By Jessica Gentile
1. Animal Collective - Lying in the Grass
Animal Collective are back with another dizzying track. "Lying in the Grass" is full of blippy synths and layered harmonies that you've come to expect from the experiemental group at this point in their career, but with a shorter running time of only three and a half minute the band finds themselves honing their pop instincts a bit more than usual. The track is set to appear on their upcoming album Painting With which arrives February 19th via Domino Records.
2. Primal Scream & Sky Ferreira - Where The Light Gets In
Primal Scream have been around longer than Sky Ferreira's been alive (It's hard to believe the Scottish band formed 34 years ago, over a decade before Sky was born). And yet despite the generational divide, they seamlessly blend their electronic and pop sensibilities in this fiery jam. "Where The Light Gets In" is the perfect soundtrack for all your sultry, sinister nights out. If any song could attract vampires to a disco, it'd probably be this one. The track will appear on Primal Scream's eleventh studio album Chaosmosis dues out March 18.
Watch the music video on VEVO.
3. Zayn - Pillowtalk (The Living Room Session)
As his first solo foray following his split with One Direction, "Pillowtalk" became a sexy statement of sorts for Zayn Malik. For one thing, it served to establish his proclivity for more adult-minded R&B, but it also underscored his alluring outsider status among his peers. This stripped down acoustic version highlights his soaring falsetto and imbues the original with greater vulnerability, both of which are sure to attract fans from well beyond boy band land.
4. Charles Bradley - Change For The World
Charles Bradley has earned the nickname "The Screaming Eagle of Soul" and for good reason. His searing vocals and bombastic horns recall James Brown at his funkiest. "Change For the World" sounds like it could have been recorded during a different era. However, as he reflects on the Black Live Matter movement, it's clearly relevant today. It's off his upcoming third album Changes due out on April 1.
5. Future - In Abundance
After dropping his Purple Reign mixtape last month, the prolific rapper is back with even more music. With its droning organ beats, "In Abundance" features Future at his more unrepentant: "I get another chance to turn to a perfect man, I'd do this shit again if I could be where I'm at today." It remains unclear whether the song is a leftover track from his Purple Reign sessions or if was intended for another project. One place it won't appear is his new album EVOL out February 2.
6. Drake - Summer Sixteen
"Summer Sixteen" has all the swagger we've come to expect from Drake. He takes down the president's musical preferences ("Tell Obama that my verses are like the whips that he in/ They bulletproof" ) and Kanye's yard ("Ye's pool is nice, mine is just bigger is what I'm saying." ) in vengeful Drake fashion. Expect more braggadocious bravado when his upcoming album Views From the 6 drops in April.
Listen to it on Spotify.
7. Cavern of Anti-Matter - Liquid Gate feat. Bradford Cox
Cavern of Anti-Matter are the psychedelic side-project of Stereolab members Tim Gane, Joe Dilworth and Holger Zapf and "Liquid Gate" is the standout single from their first full-length album Void Beats / Invocation Trex out February 19. It features Deerhunter's Bradford Cox and is a trippy introduction to the Krautrock-indebted supergroup.
8. Niki and the Dove - So Much It Hurts
Swedish duo Malin Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf make the kind of decadent electronic music that's both eerie and tuneful. "So Much It Hurts" might as well be the lovechild of Robyn and Prince in that it dredges up nostalgia and regret, while the sparkling synths hurtle towards a future of unknowns. Look for it on Niki and the Dove's forthcoming album Everybody's Heart Is Broken Now.
9. Loretta Lynn - Who's Gonna Miss Me
The country queen is back with her first album in over a decade. "Who's Gonna Miss Me?" the first single off Full Circle is a sweet and simple tune that finds alarming poignancy coming from an octogenarian. As she muses on her looming mortality, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Lynn's legacy is massive and still growing. Full Circle is out March 4 and features contributions from fellow heavy hitters Willie Nelson and Elvis Costello.
Listen to it on VEVO.
10. Andrew Bird - Capsized
"Capsized" is a bit of a departure from Andrew Bird's past work. No longer content to dabble solely in violin-based pop, "Capsized" is darker, scruffier and a little worn around the edges. "Skies falling, no one is on your side" he sinisterly croons over bluesy beats. This new direction has us seriously curious to hear the rest of Are You Serious his newest album out April 1.
11. Rihanna - Higher
Even among all the genre-hopping on Anti, "Higher" remains an anomaly and a standout. Rarely has Rihanna sounded so urgent, so amorous and so old-timey. When she rasps and howls about how the "whiskey makes her feel pretty" over staticy strings, you'd swear you were in a haunted saloon. It's that transportive for the listener and that transformative for Rihanna.
"Higher" is streaming on Apple Music and Tidal.
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