The frames of reference and sly subversions arrive preloaded on the screen: Marilyn Monroe with some of the accoutrements of glitching cyberspace, old Hollywood musicals buoyed by driving percussion, the blue lodge atmosphere of The Bang Bang Bar swaddled in neon lights. But on her debut album, straight out of the City of Angels, the Los Angeles native Glüme displays a steely glint and a sense of style which make her totally unique. On the soundtrack to the new Netflix animated series Yasuke, the composer Flying Lotus channels the famous African samurai and sixteenth-century feudal Japan through taiko drums, neo-noir aesthetics, and vintage synths.
KUČKA grapples with intimacy on her debut album Wrestling. Dizzy Fae gets sucked in a vortex of sitcom surrealism, where love comes in spurts through the twitching of the hips. Half Waif kicks against the current ahead of her upcoming album Mythopoetics. And Empress Of finds the essence of breathing in two languages, as part of a new campaign seeking dialogue between caregivers and their kids.
Burial splits an extended play to share a message of love and understanding, Clio and Iggy Pop spend a damp afternoon in the cosy confines of their apartment, and Charli XCX stirs up some added drama alongside bladee and Mechatok. Tkay Maidza wades through the treacle, and Ethel Cain wanders the highway in search of some semblance of peace. Shelley FKA DRAM, Ya Tseen, and Matt Sweeney and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy roll out their new albums, with songs by Billie Eilish, Justine Skye, and Tristan Kasten-Krause rounding out the best of the week.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Flying Lotus – ‘Black Gold’ (feat. Thundercat)
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Clio & Iggy Pop – ‘L’appartement’
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Tkay Maidza – ‘Syrup’
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bladee & Mechatok – ‘Drama’ (feat. Charli XCX)
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Ethel Cain – ‘God’s Country’ (feat. Wicca Phase Springs Eternal)
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Tristan Kasten-Krause – ‘From Thin Air’ (feat. Lisel)
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Justine Skye – ‘Twisted Fantasy’ (feat. Rema)
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Shelley FKA DRAM – ‘All Pride Aside’ (feat. Summer Walker)
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Billie Eilish – ‘Your Power’
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Natural Information Society with Evan Parker – ‘descension (Out of Our Constrictions)’
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Matt Sweeney & Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – ‘Resist the Urge’
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Glüme – ‘Nervous Breakdown’
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MEDHANE – ‘KEEP LOOKING’
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Ya Tseen – ‘Synthetic Gods’ (feat. Shabazz Palaces & Stas THEE Boss)
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