Essential Listening: This week’s best new music
Welcome back to Essential Listening, a place where we compile all the best new music of the week into the definitive tome of modern music: The Far Out Playlist.
There was some stiff competition going around for Album of the Week over the past couple of days. Hot Chip kept their eternal dance party going and hit a new high with Freakout/Release, while Cass McCombs hit all the right notes with the melancholic and haunting Heartmind.
Ultimately, though, the honour had to go to Bret McKenzie, the famous funny man from Flight of the Conchords who proved that he was much more than just the mother-flippin’ Rhymenocerous with his new LP Songs Without Jokes. Stripped of the comedic sensibilities that he’s best known for, McKenzie reveals an uncanny knack for plumbing human emotion and bringing joy that doesn’t have to come with yuks or giggles.
Over on the singles front, we managed to get a pair of solid remixes from the likes of Self Esteem and Soccer Mommy, who transformed their respective songs ‘Fucking Wizardry’ and ‘Shotgun’ into delightful new packages.
Still, only eight songs can find their way onto this list. Here are the best new songs from the week, compiled into The Far Out Playlist.
This week’s best new music, August 15th – 20th:
Jamie Bower – ‘I Am’
Stranger Things actor Jamie Bower has shared a passionate new single titled ‘I Am’, marking his fourth single release of the year so far. After being announced the week prior, ‘I Am’ was released at the end of last week to positive fan reactions.
The dark, brooding country-inspired song delves into the morose depths of death and religion. While a bouncing guitar tumbles, the track gains intensity with Bower’s vocals as he warns people to “make sure” they’ve “paid” their “dues”.
The Beths – ‘Knees Deep’
New Zealand indie rockers The Beths have returned to share the latest preview of their upcoming LP Expert in a Dying Field, the driving and anxiety-riddled ‘Knees Deep’.
A hardy rock and roll track, ‘Knees Deep’ takes that central metaphor of uncertainty and fear, twists it around, and produces an exuberantly catchy tune out of it. The Beths are experts at no-frills guitar music with touches of punk energy and pop melodies. If that sounds like your thing, and it should be because it sounds awesome, then ‘Knees Deep’ will be a welcome addition to any of your playlists.
DMA’s – ‘I Don’t Need to Hide’
DMA’s have returned with their euphoric new single, ‘I Don’t Need To Hide’. The electro-tinged track is the Australian’s first since last year’s EP, I Love You Unconditionally, Sure Am Going to Miss You, which followed on from 2020 effort The Glow — an album that provided the band with their first top five charting album in the United Kingdom.
‘I Don’t Need To Hide’ is an effort that will instantly make you feel better about the world, and the arm-waving chorus will surely go down a treat when they perform on the main stage at Reading & Leeds later this month.
Todd Rundgren – ‘Puzzle’
Legendary singer, producer, and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Todd Rundgren has returned to announce a brand new album, Space Force. The LP will be a star-studded affair featuring Adrian Belew, The Roots, Sparks, Rivers Cuomo, The Lemon Twigs, Steve Vai, Alfie Templeman, Thomas Dolby, Narcy, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, Crowded House’s Neil Finn, and You Am I’s Davey Lane.
To preview the new LP, Rundgren has released the album’s first track, ‘Puzzle’. Featuring Belew on what I believe is appropriately spacey guitar and backing vocals, ‘Puzzle’ could easily be counted within the modern electro-indie rock scene if you didn’t know ahead of time that Rundgren was in his mid-70s. It’s a testament to Rundgren’s desire to keep moving forward in all of his work, regardless of whether any of his contemporaries want to follow him or not.
Beth Orton – ‘Friday Night’
Beth Orton has shared the official music video for her latest single, ‘Friday Night’, alongside the announcement of a run of intimate in-store appearances. ‘Friday Night’ comes as the third single to preview her upcoming album, Weather Alive, following ‘Forever Young’ and the album’s title track.
The new single comes complete with a self-directed video accompaniment filmed on the Greek island of Hydra. The video shows Orton sitting pensively on a windowsill as she sings to the camera. The music brings a light beat to ambient soundscapes that perfectly frames the tone of reflection in Orton’s vocals. Toward the end of the video, kaleidoscopic visuals reveal distant memories.
Iceage – ‘Shake the Feeling’
It seems as though Danish rockers Iceage have quite a vault that’s ready to plunder, as the band announced Shake The Feeling: Outtakes & Rarities 2015-2021, a compilation album of some of the band’s best unreleased songs.
To preview the new collection, Iceage have released the title track, ‘Shake That Feeling’. Reminiscent of classic Dinosaur Jr., ‘Shake That Feeling’ pairs the band’s signature punk energy with anthemic melodies and brightly-coloured indie rock chords. Unsurprisingly, the cheery nature of the track didn’t quite fit in with the tone of Seek Shelter.
PJ Harvey – ‘Who By Fire’ (Leonard Cohen cover)
The proposition alone is a gorgeous one: PJ Harvey covering Leonard Cohen. It’s enough to make fans quiver, and thankfully the execution lives up to the billing that the mind gives such a glinting collision of poetic names. Recorded with composer Tim Phillips, the haunting cover of ‘Who by Fire’ was cut for the new Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters starring Anne-Marie Duff, Sarah Greene, Eva Birthistle and Claes Bang.
The moody premise of the series itself gives you an inclination for the feel of the track. Much like the song, there are enough cracks in the darkness to let some lightness in. With this in mind, the feeling of a fresh start, which Cohen’s classic album New Skin for the Old Ceremony was all about, permeates the cover and perhaps the series perfectly.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – ‘Tippa My Tongue’
With fans still reeling from the release of Unlimited Love, Red Hot Chili Peppers have returned with the first single from their second album of the year. ‘Tippa My Tongue’, the lead single from Return of The Dream Canteen, arrives alongside a new music video featuring Anthony Kiedis laying an RHCP-shaped tab on his tongue.
Understandably, things get trippy very quickly. As the camera zooms in, we’re pulled into a psychedelic world filled with geometric shapes and technicolour hues. With Flea playing a slick funk groove beneath Fruicante’s choppy riffs, ‘Tippa My Tongue’ seems to have been crafted with the set intent of conjuring up the RHCP’s classic sound, unlike Unlimited Love, which struck many as a bold move in a new and unfamiliar direction.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.