Welcome to the October edition of Beats Per Minute’s monthly playlist BPM Curates.
Spooky season has been and gone but it’s left us with a bunch of nice treats (and a few tricks). Having sorted the gold from the crud, we’re back to set you up with your essential listening as autumn takes hold.
Check out and share our playlist of picks below.
Below is the track list and some notes from our team about why they’ve selected them for this month’s playlist.
Babel Map – “Pazuzu”
It takes a moment before the Eastern modality of “Pazuzu” reveals itself; the first 40 seconds are like a lost, edgy Liz Phair recording that toys with a backwards, “Be My Baby” beat. The Pennsylvanian trio Babel Map is soon off the mark, however, conducting a mini-epic that billows and crumbles while knowing both how to crescendo and when to dirge. Jessica Drummer’s vocal whips through the guitars like wind, as the band pulls on influences ranging from post-metal acts like Iress or Deathbell as well as Soundgarden’s “Hands All Over” and the murkier parts of early Tool. The song is named for the Mesopotamian demon of The Exorcist and its gusty nature would suit that ancient god of winds. – Steve Forstneger
Circuit des Yeux – “GOD DICK”
One of the music’s most towering voices is back with “GOD DICK”, a song that comes scary close to the menace and dread of Scott Walker’s The Drift-era. Dirty Three’s Jim White provides a claustrophobic, almost electronic sounding pulse and the strings bring forth an austere, apocalyptic gravitas to it all. A grandiosely grim epic crammed in just two-and-a-half minutes. – Jasper Willems
Fiona Grey – “Call Me Daisy”
After experiencing a sexual assault, LA artist Fiona Grey took refuge in queer clubs where she could feel safe and anonymous. Fiona’s new banger “Call Me Daisy” is an ultra-catchy anthem about finding freedom in a new persona. – Larry McClain
Gang Starr – “Finishem”
Raise your hand if you miss Guru. The greatest laidback MC of all time (with respect to Boldy James), all the music he produced alongside DJ Premier was something truly special: beyond essential. Premo wrenching a solid batch of unused vocals of the late great from the mewling, sinister grasp of MC Solaar did some repair to the timeline.
Posthumous albums will always remain a morally ambiguous prospect, but there was simply something right about him correcting the narrative via the loving One of the Best Yet. To respect that album’s fourth anniversary, Premo has shared one more song with the two doing their thing. As usual, he pulls out all the stops to respect his fallen brother, lacing his vocals with a flawless beat. Hearing Guru over a Premier cut after his passing will always be a bit painful, yet it stands as a triumphant, timeless reminder of the greatest MC/producer pairing of all time. – Chase McMullen
Grumpy – “Holding”
To say that “Holding” captures some intensity is putting it lightly: the track was recorded as part of their Wolfed EP, which was recorded days after singer/bandleader Heaven Schmitt and drummer Austin Hans Seegers decided to get divorced. The fiery rawness, frustration, and searching for a tangible branch to hold onto are all on show here; as the track builds to a cathartic wall of noise, you are practically bathing in the tension. Beats an awkward silence for sure. – Ray Finlayson
Heartworms – “Warplane”
“Warplane” is a spectacular mix of sensibilities: a rattling industrial pulse, The Doors-like blues psychedelia and creepy death cult gospel, combined to create this eerie and timeless song. Jojo Orme wraps it up into a haunting true tale of a demised Spitfire pilot killed in action. – Jasper Willems
LACES – “American Grime” (feat. BELLSAINT)
LACES is the brainchild of LA artist Jessica Vaughn, who (along with a feat from BELLSAINT) shines on “American Grime”. It’s pop perfection wed to a serious topic: how greed and competition wear down the creative spirit. – Larry McClain
Lloyd Banks – “You Have My Word”
It’s almost unreasonable that Lloyd Banks is still spitting like this. The industry may long since have stopped paying heed, yet he remains far from a bitter old head. While all too many rappers of his generation and prior spend their time griping and insulting the state of “the kids”, Banks simply doesn’t have the time for it. He’s here to rip heads off, it matters not who they belong to. He may increasingly be rapping in isolation, but perhaps it’s all for the better: there’s next to none who could keep up with the vicious sprawl of his latest. Halloween is his. – Chase McMullen
Mae Deline – “Hate That I Hate You”
I think this LA artist is a distant relative of Paul McCartney because her new single “Hate That I Hate You” is stunningly beautiful. Plus Mae’s visual flair is right up there with Bowie, Byrne and Lady Gaga. – Larry McClain
Major Lazer – “Nobody Move” (feat. Vybz Kartel)
Previously unreleased tracks and anniversary reissues are by-nature celebratory. While the impending, November re-release of Guns Don’t Kill People… Lazers Do (15th Anniversary Edition) might induce Diplo and Switch to dust-off the photo albums, the unearthed cut also heralds Vybz Kartel’s release from prison.
Set free after 10 years due to an overturned murder conviction, “Nobody Move” highlights a younger version of the artist who is now reportedly in bad health. Drawn from a re-recording of the vocal from Yellowman’s reggae classic “Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt”, its association with Kartel’s plight implies that the song might be cursed: Yellowman, after all, eventually suffered from a jaw cancer that distorted his face and the late Eazy-E also sampled it. Maybe fate will be tricked by its sonic similarity to Santigold’s cover of “Guns of Brixton”– it’s not too late, however, to fill out those organ-donor cards. – Steve Forstneger
Megan Thee Stallion – “Mamushi Remix” (feat. TWICE)
Having spent time earnestly worshiping Japanese culture, it’s only right for Meg to link up with some Korean queens. It’s easy to gripe that TWICE only receive the remix treatment, rather than a proper song – something the pairing are set to fix with their collaboration on the K-pop group’s approaching Strategy – but this track remains dominant fun nonetheless. TWICE have done many, many things in their nine years together, but stunting has rarely been among them. Unleashed across a braggadocios Megan track, they revel in the freedom: “We’re the originators, global entertainers / Your favorite girl group sings our song screamin’, “TWICE!”.” It’s nice to hear arguably the greatest Korean girl group of all time say the quiet part out loud. – Chase McMullen
M(h)aol – “Snare”
Irish punks M(h)aol are now two members down from the band that released their debut album in early 2023, but they are still going strong as a trio and delivering fierce, fiery music. “Snare” is about Constance Keane’s experiences of being belittled as a female behind the kit ever since she was a child, and how she’s battled through this prejudice to where she is now – continuing the band’s struggle for gender equality. However, the “Snare” of the title could just as easily refer to a trap, as this song glues you in with the way the bass roils and wraps listeners in its claws, forcing them into lockstep alongside the band. – Rob Hakimian
Naive Set – “Next Skyline Home”
Amsterdam jangle pop outfit Naive Set express the weariness of adulting – the impossibility of responsibility – and futility in finding fissions of joy and meaning within the frantic sprawl of existence. I have yet to catch Naive Set write a bad song, and this is one of their best. – Jasper Willems
Orla Gartland – “Backseat Driver”
Complete with LCD Soundsystem-like swagger, synth, and cowbell, “Backseat Driver” takes its name to the next level and drives itself over the speed limit when the chorus hits. It’s a jolt of electricity from Gartland’s new album, Everybody Needs A Hero, and speaks to letting that little voice in the back of our head take control. Trust Gartland to make it an anthemic analysis, the chorus of “I wouldn’t trust me either” being a rallying cry that you can envision a crowd chanting along to with nothing less than utter glee. – Ray Finlayson
Rosé – “Apt.” (feat. Bruno Mars)
For those relatively unfamiliar with BLACKPINK, one of the members delivering a pop smash the lead in for their debut solo LP surely seems par for the course. Yet, Rosé hitting a home run of this nature is actually her stepping out of her comfort zone. She’s always been the charmingly quirky “sad girl” of the group, more interested in her guitar and writing songs of full feelings regarding youth lost to the pursuit of fame than “bops”. Indeed, much of her approaching debut, Rosie, is apparently centered around personal struggles of the past several years, leading to the quite natural creation of “Apt.”.
Inspired by, and themed around, a Korean drinking game she ended up frequently playing in the studio with her peers, “Apt.” is the sound of Rosé letting loose, allowing herself to simply fully enjoy a moment in time. It’s playful, it’s silly, it packs a bit of Avril Lavigne, yet decidedly delivered through the Korean star’s own effervescently goofy lens. Bruno Mars hopped on the song, and the rest is history. Let me put it plainly: when all the kids in Korea are obsessed and playing games themed around a single between classes, you’ve really got one. If there’s a more effortlessly fun, carelessly joyous, and instantly likable major pop single in 2024, I sure haven’t heard it. – Chase McMullen
Shygirl – “Immaculate” (feat. Saweetie)
Shygirl is back and is horny as ever. In “Immaculate” she’s on the prowl for her next victim of her sexual prowess – the next to succumb to her immaculate pussy, which is also a gun. It’s a lot – at least for those who aren’t strong enough to handle the all-round package Shygirl and Saweetie – who slots in lasciviously alongside her partner in crime – are offering up. – Rob Hakimian
Tyler, The Creator – “Sticky”
While Tyler, The Creator has turned more introspective on recent releases, he’s still capable of some good ol’ fashioned silliness. Alongside GloRilla and Sexyy Red (and Lil Wayne) he amps up the explicitness to an irresistible way on “Sticky”, a standout from new album CHROMAKOPIA. The girls bring the sexiness and sass, Tyler provides production like a rave in the jungle, and the result is an altogether sweltering, swaggering and, yes, sticky proposition. – Rob Hakimian
Waxahatchee – “Much Ado About Nothing”
Waxahatchee follows the AOTY contender Tigers Blood with another Americana gem along the lines of “Right Back to It”. All the important players are here, including Brad Cook, Phil Cook, and MJ Lenderman. The track continues Katie Crutchfield’s winning MO; wonder, awe, overwhelm, beauty, love, setbacks, breakthroughs. Bright acoustic guitars, irresistible melody, lush vocals, enrolling metaphors, similes, declarations. Go ahead and plan to play on infinite repeat. And who knows, the next Waxahatchee album will probably be out before we know it. – John Amen
Listen to our BPM Curates: October 2024 playlist here.
