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Nov 17, 2017 By Christopher Roberts Cross Record

As we get into the holiday season and build up to Thanksgiving next year there were inevitably less new songs of note this week, but there were still enough gems for a Songs of the Week post. We’ve got three songs from upcoming debut albums due out in 2018 and two songs from Tame Impala tied for #2.

To help you sort through the multitude of fresh songs released in the last seven days, we have picked the seven best this week had to offer, along with highlighting other notable new tracks shared this week. Check out the full list below.

1. Loma: “Black Willow”

Loma is a new band consisting of Shearwater singer Jonathan Meiburg and the two members of Cross Record (Emily Cross and Dan Duszynski). This week they announced their self-titled debut album and shared a video for the album’s closing track, “Black Willow.” Loma is due out February 16, 2018 via Sub Pop.

Meiburg met Cross Record when the duo opened for Shearwater in 2016. “I couldn’t believe all that sound was coming out of two people,” Meiburg says in a press release. “They were mesmerizing…. I fell in love with their music, and I wanted to know how they did it.”

2. Tame Impala: “List of People (To Try and Forget)” and “Powerlines”

Back in 2015 Australia’s Tame Impala released their excellent third album, Currents (which was #2 on Under the Radar’s Top 100 Albums of 2015 list). This week they released a deluxe box set edition of the album, Currents Collectors Edition, that includes the Currents B-Sides & Remixes EP featuring three previously unreleased songs and two remixes (one of which is previously unreleased). The B-sides are “List of People (To Try and Forget),” “Powerlines,” and “Taxi’s Here.” “Let It Happen (Soulwax Remix)” was previously shared, but also included is the previously unreleased “Reality in Motion (Gum Remix).” You can stream all five tracks below, but the highlights were “List of People (To Try and Forget)” and the instrumental “Powerlines,” so we’ve named them the joint #2 Song of the Week.

A press release describes the deluxe box set as such: “The Currents Collectors Edition box set includes the album on limited edition red marbled vinyl with alternate artwork, a 12” featuring two remixes and a 7” and flexidisc with three B-sides. Plus a poster and a zine of images and scribbles offering a candid glimpse into the making of Currents.”

Also read our 2015 cover story article on Tame Impala’s Currents and our bonus digital interview with frontman Kevin Parker.

3. Björk: “Blissing Me”

Björk is releasing a new album, Utopia, on November 24 via One Little Indian. Previously Björk shared the album’s first single, “The Gate,” as well as an enchanting video for the song, in which Björk appears to be involved in some sort of alien mating ritual. This week she shared the album’s second single, “Blissing Me,” as well as a video for the song. Tim Walker and Emma Dalzell directed the clip, which was shot in a single take in Iceland and features makeup by Hungry. In the simple but effective video, Björk performs the song against a white background.

4. Anna Burch: “Asking 4 a Friend”

Anna Burch is a new singer/songwriter from Detroit who recently signed to Polyvinyl. Fellow Michigan native Fred Thomas is also signed to Polyvinyl and after discovering Burch he sent some of her demos to the label with the note “This is not a drill. You need to hear this.” The label agreed and this week they released her new song “Asking 4 a Friend,” with her debut album due out in early 2018.

Burch had this to say about the song in a press release: “I was playing ‘Asking 4 a Friend’ for my mom and after the first verse she very concernedly asked ‘Is this about drugs?’ I told her it was a metaphor for going back to a bad, undefined relationship and she seemed satisfied with that.”

5. Shame: “One Rizla”

Shame is a promising new post-punk five-piece from London. This week they announced their debut album, Songs of Praise, and shared a video for the new song “One Rizla.” Songs of Praise is due out January 12, 2018 via Dead Oceans.

The video for “One Rizla” finds the band working on a farm and it relates the album’s cover art. Singer Charlie Steen had this to say about the video in a press release: “We wanted to turn the album artwork into the video for ‘One Rizla,’ highlighting our vulnerability as individuals whilst paying homage to Withnail & I simultaneously.”

“One Rizla” was the first song the band wrote together. “I think that’s reflected in the simplicity of it,” says Steen in the press release. “It’s honest and raw, whilst attempting a stab at number one in the pop charts across the Eastern hemisphere.”

6. Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds: “It’s a Beautiful World”

Former Oasis guitarist/singer/songwriter Noel Gallagher is releasing a new solo album under the Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds name, Who Built the Moon?, on November 24 via Sour Mash/Caroline. This week he shared another song from the album, “It’s a Beautiful World,” via a lyric video that features images of Earth, the moon, and the universe. The pleasing track features an interlude with a female spoken word section in French midway through.

Previously Gallagher shared the album’s first single, the upbeat psych-pop number “Holy Mountain,” as well as a video for the song. Then he shared a lyric video for the album’s opening track, “Fort Knox,” which was far-removed from his Oasis work, and instead sounded like something you’d find on one of Primal Scream’s more dance-y albums.

Other notable new tracks this week include:

BC Unidos & Carly Rae Jepsen: “Trouble In The Streets”

Camp Cope: “The Opener”

Fischerspooner: “Butterscotch Goddam” (Feat. Johnny Magee)

The National: “Maybe Not” (Cat Power Cover)

Saintseneca: “Moon Barks At the Dog”

The Spook School: “Less Than Perfect”

Mavis Staples: “Ain’t No Doubt About It” (Feat. Jeff Tweedy)

Stone Temple Pilots: “Meadow”

U2: “American Soul” (Feat. Kendrick Lamar)

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