This week’s list overflowed in youthful rejoice, celebrating the release of Justin Bieber and One Direction’s new albums. To balance things out, a few covers of big 90s hits were included, including No Scrubs by TLC, Laid by James, and Half The World Away by Oasis, of which Oasis’s former label boss (who also first discovered the band) was none too pleased with, after hearing the song in a commercial.
Only you can make the choice of whether the song appeals to you or not, and while you’re at it, why not check out the full list via Spotify? Catch up on hits from weeks past on the New Music Friday All Stars playlist.
10. What I Want by MIAMIGO
The lads from North London by way of Brighton are rocking hard here in a Duran Duran-esque vibe to start, ramping into full fledged indie pop. As you can imagine from the song’s title, this band has got quite a lust for life and therefore a list of wants, namely: being better off than anybody they know, and being higher than they’ve ever been in their whole life. But no worries, this group isn’t sitting around expecting what they want to arrive on a silver platter; they ain’t waiting around for what they want, in their own words.
9. Beastin’ (MCA) by Redman
On his latest Redman takes a page out of the Beastie Boy’s playbook and has created a track around a sample of Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s La-Di-Da-Di, the way the Beastie’s did on Hold It Now, Hit It. And yes, it’s as loud and obtrusive as you would think it would be, but like all masters of the rhyme Redman finds a rhythm from seemingly nothing, like a crowd of thousands dancing in sync at Carnaval.
8. Laid by The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
Out of all the covers this week, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart takes the cake, with Jen Goma on vocals showing what adding a woman’s voice can do to a song. No pun intended, but the effect purifies the song, the lyrics coming through clearer, the vibe pristine. It’s part of the band’s latest quick and simple EP, Hell, that just includes three tracks – Laid, Hell, and the band’s cover of Ballad Of The Band by Felt.
7. Lord Willin’ by Logic
When Logic first hit the scene in 2013 by way of Def Jam with his mixtape Young Sinatra: Welcome To Forever, he was touted as a “Top Freshman” by XXL magazine, in a class with Action Bronson, Chief Keef and Schoolboy Q. Since then the artist has brushed off comments of sophomore slumps with last year’s Under Pressure, technically his first studio album, and continues to silence critics with The Incredible True Story, most notably on tracks like Like Woah, Young Jesus, and of course Lord Willin’.
6. Stratosphere by Mutemath
Ever the romanticists, Mutemath’s first track to capture our attention from Vitals was all about making a monument to our love, our love. The track to follow, Stratosphere, has a decidedly more lonely vibe, singing “Sitting on top of the world is all I ever wanted, but not it wasn’t worth the casualty I suffered…starting all over without you.” Aww. The song definitely has an other world worldliness about it, making it a perfect addition to your Airplane Mode – On An Airplane playlist.
5. Never Enough by One Direction
A fun track full of Doo Wops and Cah’mon’s in the key of Michael Jackson, this one laments that it’s “Never Never Enough” but yet they just don’t appear to be too concerned. Hard to believe, or maybe not for some, that Made In The A.M. is this boyish band’s fifth album. And yes many are murmuring that it may be the band’s last; if it is at least they’re going out in style. Much like the first time 1D hit U.S. shores, Never Enough doesn’t take itself too seriously, but there’s likely to be fans out there that will anyway.
4. Summer Was A Day by Pete Yorn
A master of many instruments, as well as a maestro of the acoustic, Summer Was A Day highlights Yorn’s brooding side, giving off strong vibes of emptiness and longing for times past. Though the song is missing some of the sunny one-liners from his breakthrough Musicforthemorningafter, Yorn stated his on Facebook page that he has reconnected with friends that he has recorded with previously, and found that “we were creating fresh new material that felt like a furthering of the conversation we had started back in 2001.”
3. Lime Habit by Poliça
Dope sounds, a pretty voice, an easy hook – these are things that sound easy enough on paper, but are oh so hard to get just right. On Lime Habit Poliça accomplishes just that, using their creativity to explore various sounds in the realm of electro pop, Channy Leaneagh’s enchanting voice navigating the way through hooks and choruses. From the band’s exotic sounding name, it’s easy to overlook this crew has made their way from Minneapolis. One will have to hold on tight to this track, as the band’s full album, United Crushers, is not expected out until March 2016.
2. Paradise by Daniel Caesar, BadBadNotGood, Sean Lion
On Daniel Caesar’s latest EP cover there’s a man falling from a great height, much like in the way it feels like in dreams. On Paradise, with its vocal echoes, and silky sweet bordering on trancelike vocals it’s as if the artist wants to keep you in the dream, welcoming you to paradise but with one word of caution “Don’t forget you chose this life.” It’s a beautiful blending of Daniel Caesar’s exploration of self via the lyrics and BadBadNotGood laying down the instrumentals for the track.
1. WTF (Where They From) by Missy Elliott, Pharrell Williams
It’s been ten colorless years (not counting her surprise appearance at this year’s Superbowl) since we heard from we last heard from Missy, and man did we forget how much we’ve missed her. On WTF she takes rhyming, fashion, and OF COURSE dancing to the next next next level. The accompanying music video, featuring every type of wildly imaginative outfit you can fathom, will leave you depressed that Halloween is now 50 long weeks away.
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