November tunes

OMG. I need to distract myself from this election coverage. Music!!


10 - "Neon Experience", Júníus Meyvant

While much of this month's list is sugary pop, this one is a throwback to the 70s for sure. Júníus is the alter ego of Unnar Gísli Sigurmundsson, a singer-songwriter who grew up on an island off the coast of Iceland. OFF THE COAST OF ICELAND. Júníus won this year's Best Icelandic Newcomer music award and was up for best male vocalist as well. This is an oddly compelling song for me - can't put my finger on it but can't stop listening either.

9 - "Pray You Catch Me", Beyoncé

Enjoy some pitched-up Beyonce this week. This is the lead-off track from Lemonade and I believe the third that I've featured this year. The lyrics definitely set the table for the entire album.

8 - "Disappearing Act", The Ready Set

There's really no excuse for me liking this song. I find it super catchy, plain and simple. Apparently this guy had a hit in 2010 called "Love Like Woe" (I tried to listen to it, got 45 seconds through and decide it to not even link to it here). I feel like if Savage Garden had time travelled to this point in time, they might have come up with this song.

7 - "El Dorado", Death Cab for Cutie

"Dorado" is very much in the same vein, stylistically, as "Good Help". Though it isn't a particularly complex number, clocking in a just over 50 distinct words. Word has it that the track is about lead singer Ben Gibbard's lack of enthusiasm over his ex-wife, Zooey Deschanel, landing the lead role on "New Girl". Impressive that a lack of enthusiasm for anything sounds this good.

6 - "Silence of the Amps", Fennec & Wolf

Fennec & Wolf is an electronic producer hailing from Cologne, Germany and runs his own label. He's been around for about 3 years, but finally started getting material out there about a year ago. This is the first of his work that I've heard - a nice little instrumental track. If you're curious about what a fennec is, click here.

5 - "Present Tense", Radiohead

Paul Thomas Anderson. Seriously. Not a lot going on in this intimate video, but it is directed by PTA himself. Radiohead don't seem to do too many quiet pieces like this, but they tend to be very pretty. I also like the little bossanova-like beat going on throughout this song.

4 - "Got it Good (feat. Craig David)", Kaytranada

Craig freaking David. That's a name I had not heard in a while. He's got 20 Top 40 singles to his credit in the UK, but over on this side of the pond, he's still best known for his hits from 2000 "Fill Me In" and "Seven Days". This is a much better song than "Seven", but "Fill Me In" is still a classic.

3 - "U-Turn", Tegan and Sara

So with money, one can typically afford a really sweet video. This one's a bit of a hot mess, but the song is every bit as good as "Boyfriend", their excellent release that's currently doing the rounds on Canadian radio. T&S really found their calling once they went electronic.

2 - "Cool", Daya

I was admittedly experiencing some Daya fatigue when the single "Sit Still Look Pretty" was released. But there's something about this cut from her debut album (also entitled Sit Still Look Pretty) that resonated with me. A little more up-tempo, a little less open throttle on the vocals. "Cool" was apparently released as the promo single for the album last month but will not be the third single from the album (that will be "Words", coming out this week).

1 - "What's it Gonna Be?", Shura

Shura was longlisted for BBC's Sound of 2015 award but just finished releasing her debut album, Nothing's Real. Previously, you may have heard her on Mura Masa's gem from earlier this year, "Love for That" (courtesy of this blog). This track (and video, for that matter) has a super 80s vibe and is a great listen. If you're wondering why "CANADA" is repped at the end of the video, it's because while "Canada" is a country, "CANADA" is a Spanish music video and commercial production company. Don't confuse the two. Oh, and just to close the circle, it turns out that Shura has recently remixed Tegan & Sara's "Boyfriend".

Enjoy!