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Jul 14, 2023 By Mark Redfern (with Kat Ramkumar)

Welcome to the 24th Songs of the Week of 2023. We didn’t do a Songs of the Week last week because of the July 4th holiday falling on a Tuesday, leaving less songs to consider. So, this week’s Songs of the Week is supersized and incorporates tracks from the last two weeks.

In the past two weeks or so we posted interviews with Palehound, Cory Hanson, Youth Lagoon, and others.

In the last two weeks we reviewed some albums.

Remember that we recently announced our new print issue, Issue 71 with Weyes Blood and Black Belt Eagle Scout on the covers.

To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last two weeks, we have picked the best the last 14 days had to offer, followed by some honorable mentions. Check out the full list below.

1. Yard Act: “The Trench Coat Museum”

On Wednesday, British post-punk band Yard Act shared a James Slater-directed music video for their new song “The Trench Coat Museum.” The band also announced a November headline tour to be added to their summer tour dates. Check out the upcoming tour dates here.

“The Trench Coast Museum” was co-produced by the band and Remi Kabaka Jr. of Gorillaz and finds Yard Act embracing their more electronic side (think LCD Soundsystem, !!!, and The Rapture). This track is the band’s first new original music since their acclaimed Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, 2022’s The Overload. “The Trench Coat Museum” recalls Yard Act’s James Smith’s reaction to reaching a level of visibility, which—in Smith’s words—“left us open to security and disdain just as much as love and appreciation.”

He adds: “Criticism is fair game and the internet is lawless so you gotta take it as it comes, but I definitely stopped searching for myself on Twitter the day I read that someone wanted to punch my lights out.

“‘The Trench Coat Museum’ is about how our perception of everything shifts both collectively and individually over time at speeds we simply can’t measure in the moment. Within whatever space in society we occupy, we often see our own beliefs as being at the absolute pinnacle of what should be the ‘cultural norm’ and whilst the completely human trait of being self-assured can’t be helped, it’s an absolute hindrance on our collective process. We are one etc. (Are we fuck).”

Of the music video, Slater says: “The video serves as a continuation and expansion of the Yard Act universe we explored on the first album. It’s set some 30 years in the future in this strange, dystopian trench coat museum in which an enigmatic character—the visitor—takes an audio guided tour. The song’s an eight-minute banger so I wanted the exhibits to come to life so that we could transition from an exhibition tour to a warehouse rave. It feels like a mini-film which is no accident, we see this as the first part of a Yard Act movie that coincides with their next album.”

Read our print magazine interview with Yard Act on The Overload.

Read our rave 9/10 review of The Overload. By Kat Ramkumar

2. A. Savage: “Thanksgiving Prayer”

Yesterday, Parquet Courts frontman, A. Savage, announced that he’d signed to Rough Trade and shared a Tiff Pritchett-directed black & white video for his new song, “Thanksgiving Prayer.” He also announced a fall North American tour. Check out upcoming tour dates here.

“Thanksgiving Prayer” is Savage’s first new solo music since 2017’s Thawing Dawn. This single, based on Savage’s poetic musings, is accentuated by saxophone flourishes from Euan Hinshelwood, violin from Magdalena McLean, guitar from Jack Cooper, and percussion from Dylan Hadley.

Of the song, Savage says in a press release: “Well, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and every year on that day I write down some words having to do with gratitude. Some years are better than others, but the last one I celebrated these words just sort of came out of me. It was a pretty special holiday actually, because in fact we were recording this song, but I made everybody take a day off. [Producer] John Parish and his wife Michelle were kind enough to allow me to take over their kitchen to cook the meal for everyone. Dylan and I were the only Americans, so there was a bit of explaining to do. So it was the band, the studio staff and the Parish family, and it was an absolutely lovely day. I was in awe of the kindness and mercy, and that’s what the song is about; being in awe of humans. When I got back to my room I was on such a high so I started writing and this song is what was on the page the next morning, when we recorded it.”

Of the music video, Savage says: “The video is directed by a brilliant young director Tiff Pritchett, and she had this idea to sort of do a silent film tribute. The scene from Renoir’s film Rules of the Game where Danse Macabre is played was referenced, as was Klaus Nomi.”

Check out our review of Thawing Dawn. By Kat Ramkumar

3. Snõõper: “Running”

On Monday, Nashville-based DIY punk outfit, Snõõper, shared a Sean McGuirk-directed music video for their new song “Running,” which is the latest release from their new album, Super Snõõper, which came out today via Third Man. The band also have some summer and fall tour dates lined up. Check out Super Snõõper’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as upcoming performances here.

Snõõper are Blair Tramel (vocals), Connor Cummins (Guitar), Cam Sarrett (Drums), Happy Haugen (Bass), and Ian Teeple (guitar).

Of the track “Running,” Tramel says in a press release: “‘Running’ was written deep in the pandemic when people began to feel hopeless and everything began to feel really scary. People felt out of control as we watched our country experience the consequences of an unjust system. Most days, all I could do was go for a long walk or run. I think sometimes that’s all anyone can do when things feel out of control. We can always get out of our minds and into our bodies. Move, breathe, jump, put one foot in front of the other.” The music video is an homage to 80s home workout videos, filtered through a kaleidoscopic lens.

The entirety of Super Snõõper was recorded at The Bomb Shelter in Nashville.

Snõõper previously shared “Pod,” “Fitness,” and “Powerball,” which are all featured on this upcoming album. By Kat Ramkumar

4. Say Sue Me: “Mind is Light”

Last week, South Korean indie band Say Sue Me shared a Nahee Kim-directed music video for their new song “Mind is Light.” This song, which was released ahead of their North American tour, was self-recorded and mixed at the band’s studio in Busan and mastered by Matthew Barnhart. The cover artwork was illustrated by Yo La Tengo’s James McNew. Check out the cover artwork and upcoming tour dates here.

Lyricist Sumi Choi draws from mental health issues and life’s anxieties combined with exercise, nature, and acceptance. In a press release, she says: “We wanted to make a simple song like the early songs of Say Sue Me. I wish I could take my mind lightly, but it easily becomes heavy. I thought about how to lighten my mind. First of all, I walk outside and believe that my heart is light. Second, I think it doesn’t matter if it’s not true.”

In a global state of civil and mental unease, Say Sue Me look for the silver lining in life.

Last October, in honor of the band’s 10th anniversary, Say Sue Me shared the 10 covers EP, featuring songs from Yo La Tengo, Pavement, Daniel Johnston, Silver Jews, Grandaddy, and Guided By Voices, along with two re-recorded versions of their own songs. By Kat Ramkumar

5. Coach Party: “What’s The Point in Life”

This Tuesday, British four-piece Coach Party shared a video for their song “What’s The Point in Life,” which is the latest release from their upcoming debut album, Killjoy. This LP is due out September 8 via Chess Club. The band also have some fall tour dates coming up. Find out more about upcoming performances here.

The video for “What’s The Point in Life” depicts the band living in a fictional post-apocalyptic world as they croon lyrics of taking control of your life while embracing the more mundane, meaningless aspects of it.

Of the song, drummer Guy Page says in a press release: “At the last minute, we set out to write an opening track for Killjoy, and ‘We’re All Gonna Die’ as it was initially named, was almost fully formed that afternoon. It’s really not a negative sentiment, but is more our way of saying that life is for living. So, do what you wanna do, we’ll do what we wanna do, and then everyone’s happy. We ultimately share the same fate, so make your life your own.”

The band previously shared three other songs from Killjoy: “Born Leader,” “All I Wanna Do Is Hate,” and “Micro Aggression.” “Born Leader” was also featured on our Songs of the Week. By Kat Ramkumar

6. Jamila Woods: “Tiny Garden” (Feat. duendita)

On Tuesday, Chicago musician and poet Jamila Woods announced a new album, Water Made Us, and shared a video for its first single, “Tiny Garden,” which features duendita. Water Made Us, which was produced by Chris McClenney and Wynne Bennet, is due out October 13 via Jagjaguwar. Here, check out the LP’s tracklist and cover artwork.

Of “Tiny Garden,” Woods says in a press release: “‘Tiny Garden’ is a song about the way my heart works, the slow and steady way I love. In my directorial debut I wanted to create a visual representation of how I often feel in relationships, like I’m having huge feelings that I end up expressing in small specific ways. The video takes place across two landscapes, the reality of a shared apartment at the tail end of winter and an imagined ‘heartspace’ where everything is lush and green. I worked with my friend and frequent collaborator Po Chop on the choreography, so that the movement becomes the key to merging these two worlds—everywhere I dance, something grows.”

During the pandemic, Woods challenged herself to write as many songs as possible and spent months in a state of deep creativity and self-reflection. Early songs revealed a simmering common thread: love, relationships, and the hard lessons learned in their wake. Journaling, therapy, and frequent consultations with a trusted astrologer all began to reflect Woods’ own patterns in love and intimacy back to her.

“Water Made Us feels like the most personal and vulnerable piece of art I’ve ever made. I love creating from source material, diving deep into a subject and extrapolating from what I discover,” Woods says. “We sat in the house for two years and I became my own source material. Shout out to the therapists, the astrologers, the family members and friends who listened, who helped me process and transform my journaled thoughts and questions into this body of work. I hope it feels like a playlist that carries you through the life cycle of a relationship, whatever stage of the journey your heart may be in.” By Kat Ramkumar

7. Metric: “Just the Once”

Last week, Metric announced a follow-up to their 2022 album Formentera with Formentera II, and shared a video for its first single, “Just the Once.” Formentera II is due out October 13 via Metric Music International/Thirty Tigers. The Canadian band are also on tour with Garbage and Noel Gallagher. Here, find out more about the upcoming album’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as tour dates.

Metric is Emily Haines (vocals, keys), Jimmy Shaw (guitar), Joshua Winstead (bass guitar), and Joules Scott Key (drums). Formentera II was recorded at the band’s own Main Street Studios and completed at Motorbass Studios in Paris.

“Just the Once” features strings composed and arranged by Drew Jureka (Dua Lipa). The song was mixed by Stuart White (Beyoncé). Jimmy Shaw, Liam O’Neail, and Gus Van Go co-engineered and co-produced the album.

Of the the new single, Haines says in a press release: “The only way I can describe ‘Just the Once’ is to call it ‘regret disco.’ It’s a song for when you need to dance yourself clean. Beneath the sparkling surface, there’s a lyrical exploration of a simple word with many meanings. Once is a word that plays a game of opposites. Once can mean once-upon-a-time and refer to a moment in the past, or it can mean someday, once something happens. And as for doing something only once versus doing something once in a while, well, I think we all know how vast the difference is between the two.”

The band drew inspiration from the works of Air, Daft Punk, and Sébastien Tellier. Formentera II, which will be Metric’s ninth studio album, stays true to their original purpose, expressing messages interpreting the turbulence of life and giving complex emotions a voice.

Formentera II will be released physically on CD and on limited edition marble blue vinyl as well as sea glass blue vinyl. Metric are also releasing a complete double vinyl set of both Formentera I & II on opaque white vinyl.

Read our 2020 interview with Emily Haines on her favorite album.

Formentera also made our Top 100 Albums of 2022 list. By Kat Ramkumar

8. Maple Glider: “Dinah”

On Wednesday, Maple Glider (aka Tori Zietsch) announced her second album, I Get Into Trouble, and shared a music video for her new song, “Dinah.” I Get Into Trouble is due out October 13 via Partisan/Pieater. Zietsch also has a handful of fall tour dates coming up. Here, check out the upcoming LP’s tracklist and cover artwork as well as tour dates.

“Dinah” was collaborated with Zietsch’s live bandmate Bridgette Winten and is paired with a devilishly irreverent video with jaunty costumes and props. The title for the song is derived from a bible story “Dinah Gets Into Trouble” which follows a young woman getting victim-blamed for being sexually assaulted. Of the song Zietsch says in a press release: “For me, ‘Dinah’ is the scariest thing I’ve ever put out. It’s probably the most pop feeling song I’ve released, but it’s really quite an angry song. I have felt incredibly disturbed and frustrated and sad in the process of writing and putting it together. I wanted the video to be fast paced, colorful, and full of energy, the same kind of riled up energy I had when I wrote the song. But it also had to be silly, because I can’t help that.”

Such themes are reflected in the rest of the album as Zietsch draws more parallels between her Christian childhood to her relationship with her body and concepts of consent and shame. “This album feels more like an opening up because there are things I wasn’t feeling ready to publicly share through songs, but now I finally feel ready,” she says.

Maple Glider previously shared the album’s “Don’t Kiss Me.” By Kat Ramkumar

9. ANOHNI and the Johnsons: “Why Am I Alive Now?”

ANOHNI released a new album with ANOHNI and the Johnsons, My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross, last Friday via Secretly Canadian and Rough Trade. Last Wednesday, she shared its third single, “Why Am I Alive Now?,” via a music video. Hunter Schafer directed the video.

In a press release Schafer had this to say about directing the video: “I started listening to ANOHNI in high school, so it’s a huge honor to help her build a visual world for WAIAN. This music video was an honest attempt to answer the question that WAIAN begs, Why Am I Alive Now? I wanted to focus on the idea of finding sisterhood in a world that does nothing to help - I hope the direction, choreography, and tone conveys a small piece of that journey.”

ANOHNI and the Johnsons previously shared the album’s first single, “It Must Change,” via a music video. “It Must Change” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then she shared its second single, “Sliver of Ice,” which was inspired by some of the last words Lou Reed said to her before his passing and was shared via a music video.

My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross is ANOHNI’s first album since 2016’s HOPELESSNESS and the first album to bear the Johnsons name since 2010’s Swanlights (released under the Antony and the Johnsons moniker). ANOHNI, who was born in the UK but is based in New York City, teamed with soul producer Jimmy Hogarth (Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Tina Turner) for My Back Was a Bridge For You to Cross. They then assembled a backing band consisting of Leo Abrahams, Chris Vatalaro, Sam Dixon, and string arranger Rob Moose.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. That was a really important touchstone in my mind,” said ANOHNI in a previous press release. “Some of these songs respond to global and environmental concerns first voiced in popular music over 50 years ago.”

A lot of the songs on the album are first vocal takes. ANOHNI explained: “Many of the recordings on this record—like ‘It Must Change’ and ‘Can’t’—capture the first and only time I have sung those songs through. There’s a magic when you suddenly place words you have been thinking about for a long time into melody. A neural system awakens. It isn’t personal and yet is so personal. Things connect and come alive.”

Summing up the album, ANOHNI said: “I want the record to be useful. I learned with HOPELESSNESS that I can provide a soundtrack that might fortify people in their work, in their activism, in their dreaming and decision-making. I can sing of an awareness that makes others feel less alone, people for whom the frank articulation of these frightening times is not a source of discomfort but a cause for identification and relief. I want the work to be useful, to help others move with dignity and resilience through these conversations we are now facing.”

The album’s cover artwork features a 1970s portrait of human rights activist Marsha P. Johnson, taken by Alvin Baltrop. By Mark Redfern

10. Madeline Kenney: “Plain Boring Disaster”

Oakland-based singer/songwriter Madeline Kenney is releasing a new album, A New Reality Mind, on July 28 via Carpark. Yesterday, she shared its third and final pre-release single, “Plain Boring Disaster,” via a lyric video. Check out her upcoming tour dates here.

“I think it’s easy to romanticize one’s life, to give meaning to mistakes and import to missteps,” Kenney says of the new song in a press release. “In this song, I believe I realized that my mistakes did not, in fact, make me unique or genius or special. I, like everyone else, am muddling through my most ordinary disaster of a life. Song can make you feel like you have something to say or expose—here I’m reminding myself that nothing is truly new.”

Previously Kenney shared the album’s first single, “Superficial Conversation,” via a self-directed music video. “Superficial Conversation” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then shared its second single, “I Drew a Line,” via a self-directed music video, and also announced some new tour dates. “I Drew a Line” was also one of our Songs of the Week.

Sketches for the songs on A New Reality Mind began in the pandemic, but the album took on new meaning when Kenney’s partner unexpectedly left her in 2022.

Kenney’s last album, Sucker’s Lunch, came out in 2020 via Carpark, and made it on our Top 100 Albums of 2020 list. In 2021 Kenney surprise-released the EP Summer Quarter. It featured the song “Wasted Time,” which was one of our Songs of the Week. In 2021 she also shared the new song “I’ll Get Over It,” which isn’t featured on the new album but was one of our Songs of the Week.

Check out our interview with Kenney, which was originally published in Issue 67 of our print magazine in 2020. By Mark Redfern

11. Sparklehorse: “The Scull of Lucia” (Feat. Jason Lytle)

“The Scull of Lucia,” a previously unreleased song by Sparklehorse, the music project of the late Mark Linkous, was shared on Tuesday. It is the latest release from their upcoming posthumous album Bird Machine. This LP, which was produced by Joel Hamilton, is due out September 8 via ANTI-. “The Scull of Lucia” is a quiet, intimate track where you can hear every change of inflection of Linkous’ voice. Jason Lytle of Granddaddy also contributed harmonies to the song.

After Linkous tragically took his own life in 2010, his brother Matt and his sister-in-law Melisaa, who had both worked with Sparklehorse, sifted through boxes of tapes to catalog and preserve Linkous’ unreleased recordings and eventually brought Bird Machine to life. Bird Machine was produced with the help of Alan Weatherhead, mixed by Joel Hamilton, and mastered by Greg Calbi, who previously had close ties with Sparklehorse.

Of “The Scull of Lucia,” Hamilton says in a press release: “From the very first seconds of ‘The Scull of Lucia,’ I was transported to a different time. The recipe is unmistakably Sparklehorse: The pace, the sounds, the overall texture of the voice. Every sound seems to support the voice and the lyric, which was always at the core of Mark’s genius. The weight of the world, floated on a rickety raft, across a sea of melancholy.”

ANTI- previously shared the the album’s first single, “Evening Star Supercharger.”

Read our 2006 interview with Sparklehorses’ Mark Linkous about his fourth studio album Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. By Kat Ramkumar

12. Hiss Golden Messenger: “Shinbone”

On Wednesday, American folk band, Hiss Golden Messenger, shared a new song “Shinbone,” which is the second single to be released from their upcoming album Jump for Joy. This LP is due out August 25 via Merge. The band also has an extensive fall tour ahead of them. Check out the upcoming tour dates here.

Hiss Golden Messenger are bandleader M.C Taylor, guitarist Chris Boerner, bassist Alex Bingham, drummer Nick Falk, and keyboardist Sam Fribush. Jump for Joy was produced by M.C Taylor.

Of “Shinbone,” Taylor says in a press release: “I wrote this tune after abruptly coming out of a prolonged depression. As anyone that struggles with depression knows, sometimes you just snap out of it for no reason that you can discern. This song contains what I think may be one of the mission statements of Jump for Joy, namely: If you take the big gamble and lose it all, can you survive with whatever’s left? That’s the question a lot of us are asking ourselves.”

The song immediately jumps into a pattern of funky guitar chords with a quaint drums keeping pace which offers a sense of optimism that’s reflected in the song’s lyrics. Taylor sings of finally finding a sense of joy and peace he had been lacking before which is evident in lyrics “Woke up this morning/My God I felt happy/What a strange sensation.”

“Shinbone” is preceded by the band’s recent single, “Nu-Grape,” which is also featured on Jump for Joy. By Kat Ramkumar.

13. Depeche Mode: “Wagging Tongue (Wet Leg Remix)”

Depeche Mode released a new album, Memento Mori, in March via Columbia Records. Last week, they released a collection of eight remixes of the album’s “Wagging Tongue,” including one by Wet Leg, who add backing vocals and their own instrumentation to the song, completely transforming it. Here, listen to the original album version of the song, and the entire remix collection.

We don’t usually include remixes in our Songs of the Week list, but Wet Leg completely transformed “Wagging Tongue” and made it their own that we made an exception.

Previously Depeche Mode shared Memento Mori’s first single, “Ghosts Again,” via an Anton Corbijn-directed video. “Ghosts Again” was one of our Songs of the Week. Then they were the musical guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which they performed “Ghosts Again” and their classic single “Personal Jesus.” They also announced a whole lot of tour dates

Then they shared the album’s second single, the atmospheric and ghostly slow-burner “My Cosmos Is Mine,” which was also one of our Songs of the Week. Then they shared a video for “Wagging Tongue.”

Memento Mori is the first Depeche Mode album to be released since the death of the band’s Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher, who passed away in May 2022 at age 60. It was announced last October.

Fletcher did work on the album before his death. With Fletcher’s passing, that makes the official lineup for Depeche Mode as Dave Gahan and Martin Gore.

The British duo Wet Leg (Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers) released their self-titled debut album in 2022 via Domino. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize, won the band some Grammys, and was #1 on our Top 100 Albums of 2022.

Wet Leg’s debut single, “Chaise Longue,” was #1 on our Top 130 Songs of 2021 list.

Read our 2021 interview with Wet Leg on “Chaise Longue.”

Read our 2022 interview with Wet Leg on their album here.

Read our rave review of Wet Leg here. By Mark Redfern

14. Alan Palomo: “Meutrière” (Feat. Flore Benguigui)

Neon Indian’s Alan Palomo is releasing his first album under his own name, World of Hassle, on September 15 via Mom+Pop. On Tuesday, he shared its third single, “Meutrière,” which features Flore Benguigui and was shared via a self-directed music video.

Palomo had this to say about the new song in a press release: “Though I tend to reference movies in my work, I’ve always wanted to write a song taking place on a film set that explores the friction often felt between actors and their directors. The trust. The reckless abandon. A drama that precedes the onscreen drama. I was gleefully nonplussed when L’Imperatrice’s very own Fleure Benguigui agreed to duet this kooky French-Italo banger.”

Of the video he adds: “From the jump, I knew I wanted to have the lyrics of ‘Meutrière’ directly inform the video’s concept and attempt to adapt them as if they were a script. Born out of my love for Giallo flicks, this is a surreal smear of both the horrors in front and behind the camera on one particularly nightmarish Italian film set. Made with the closest of homies, this might be my favorite one yet!”

Previously, Palomo shared his first single under his own name, “Nudista Mundial ’89,” which featured Mac DeMarco and is also included on the album. It was shared via an animated video inspired by the 1980s adult video game Leisure Suit Larry, in which Palomo and DeMarco go to Ibiza and search for a nude beach party. Palomo wrote and directed the video, which was animated by Johnny Woods.

Then when the album was announced, Palomo shared its second single, the jazzy “Stay-At-Home DJ,” via a lyric video. It was one of our Songs of the Week.

World of Hassle started out as a Neon Indian album, before Palomo decided to switch gears and release it as a solo album.

A previous press release described the vibe of the project in further detail: “From the intricate fictional details packed into the cover art (co-created by Palomo and designer Robert Beatty), to the lyrical collage of pop culture and political references, to the music’s early-digital sheen, the album evokes the ’80s golden age of rock stars like Bryan Ferry and Sting leaving their own breakthrough projects to strike out as jazzy solo musicians.”

Palomo’s last Neon Indian song was 2019’s “Toyota Man,” a Spanish language track that was a satire of the immigration crisis that was one of our Songs of the Week.

Neon Indian’s last album, VEGA INTL. Night School, was released way back in 2015 via Mom + Pop. It was #20 on our Top 100 albums of 2015 list.

Read our 2015 print article on Neon Indian, as well as our 2015 bonus digital mag Q&A with Neon Indian.

Also read our review of VEGA INTL. Night School. By Mark Redfern

Honorable Mentions:

These songs almost made the Top 14.

Another Michael: “Angel”

Bonnie “Prince” Billy: “Crazy Blue Bells”

Bush Tetras: “Bird on a Wire”

Claud: “A Good Thing”

Chris Farren: “First Place” (Feat. Jeff Rosenstock)

Hannah Georgas: “Fake Happy”

Glasser: “Drift”

Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse: “Whinny”

Mutual Benefit: “Little Ways”

Shamir: “Our Song”

Teenage Fanclub: “Tired of Being Alone”

Here’s a handy Spotify playlist featuring the Top 14 in order, followed by all the honorable mentions:

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