Entertainment
Lorde No Better
a new track from lorde, a virgin suicides-esque video, and more of our fave songs of the week.
St. Vincent - "Birth in Reverse"
St. Vincent says her forthcoming album is "a party record you could play at a funeral." We want to know whose funeral it is and how we can get in--especially if they plan on playing "Birth in Reverse," a track with a soulful pop-techno edge and an underlying riff a little reminiscent of the Stones' "Satisfaction." The song's carefree, rebellious feel is driven home by lyrics with a hint of voyeurism and a dash of self-proclaimed insanity. How's that for a eulogy? ALEXA PEARCE
Echoed "ahhs," lilting piano chords, and "itchy" drums soundtrack this subtly foreboding video for the Toronto-based quartet's latest single, in which two teenage girls play dress-up, braid each other's hair together, hit around a tennis ball, and eat burgers and fries in a bathtub in a very Virgin Suicides-esque escapade inside a mid-century mansion. In other words, required viewing. MELISSA GIANNINI
Cibo Matto - "Fool's Gold" (feat. Reggie Watts)
The first single off Cibo Matto's first record in more than a decade is a chill yet insistent environmentalist plea set to saturated, retro-digital, mall-video-on-acid visuals--and further proof that everything Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda touch is simultaneously timeless and timely. MG
The Dividends - "MFN" (feat. Raekwon)
We're not exactly sure how the mesmerizing Texan folk singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe hooked up with hip-hop producer S1 (though it appears to have had something to do with her vocal work on Eminem's "Bad Guy"), but if this reggae-heavy, Raekwon-guesting track is what happens when they get together, sign us up. MG
Ishmael - "Knock Less, Monster"
Lotic, the first album from Brooklyn-based trio Ishmael (full disclosure: I'm dating "The Hot One.") is full of head-bobbing songs that will make you want to practice your psychedelic dance moves. My fave track is "Knock Less, Monster," a daydream-y tune that's part prog rock, part math rock, and loaded with loco vocals. Added bonus: Their entire album is free to download from their Bandcamp page. Y'all can thank me for the tip later. STEFF YOTKA
BONUS!
Beyo-who? Whether it was just coincidental or a calculated decision by a teenager wise beyond her years, Lorde's new track comes out the very day that Queen B's secret album dropped. And if anything could make us put Beyonce on pause for two-minutes and 47 seconds, it's this: "No Better" starts with simple beats, sighing keys, and lines like, "We rolling heavy summer when there's strength in our numbers," before a not-quite-anthemic chorus. OK, so it might not get stuck on repeat like "Royals," but with lines like "Go all the way/ Have your fun / Have it all," we have to think that the New Zealand 17-year-old is OK with that. REBECCA WILLA DAVIS
