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. Kisses – “Huddle”
Each time a great new track speared by Jesse Kivel comes to the fore, I feel compelled to insist that we’re not related while simultaneously lauding his superb pop sensibility. His work with brother Matt in indie pop quartet Princeton caught our attention last year, but its his electro-leaning, ’80s-tinged duo with Zinzi Edmundson, Kisses, that’s got us this week. The second single from their upcoming album Kids in LA (due May 14th on Cascine), “Huddle” mines the territory Yeasayer’s been angling at of late, Kivel’s emotive vocals crooning over a bouncy beat of glowing synths and ribbed bass. “Meet me in the middle, girl / meet me in the huddle,” he calls, sincerely attempting to lure back a distant love. -Adam Kivel
9. No Joy – “Lunar Phobia”
There was always something shoegaze-y about No Joy without them being a “shoegaze band.” Jasamine White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd reveal the shimmering core to their crowded guitar spectacles on “Lunar Phobia”, the first single from their forthcoming sophomore LP, Wait To Pleasure. The track’s deeply layered vocals play like glistening spheres rotating around the churning rhythm section, the synth percussion kicking things into focus late in a blown-out bridge. The track is like staring into the sun, spots of dangerous beauty flaring up undeniably. Wait To Pleasure can be yours starting April 23rd via Mexican Summer. -Adam Kivel
8. Black Milk – “Sunday’s Best / Monday’s Worst”
Detroit’s Black Milk (AKA Curtis Cross) returns this summer with his sixth studio album, and “Sunday’s Best / Monday’s Worst” will have to tide us over until then. The insistent percussion and warm soul organ hearken back to his early material, the repeated vocal’s insistence that “it’s never too late to get your values straight” echoing that return to form. The five minute epic fills out two halves of a whole, the former focusing on the potential hope of religious upbringing and the latter devolving into the difficulties of living in the harsh reality. -Adam Kivel
7. Beyoncé – “Bow Down/ I Been On”
Beyoncé’s already proven that she’s invincible, can do no wrong, is a goddess, etc. Her next solo album — expected to be out this Spring — can only emphasize her godliness. On new single “Bow Down/I Been On”, she’s taken it upon herself to do the emphasizing. “Bow down, bitches / Bow down, bitches,” she repeats, after an angry verse targeted at all haters and naysayers. Clearly, her wedlock to Jay-Z has sharpened her ego and confidence, but she’s not about to tolerate anybody writing her off as a coattail-riding spouse. “Don’t think I’m just his little wife,” she spits. -Jon Hadusek
6. Little Boots – “Nocturnes”
Opening with a wash of strings, “Broken Record” quickly finds its identity as a pulsing dance track. Victoria Hesketh trades between an ominous croon (backed by matching church bells) and the pop-candy vocals she exercised on Little Boots’ 2009 debut. “Voice like a broken record / In my heart I feel it echo,” she sings during the galloping chorus. Hopefully, the rest of her sophomore record, Nocturnes(out May 7th via On Repeat), will be as catchy and well-structured as this track. -Jon Hadusek
5. Savages – “She Will”
While UK post-punkers Savages have been manically filling out their festival schedule, they haven’t been too busy to also drop some new music. “She Will” is the first single from their May 7th LP, Silence Yourself (out via Matador Records/Pop Noire), and its dance-friendly rumble bares its teeth brilliantly. After discussing a mysterious, empowered woman, Jenny Beth crows that “you’ve got to get used to it,” her dramatic sneer forcing the issue rather than suggesting. The song’s angry, exciting, and cathartic, a real aggressive shot in the arm, Fay Milton’s never-ending hi-hat ticks jittering the blood. -Adam Kivel
4. Dinosaur Jr. – “Entertainment” (Phoenix cover)
I have trouble imagining J Mascis having a conversation with the clean-cut dudes from Phoenix, but the two must have some kind of relationship, as this Dino Jr. cover of “Entertainment” will be on the B-side of Phoenix’s single. Slow and jangly, Mascis essentially turns it into his own song, singing in close harmony with himself for escalating choruses and melancholy verses. In typical Mascisian style, though, the melodic guitar solo that closes the track is a showstopper. -Jon Hadusek
3. Danny Brown – “Kush Coma”
“Kush Coma” is what happens when a producer and an emcee collaborate their asses off for the perfect track. DJ Skywlkr’s beat clicks and clacks at a blinding pace — and Danny Brown keeps up: “My eyes are heavy, feelin’ like I ain’t gonna make it / Cut inside my head like a firework show, Fourth of July, Las Vegas.” Then the percussion drops out, leaving only a synthesized organ and some arcade game bleeps ‘n’ bloops. Better yet, the final version (that’ll be on Brown’s upcoming album Old) will feature A$AP Rocky. -Jon Hadusek
2. Jeremih and Shlohmo – “Bo Peep (Do U Right)”
The swanky, smoky beats of LA’s Shlohmo and Jeremih’s woozy, lovedrunk falsetto prove to be a match made in bedroom heaven on “Bo Peep (Do U Right)”. The most recent in the Yours Truly series inspired pairings, the track’s radar pings and sub-bass slink keep things hot and bothered, but the Chicago vocalist’s seductive lyrics do their part as well. While sometimes it seems like he’s just looking for some sex, there are some seriously romantic lines peppered in as well. After insisting that the whole world is crying with them, he asks that she just “Pick up your phone, baby, just call me / When it’s us two / There is no one that can say or do / Anything to get between us, babe.” Craving is most definitely the story here, it just seems conflicted over exactly what that need is for. -Adam Kivel
1. Vampire Weekend – “Diane Young”
A nod to whoever decided “Diane Young” would be the lead single for Vampire Weekend’s new LP, Modern Vampires of the City(out May 7th via XL). The track’s just so Vampire Weekend — an amalgamation of musical styles all working together as a three-minute pop song. Here, Vampire Weekend revisit the pub rock of the late ‘70s (Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, etc.), but douse it with bubbling electronics. The song’s goofiest (and most endearing) trait is the pitch-shift effect put on Ezra Koenig’s voice during the chorus. Sounds like the boys have been listening to some Ween. -Jon Hadusek
