It’s Friday, which means that it’s time to look back at the best new music we’ve heard over the last few days. This week, there’s an awesome new track from Le1f, along with more heartening proof that the new Nine Inch Nails album is probably gonna be pretty good, Janelle Monáe getting all power ballad-y, new work from Bushwalking and Glasser, a reminder that Death Grips do actually make music, too, Kim Gordon’s excellent new band, and an entire album from D’Eon for free download. All this is streaming for absolutely nothing after the jump, so click through and get listening!
Le1f — “Damn Son”
Le1f drops his best track since “Wut,” a silky-smooth joint built on the ubiquitous “Damn son, where’d you find this?” and featuring some gloriously tongue-twisting rhymes: “What does my love smell like?/ Musk and ambrosia, right?/ I’m that essential type/ Tell me what scent you like.” Ooh-er!
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Nine Inch Nails — “Find My Way”
Ah yes, who remembers the glory days of radio DJs talking over the start of songs? Relive the happy memories by listening to this radio rip of the new NIN song, which is actually pretty good — it’s introspective and understated, sounding not unlike Massive Attack’s “Teardrop.”
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Janelle Monáe feat. Miguel — “Primetime”
This is appropriately named, because it’s probably the track that’s gonna kick Janelle Monáe’s career firmly into the mainstream. It’s a big power ballad, basically, and although the simple presence of Monáe elevates it above most songs of this ilk, it’s still not as interesting as pretty much everything else she’s done up to this point.
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Bushwalking — “High Hogs”
This newish project for Fabulous Diamonds vocalist Nisa Venerosa is a lot less drone-centric than her “other” band, but just as interesting. It’s the first taste of the band’s second album, which is out on September 6 via most excellent Melbourne label Chapter Music.
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Death Grips — “Birds”
With all the extracurricular kerfuffle around Death Grips, it’s easy to forget that they also make some pretty fantastic music. This new track should serve as some sort of reminder — it’s far less of a musical onslaught than their previous work, although its relatively restrained sound is still edgy and unpredictable enough that it feels like it could explode at any time.
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Glasser — “Shape”
The return of Glasser, with the sort of liquid electronica that characterized her excellent 2012 debut Ring. It’s something of a mystery why she’s not yet bigger than she is, but this song should go some distance toward changing that.
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Body/Head — “Actress”
Body/Head is the new project of one Kim Gordon, and on first listen it’s pretty damn good. This track comes with a guitar tone that’s straight out of Fripp and Eno, and lyrics that are both heartfelt and sound an awful lot like they might be about a certain marriage breakup that upset the entire indie world.
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Mind Over Mirrors — “Storing the Winter”
We’ve posted various tracks by Jaime Fennelly’s Mind Over Mirrors project in the past, and this spacey, dreamy new one is just as good — if not better — than any of them. Turn on, tune in, bliss out, etc.
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Susanna and Ensemble Neon — “Oh, I Am Stuck”
The Susanna in question is Susanna Wallumroed, formerly of Susanna and the Magical Orchestra, and the owner of one of the most remarkable voices in music today. This new ensemble provides a pseudo-classical arrangement that complements Wallumroed’s voice nicely — it’s less stark than her previous work, but no less beautiful.
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D’Eon — Music for Keyboards Vol IV
Yay! D’Eon’s ongoing Music for Keyboards series has been one of our favorite things about the last year or so, especially as they’ve all been free downloads. The fourth installment arrived this week, so head over and download it here.