But don’t worry, we’re going to save you the hassle. We listen to some of the most-hyped and interesting songs each week and tell you which are worthy of your precious listening time.
Here are our top 5 songs to stream this week. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our Spotify page for a playlist of our weekly picks, which can also be found at the bottom of this post.
Run The Jewels — Talk To Me
In honor of the the second anniversary of their breakthrough RTJ2 album, hip-hop duo Run The Jewels released Talk To Me this week, the first track off of their much-anticipated album, Run The Jewels 3. Featuring an intense synth-driven beat and rapper Killer Mike’s famed quick-paced rhyme scheme, this one lives up to the hype, an excellent continuation of an already-robust musical partnership.
Phil Collins and the Roots — In The Air Tonight
Phil Collins and the Roots may seem to be unlikely collaborators on the surface — aging British pop stars and inner-city Philadelphia hip-hop musicians don’t exactly strike one as musical PB&J — but it turns out they can actually work quite well together. Performing a rendition of Collins’ classic In The Air Tonight on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, the band nails a note-for-note interpretation of the classic with members of Collins’ touring outfit. Wait for legendary Roots drummer Questlove to add some extra cymbal crash love toward the end.
Courtney Marie Andrews — How Quickly Your Heart Mends
A longtime musical accompanist, who has spent time on the road with Damien Jurado and Jimmy Eat World, Courtney Marie Andrews stepped into the limelight this week, releasing a country-tinged video for a single called How Quickly Your Heart Mends. Shot in Washington State, this happy rambler shows off some jovial, boozed up geezers dancing in a bar in Hawaiian shirts, as Andrews’ piercing southern-style lyrics capture your heart.
NAO — Bad Blood (Live)
There’s something eerie about the way British soul singer NAO is able to layer disparate sounds. On Bad Blood, bendy synths meet high-pitched vocals and distorted guitars, an amalgamation of live and digital instruments which doesn’t feel forced or unnecessary. Bad Blood will have you bobbing your head and wondering how the players are able to pull off such a clean-cut musical feat.
Amber Arcades — Which Will
A reinterpretation of Nick Drake’s classic 1972 single, Which Will, Dutch musician Amber Arcades’ version is almost unrecognizable from the original. This one is breezy and guitar-laden rather than somber and slow — the kind of thing you put on right before you back out of the driveway to head out for a new adventure.
That’s it for now, but tune in next week for more tunes and check out our playlist loaded with our recent selections below:
