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John Preston picks his seven best tracks of the week.
Carly Rae Jepson, ‘Western Wind’
A great song with clever production from Rostam Batmanglij, Carly Rae Jepson effortlessly returns to centre stage. There is a less obvious disco vibe this time around but neither is this an acoustic folklore grab; ‘Western Wind’ falls somewhere in between and suits 2022 Carly perfectly.
Arcade Fire, ‘Age of Anxiety (Rabbit Hole)’
Arcade Fire have struggled with their musical identity since the 2010, career-defining album The Suburbs. Although not quite the return to form that many might claim, their new album We reconnects them with big melodies again and ‘Age of Anxiety (Rabbit Hole)’ features vocals from the under-used Régine Chassagne.
Miya Folick, ‘Oh God’
Miya Folick’s 2018 debut album Premonitions was outstanding, and although no follow-up has been confirmed, ‘Oh God’ is a hopeful indicator that Folick has a second album dropping soon. Presenting as an existential crisis, ‘Oh God’ is a startling electro mood that Folick majestically commands.
Sharon Van Etten, ‘Mistakes’
Sharon Van Etten’s new, pandemic-recorded album We’ve Been Going about This All Wrong is often curiously one note and although there are still driving synths and artful melodies here, they can be buried a little deep. ‘Mistakes’ is one of the bigger songs here and adds some energy to a more introspective collection.
Tove Lo, ‘No One Dies from Love’
Tove Lo continues to release excellent stand-alone singles and ‘No One Dies from Love’ – a smoothly pounding electro sad-banger – is no exception. Now putting out her own music on her own record label, Her Pretty Swede, it will be fascinating to see how total control will further impact Lo’s creative output.
Bad Bunny, ‘El Apagon’
It’s hard to think of Bad Bunny as a hugely successful pop star sometimes; his artistic approach is so heavily rooted towards genre experimentation that it refuses to sit comfortably alongside mainstream contemporaries. Some of his new album is comfortably accessible, certainly, but tracks like ‘El Apagon’ refuse easy classification.
Röyksopp, Susanne Sundfør, ‘If You Want Me’
From an album that doesn’t always hit the mark, the unexpected return of Röyksopp features an impressive roster of female artists such as Alison Goldfrapp, Pixx and Astrid S. Frequent collaborator Susanne Sundfør appears twice and it is on this melancholic and evocative ABBA-indebted electro-ballad where both parties really shine.
