Welcome back to our the Top 10 Tracks of the Week. In this weekly feature we’ll compile our top 10 most viewed pieces of new music from the week preceding. These can be anything from completely new songs to live versions of new songs to new remixes of slightly older songs to covers that have just surfaced. As long as it’s new music that we’re hearing for the first time this week, it’s eligible.
The idea of this feature is two fold. On the one hand it’s an easy way to make sure you’re up to date with the week’s most talked about new music (particularly useful for those who are too busy in the week to stay up to date). On the other hand you may have already heard/seen all of these, but we feel it’s interesting to see these listed in order of views both for more transparency between us and the readers, and also so that you can get an idea of what truly is the most popular and talked about new music this week. Is the Odd Future trend still strong? Are remixes still a big deal? Oh, people still care about this old band that brought out a new song this week? You’ll be completely up to date with what’s popular if you keep coming back on a weekly basis.
So without further ado, we present the top 10 Tracks of the Week, 03/03/12
10.
Arcade Fire
“Abraham’s Daughter”
[Republic]
Although it’s strange that the first new piece of music that we’ve heard from Arcade Fire since their Grammy-winning The Suburbs appears on the soundtrack for a film that appears to have absolutely no ties to Arcade Fire or the kind of music they make, people are and probably will perennially be glad to hear new music from this beloved band. “Abraham’s Daughter” is much less rock-oriented than most of their last album and could even be said to be stepping back more towards the arrangements of some of the simpler and more brooding songs from Funeral. Whether this gives us any idea about where they’re going next is anybody’s guess since this is a one off, but it’s a worthy addition to the band’s catalogue and could easily go down as a hard core fan favourite in the future.
09.
Willis Earl Beal
“Monotony”
[XL Recordings]
The name of Willis Earl Beal is one that seems to be cropping up more and more as we approach the release of his first proper album, Acousmatic Sorcery, on March 20th. The man has an incredible back story that will hook you in immediately, and his unique vocal and musical style will also leave you wanting to hear more. Being one of the first additions to this year’s Pitchfork Festival announced this week probably also helped get the newly-released “Monotony” so many views, with people so curious as to find out what all this chatter is about.
08.
Evy Jane
“Sayso”
[King Deluxe]
James Blake’s shadow still looms large over the bass-pop/post-dubstep/whateber-you-want-to-call-it realm, so anything that has connections to the man is likely to pique interest – and in this case we have a former roommate of the London producer. To say that Evy Jane is only getting attention due to this connection is completely unfair though; this slab of sultry pop is the kind of thing that you’ll find yourself repeatedly reaching to put on in the deep hours of the night; vocalist Evelyn Mason’s softly sassy vocals pairing perfectly with the syncopated beats for something both relaxing and intoxicating.
MP3: Evy Jane – “Sayso”
Original post (watch the video here) | Track Review
07.
The Drums
“I Don’t Want To Go Alone”
[Island]
The Drums have built up a big enough fanbase now that even the release of a new b-side is something worth talking about, but especially when it’s one as good as “I Don’t Want To Go.” The downbeat number finds the band incorporating new wave synths and vocal echo that ceates more atmosphere than perhaps any song they’ve done before. Add the fact that Jonathan Pierce’s achingly honest vocal might be his best to date and it’s no wonder so many people have checked this out.
06.
Norah Jones
“Happy Pills” (Prod. Danger Mouse)
[Blue Note]
A lot of people will have been attracted to this Norah Jones track purely for the attachment of Jack White as producer, but they will have stayed because “Happy Pills” is a quality song. Jones has proven her versatility over the years, cropping up in all sorts of places, but it’s nice to hear her do something a little new in her own music. Her she proves that her sensual vocals are perfectly capable of turning what is a fairly basic song into something noteworthy, especially in the parts where she harmonizes with herself.
