angel,” he cracks. Those words, the bleak artwork (is that a young Sean Penn?), the chorus-delayed guitars, and loud-soft dynamics… It’s all very Nirvana, almost suspiciously so. -Jon Hadusek
2. Colin Stetson – “High Above A Grey Green Sea”
While we might not see packs of suburban kids with mop tops lugging around baritone saxophones anytime soon, the virtuosic Colin Stetson has certainly carved out a niche for the instrument. The final installment of his New History Warfare trilogy (due April 30th via Constellation) may get a boost in attention due to appearances from Justin Vernon, but the organic swamp of “High Above A Grey Green Sea” proves that Stetson can handle the pressure entirely on his own. The jaw-dropping fact that this song is a single take recording, the haunted vocal moans and fluttering sax notes coming from a single breath through the instrument, only adds to its majestic density. -Adam Kivel
1. The Knife – “Full of Fire”
After ravenously awaiting new material from The Knife for nearly six years, it’s hard to believe that we can actually report on a new track from the massively influential Swedish siblings. But “Fear of Fire” more than makes up for that anticipation, its nine minutes bubbling with gritty genius. As if they never stepped away from their Silent Shout form, Karin Dreijer Andersson and Olof Dreijer build a layer cake of rhythms and synths, at times alternating gravel and frosting.
“Let’s talk about gender baby, let’s talk about you and me,” Dreijer Andersson seethes, the filters on her vocals morphing from feminine to masculine, masculine to robotic, robotic to indescirnible noise, and all back around again. This sort of confrontational identity questioning through both instrument and lyric justifies the cravings for Shaking the Habitual, due April 8th in the UK and Europe and the following day in North America via Brille/Mute Records. -Adam Kivel
