Entertainment
GOOD LISTENER
our five favorite songs of the week!
The first single from Australian electro-pop trio Cut Copy's upcoming album (out in January) is the perfect antecdote to a dreary, rainy day (New York is a wet, muggy mess right now). This is effortless pop -- summery and dreamy, with hints of Beach Boys and Summerteeth-era Wilco -- and your coworkers won't mind if you play it on repeat.
A couple of years ago these scruffy Brooklyn pals broke on the scene with a woozy punk album that clocked in at under 27 minutes. The cheery, spazzy tunes on their new EP, Low Back Chain Shift (out Oct 12), are just as short and sweet. On "Lindy Hop," singer Alex Levine shouts like the Hold Steady's Craig Finn, while saxophones, guiros, and high hats crash and flail behind him.
We met up with the 1900s in Chicago last week and now can't stop spinning their upcoming new album, Return of the Century, which will be out in November. This hip-shaking debut single is a blast of California sunshine, flushed with tambourines, violins, and gorgeous three-part harmonies. Be sure to pay attention to the piano-violin interlude at the 1:20 mark -- it's one of the prettiest lines we've heard all year.
Say what you will about Coldplay, but dudes wrote some pretty great songs. Films of Colour are a new London band following in their footsteps (and rocking the same brand of shoes that Keane and Doves wear, as well). Their debut single is big and lush, with soaring synths, twinkly pianos, and rumbling drums. Singer Andy Clutterbuck (what a name!) croons like Chris Martin, showing off his delicate falsetto on the chorus. Chris better keep an eye on Gwyneth.
We've been waiting for the debut album from L.A. mood-rockers Warpaint for years and couldn't be more excited that it's finally coming out this October. "Undertow" is the first taste and our palette loves it: It's smoky and bitter, with a barely there sweetness, like a perfectly mixed old fashioned.
