(A Spotify playlist for all these songs can be found at the bottom of this article. Hope you had a great August!)
While life may be more boring now with school being back in session, music releases have done nothing but ramp up. Here’s some of the best music from last month:
LCD Soundsystem – Tonite
The prodigal son of indie music has returned. After the band reunited following a 2011 breakup, James Murphy and LCD Soundsystem finally released American Dream, the first project by the electronic group since 2010’s This is Happening. The most recent single from the album, “Tonite,” captures the sound found on much of Murphy’s older work while still feeling fresh. A nasty bass riff that permeates throughout the song brings back memories of “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” while Murphy sings about the contrast between the “live for now” message of modern pop songs and the mundane lives we live that all end the same way: death. It’s a lot more fun when you actually hear it, and “Tonite” proves LCD Soundsystem still has another amazing record in them.
Lil Uzi Vert (feat. Pharrell Williams) – Neon Guts
Philadelphia rapper Symere Woods, also known as Lil Uzi Vert, came out of nowhere on Aug. 25 with the sequel to LUV is Rage, one of the best rap mixtapes of 2015. On LUV is Rage 2, Uzi does another amazing job of combining darker themes with today’s modern trap scene (look no further than XO TOUR Llif3, a song that deals mainly with suicide while still winning the MTV Video Music Award for ‘Song of the Summer’). On “Neon Guts,” Woods joins forces with the legendary Pharrell Williams for an upbeat, late-summer banger. The Pharrell-produced beat blends perfectly with Uzi’s style as the two trade bars about The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Elon Musk and everything in between.
Car Seat Headrest – War is Coming (If You Want It)
Will Toledo and Car Seat Headrest return with a new song after their 2016 breakout album Teens of Denial. After originally releasing a demo of the song on Bandcamp and donating all proceeds to the Transgender Law Center, the rock group later dropped the full version, and it’s glorious. The grimy and DIY aesthetic of Toledo’s earlier work has mostly faded out, with a sleek, almost-radio-ready sound in its place. “War is Coming (If You Want It)” unsurprisingly deals with themes of peace in times of political and social unrest (“reach out your hands and save someone’s life, because war is coming if you want it”). It’s yet to be seen whether this will make an appearance on their rumored new album Wave Goodbye to the Jets, but if Car Seat Headrest stays on this path, we’ll be hearing their name a lot more in the near-future.
Frank Ocean – Provider
To cap off the ending of his Beats 1 show blonded RADIO, R&B living-legend Frank Ocean released another killer single with “Provider.” As far as his blonded songs go, it doesn’t have the pop appeal of “Chanel” or the big-name guests like “Biking.” “Provider” uses minimalistic keys and a drum beat while Ocean sings vague, yet clever lyrics crammed with pop culture references to everything from Dragon Ball Z to Aphex Twin. It’ll be hard living without blonded RADIO and semi-regular new Frank Ocean songs, but an album can’t be too far behind, right? Right?
Daniel Caesar – Hold Me Down
Toronto singer Daniel Caesar released a surprise hit in August with Freudian, an album that blends a great mix of gospel and modern R&B. With “Hold Me Down,” he goes one step further by bringing in parts of gospel singer Kirk Franklin’s 1998 song “Hold Me Now.” Not only does the interpolating work perfectly, but Caesar’s buttery-smooth voice absolutely makes the song. Those two factors on top of a head-bobbing guitar riff and perfectly used female vocals proves Daniel Caesar will become a force to be reckoned within the R&B space. Do not sleep on Freudian. Do not sleep on Daniel Caesar.
King Krule – Czech One
You know it’s gonna be a good month when someone like King Krule returns. The 23-year-old rocker/electronic producer/jazz musician Archy Marshall aka. King Krule has come back with “Czech One,” his first new track under the Krule name since his brilliant 2013 debut 6 Feet Beneath the Moon. Marshall sounds like someone woke him up from a nap before recording, but the tired, almost spoken-word tone goes perfectly with his lyrics of love and heartbreak. The simple pianos and jazzy saxophone that comes in later on make for a melancholic and beautiful song. It’s still unknown as to what King Krule will do next, but we can only hope more new music is on the way.
Lil B (feat. ILoveMakonnen) – Global
When he’s not dressing like a renaissance poet at the VMA’s or putting curses on your favorite athlete, Brandon “Lil B The Basedgod” McCartney dabbles in making music every now and then. In fact, McCartney has 50 mixtapes, a handful of albums and two mixtapes with 650+ songs each. You would figure he has to run out of ideas eventually, but with his Aug. 15 release of Black Ken, Lil B found a way to continue innovating. “Global” has classic Basedgod moments with lyrics of debauchery and positivity everywhere. The recently retired ILoveMakonnen provides an instantly-catchy chorus behind a booming club beat. Thank you Basedgod indeed.
Ariel Pink – Feels Like Heaven
Indie music is full of characters, but none teeter on the edge of genius and insane quite like Ariel Pink. Now, with “Feels Like Heaven” a single from his latest solo album Dedicated to Bobby Jameson, the LA psych-rocker takes a step back. Shaking off his earlier days of insane production, Pink goes for a sun-kissed, relaxing 80s send up. With it’s Pink’s oddly-deadpan-but-even-more-oddly-romantic vocals, the wavy, relaxing guitars or the bubbly synths, “Feels Like Heaven” continues the trend of great singles from this album ahead of its September 15 release.
