Another 500 or so pitches came in over the last week. These are the survivors of a cull that resulted in the ultimate Five Songs You Must Hear This Week list.
1. Evanescence, Devil May Cry
Single (Netflix)
Recommended If You Like: TV, I guess
Notice the label to which this song is credited. Yep, Netflix. Amy Lee and her people contributed this song to a Netflix series based on the video game of the same name (the #8 most-watched series in Canada, #8 in the US). Artists writing songs for soundtracks is not new. Netflix acting like a record label is. Oh, and the song sounds a lot like Evanescence.
2. Lana Del Rey, Henry Come Home
Single (Interscope)
RIYL: Noir songs
Lana Del Rey continues with her string of darkly sad songs with a standalone single that was supposed to come from an album due imminently. Nope. Everything about the new record has been changed and pushed back. Makes you wonder what’s going on behind the scenes, doesn’t it?
3. OK Go, Love
And the Adjacent Possible (Paracadute)
RIYL: Insanely cleverness
It seems like OK Go have been around forever (Close. Est. 1998) plus it feels like they haven’t released all that much material. (Correct. This is only their fifth album.) Then again, OK Go spends more time on a single video than most bands spend on an entire album. Check out what they did for this one song. This kind of cleverness (not to mention the patient required to make something like this) exhausts me as well as provides tons of entertainment.
4. My Son the Hurricane, Moderate Stimulation
Single (Independent)
RIYL: Giant-sized bands
Back in the 70s, there were plenty of bands (well, relative to today) that featured a giant lineup that included multiple percussionists and horn sections. We don’t see that sort of thing too much anymore—unless you speak of Canada’s My Son the Hurricane. I have no idea how many members there are (it’s a lot; a dozen, maybe?) but I can tell you that they’ve toured the world opening for bands like the Foo Fighters and Flaming Lips. And USS’s Human Kabab is a guest on this song.
5. Stereolab, Aerial Troubles
Instant Holograms on Metal Film (Duophonic)
RIYL: Cross-channel collaborations
Stereolab is an English-French group who makes—and I don’t think there’s another term for it—avant-pop music. Both in 1990, put on hold in 2009, and resurrected in 2019, the group is now up to thirteen studio albums that have display a unique approach to indie rock. This was one of my purchases on Record Store Day.
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