Here are some more new songs we came across this week--the rad, the noteworthy, and the just plain weird, all courtesy of the internet! Thank you internet.
Earl Sweatshirt ft. Frank Ocean - Sunday
Odd Future prodigal prodigy Earl Sweatshirt is back, finally an adult and about to drop his second album, Doris. He spent years out of the spotlight, finishing high school and riding out all of the media furor around the OFWGKTA crew's rise to fame while his debut, Earl, blew up in his absence. That story's been told (click the link in the last sentence if you missed it), but the real story since Earl's triumphant return has been his obvious maturation as a rapper and a person. He killed everybody with his lengthy verse on last year's Odd Future posse cut, "Oldie," and now he's collaborating with fellow Odd Future member Frank Ocean on "Sunday," one of several advance tracks from Doris to reach the public eye in the last month or so. The big news with this one is Frank Ocean's verse. More a singer than a rapper, Frank nonetheless drops some bars here, making a pretty obvious reference to his fight with Chris Brown back in February. "He called me a faggot, I was just calling his bluff," Frank says, then continues, "Why's his mug all bloody, that was a three-on-one? Standing ovation and Staples, I got my Grammys and gold," referring to the fact that, regardless of the fight's outcome, Frank was the one who took home the 2013 Urban Contemporary Grammy (for which Brown was also nominated). In addition to some pretty righteous potshots on R&B/hip hop's current most hated figure, Frank shows that he's got a pretty unorthodox and interesting rhyme style on this track, and with the addition of a banging beat and an excellent-as-usual verse from Earl, this track is a must hear. And if you want, you can hear the whole album right now--Odd Future has it up for streaming on their website. Doris's official release happens next Tuesday, August 20th. Pre-order it from iTunes HERE.
Nine Inch Nails - Copy Of A
We had to talk about this. With Nine Inch Nails returning to live performances after a half-decade hiatus, and a new album, Hesitation Marks, planned for release next month, excitement has been building around their new material. "Copy Of A" has apparently been a standard set opener for the revived NIN, and now they've dropped a studio version that reveals a seething, keyboard-driven track that spends its entire length building towards an explosion that never quite arrives. As an exercise in ratcheting up tension, it's a success, and it certainly has some major resemblances to NIN hits past, but on its own like this, it can be a bit frustrating. Perhaps the entire album will provide it with context for its penned-in energy--we'll find out on September 3. Pre-order the album from Nine Inch Nails' website HERE.
Cerebral Ballzy - Another Day
Is it the dumbest band name ever, or is it punk as fuck? Cerebral Ballzy, fronted by Honor Titus (whose father was in Black Sheep), might just tell you it's both. But regardless of what you think of their name, their new single, "Another Day," has a driving old-school hardcore sound that will appeal to fans of early Bad Brains who wished they'd quit screwing around with reggae. The speedy-but-melodic chorus shows a knack for hooks that rivals the early Adolescents, while the song's Call Of Duty-style video demonstrates the sensibilities of post-Y2K punks raised on video games. Or something like that. "Another Day" comes from the City's Girl EP, due for release September 17 on Federal Prism Records.
JJ DOOM - Banished (Beck Remix)
It's been a year since JJ DOOM--a collaboration between legendary rapper MF DOOM and producer Jneiro Jarel--dropped Key To The Kuffs, and now the album is returning in an expanded edition known as the Butter Version. It will include a couple of new tracks and several remixes from high-powered producers and artists from both inside and outside the hip hop world. TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, and producer extraordinaire Clams Casino are all on the guest list, as is the one and only Beck, who brings a strangely appropriate folk-hop sensibility to his take on "Banished," as you can hear above. As someone who has been watching Beck's career since "Loser" first dropped, it's interesting to see him do a remix that sounds more like his early Mellow Gold material than anything he's done recently. Considering that rumor has him working on two new albums right now, perhaps this is a hint. Either way, hearing MF DOOM flow over a Beck beat is a welcome treat. To check out the rest of the extras, preorder Key To The Kuffs: The Butter Editionright here.
Cults - I Can Hardly Make You Mine
Cults are a hazy indie-pop duo that became overnight sensations back in 2011, going from opening for Asobi Seksu at Strange Matter to dropping a major label debut that got Pitchfork Best New Music accolades within the space of a few months. The past year of relative silence from the group threatened to make them a flash in the pan, but they've come back strong with the first single from their second album, Static. "I Can Hardly Make You Mine" mixes the lingering psychedelic haze that hung over their early material with a much more overt Motown-style girl-group sound that works to excellent effect on the song's chorus. And the last 30 seconds of this track, with Madeline Folin unleashing her higher register to devastating effect, are pure bliss. When the song abruptly ends, you've got no choice but to start it over. So let's do that, shall we? Grab the new single on iTunes now by going here, and keep an eye out for Static, which drops on October 15.