Weapons of Choice
This week's "Freshly Spilt Milk" playlist includes newly remixed Fatboy Slim, Prefuse73, A-Trak with AraabMuzik and Ape Drums, as well as rock 'n' roll from Albert Hammond, Jr., White Reaper, Daddy Issues, and more.
This week's "Freshly Spilt Milk" playlist includes newly remixed Fatboy Slim, Prefuse73, Diamond Pistols, A-Trak with AraabMuzik and Ape Drums, as well as rock 'n' roll from Albert Hammond, Jr., White Reaper, Daddy Issues, and more.
1. “Weapon of Choice” (Lazy Rich 2015 Remix) - Fatboy Slim: Fatboy Slim’s Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars is 15 years old, and anniversary remix album is out now. British DJ Lazy Rich updates “Weapon of Choice,” preserving the vocal tags and the hook while giving the track a sleek electronic disco feel.
2. “Seasons” feat. Elex - PeaceTreaty: This progressive house track from to Southern California duo could come from Sweden, where female vocalists all sound like they’re dancing with tears in their eyes.
3. “Higher” - Tom Staar: British DJ Tom Staar’s jumpstarts with techno track by hopping straight to the chorus and letting the song wind down from there.
4. “Passersby” - KAITEE: Kaitie Eastburn is the torchy KAITEE, whispering scarred-by-love songs over spare synth backing. “I was born when loved me / I died when you left me.” Due out as a single August 7.
5. “Losing Touch” - Albert Hammond Jr.: The new single from The Strokes’ guitarist’s upcoming album, Momentary Masters, due out July 31. His North American tour will bring him to New Orleans, where he’ll play One Eyed Jacks on October 2.
6. “Likes of Me” - T. Hardy Morris: I first saw T. Hardy Morris at the Americana Music Association Conference, but the garage grunge of “Likes of Me” is more Seattle than East Nashville. The track comes from Hardy & The Hardknocks: Drownin on a Mountaintop, due out June 23.
7. “Real Connection” - Part Time: David Loca played all the instruments on “Real Connection” and the album Virgo’s Maze with the sound of ’80s synth pop and the reserve of a thousand indie rock songwriters.
8. “Benighted” - Keep Shelly in Athens: Downtempo dream pop from Greece. Their album is due out in September and they’ll come to the States to tour in October, but all the dates are on the West Coast except for those in New York.
9. “5 6 7 8” - Jade the Moon: Toronto’s Jade the Moon worked out “5 6 7 8” in a couple of hours in the studio with nothing but the song title. By the end, it made sense in the cycle of songs they’ll release later this year about a young woman making self-destructive choices.
10. “Search the Sky” - Prefuse73: Prefuse73 is now a 15-year-old project for Guillermo Scott Herren, and it remains beautiful and enigmatic, warping hip-hop components and voices that emerge and disappear before they get to say their piece into compelling compositions. “Search the Sky” comes from the upcoming Every Color of Darkness EP, due out July 10.
11. “The Gold Standard” - Marrow: Chicago’s Marrow does a lot of things in the three-to-four minutes running time of “The Gold Standard,” but most of it is occupied by the intriguing relationship between Liam Kazar and Macie Stewart’s voices during the fragile verse.
12. “Still in Love” - Jahkoy: More music from Toronto. The sound draws from early ‘80s electropop with Jahkoy’s voice giving the glossy track something—not exactly soul, but certainly a warmer texture.
13. “Help Me Understand” (Produced by Savage Beats & Hugo Black) - Larry June: The Atlanta-based label OGG partnered with New York’s Rocksmith clothing brand to release the OGG Everlasting mixtape. Here’s a track from it.
14. “Sky” - Chris Savor: British NYC-based producer Chris Savor’s “Sky” could be the bare bones version of an early ‘90s Moby track.
15. “Diamonds” - Diamond Pistols: A new trap tune from Seattle’s Diamond Pistols (Christian Dold), released through Dim Mak’s “New Noise” free music discovery imprint.
16. “Attracted” - XYPO: New house from the Latvian DJ living in London.
17. “Action” - A-Trak, Araabmuzik & Ape Drums: “Action” is heavier than I expect from A-Trak, reflecting the influence of his “Gold Gone Wild 2” tourmates Araabmuzik and Ape Drums.
18. “Movies” (Produced by Deedotwill) - OG Maco: The leader of the OGG crew produced by DeeDotWill for the OGG Everything mixtape.
19. “Another Day” - Little Children: Little Children is a Swedish group loosely formed around singer Linus Lutti as a showcase for his sweetest, most vulnerable pop.
20. “The Bruise” - Daddy Issues: Daddy Issues started as a gag Twitter account. The women who wrote it took their sense of humor to grungy punk, and the track leads off the latest edition of Infinity Cat’s subscription-only series of curated cassettes featuring up-and-coming bands.
21. “Sheila” - White Reaper: The Louisville rock band loads classic power pop with fuzz on almost everything. White Reaper Does it Again comes out on Polyvinyl Records July 17.