20 Songs You Need To Listen To Now (April 2013)

Once upon a time, the only way you could find out about new music was by being a mag head. Flipping through pages took you away from the Top 40 and introduced the Jay Reatards, the Lykke Lis and the Kendrick Lamars of the world. For most, nothing felt better than throwing a new artist onto their third generation iPod and falling into the deep end of a different sound, and that’s where this feature comes in. Every month, we’ll mess with nostalgia and generate a staff-selected mix of new songs and re-works that you may have missed, introducing a goodie bag of vices that deserve a spot in your rotation. Uncovering all genres, here are 20 Songs You Need To Listen To Now.


DAFT PUNK – “GET LUCKY” (SONY/COLUMBIA)
With Pharrell on the mic and Nile Rodgers on guitar, the robots funk us out with a Spotify-shattering dance cut.


BASS DRUM OF DEATH – “SHATTERED ME” (INNOVATIVE LEISURE)
Ripping out a whole new patch of lo-fi, John Barrett’s sticky joint is good enough to get your girlfriend’s digits.


MIXTAPES – “ELEVATOR DAYS” (NO SLEEP RECORDS)
Ohio knows how to do punk but Mixtapes practically chop you in half with its forgotten radio-friendly era.


 

THE COLOURIST – “LITTLE GAMES (ST. LUCIA REMIX)” (INNOVATIVE LEISURE)
The Cali quartet get a facelift from St. Lucia with starry-eyed synth and warm percussion that melts the room.


THUNDERCAT – “HEARTBREAKS + SETBACKS” (BRAINFEEDER)
Quit trying to do a rap selfie; Stephen Bruner’s new co-written/produced Fly-Lo number gets colossal with love.


CHARLI XCX – “WHAT I LIKE (FT. DANNY BROWN)” (IAMSOUND)
Remixed to put you in a kush coma, this revival of “Mesmerized” bounces and bruises to hit all the right buttons.


 

LOUISE BURNS – “EMERALDS SHATTER” (LIGHT ORGAN RECORDS)
Gold & Youth’s bassist slaps on a new shade of pop with a synth record that would have topped charts in 1987.


DRAKE – “GIRLS LOVE BEYONCE” (OCTOBER’S VERY OWN)
Started, started, started – Drizzy’s feelings get capped by James Fauntleroy’s late-night ode to ’90s R&B.


NO JOY – “HARE TAROT LIES” (MEXICAN SUMMER)
Take our advice and hotbox it to this one; the hooks and guitars will warp everything that colours your world.


BRAIDS – “AMENDS” (ARBUTUS RECORDS)
The art rock Canucks dismiss the indie blog hate and unleash a pretty score that will echo when the lights go off.


 

CLAMS CASINO – “BOOKFIEND (FT. DOOM)” (LEX PROJECTS)
Stuttering to level you, the New Yorkers click clack over rainy-day thoughts and rhymes about Netflix.


LOWER – “ANOTHER LIFE” (ESCHO)
Spinning around with tribal drums and frantic guitars, vox Adrian Toubro violently wails like a possessed novelist.


JAY-Z – “OPEN LETTER” (LIFE+TIMES)
Hov gets biopic: “The world’s under new management / The new role model, fuck this Zoolander shit”.


 

LEMURIA – “BRILLIANT DANCER” (BRIDGE NINE)
If you haven’t traded your old emo mixes for Lemuria yet, then you’re obviously doing it wrong.


THE MONEY GO ROUND – “ENDLESS SUN” (THE A&R DEPARTMENT)
The Aussies are doing rock and roll their own way and this psychedelic riff-stumbler provides a valid point.


WOODS – “GOD’S CHILDREN” (WOODSIST)
We’re not sure if campfire rock is a “thing” but this cover of The Kinks is jangly-er than the soundtrack original.


 

THE NATIONAL – “DON’T SWALLOW THE CAP” (4AD)
Legible yet brooding, the 4AD vets deliver another emotion-twisting song that sounds like The National.


MIGUEL – “DO YOU… (CASHMERE CAT REMIX)” (SONY/RCA)
Climax after climax, this re-do from the Oslo producer hits a multitude of peaks to leave you painstakingly numb.


IGGY AZALEA – “BOUNCE” (UNIVERSAL/DEF JAM)
The Aussie MC with hips that don’t lie breaks it down with a twerk anthem that goes ratchet turn-up molly.


FRANK TURNER – “PLAIN SAILING WEATHER” (UNIVERSAL/INTERSCOPE)
True punks never forget their roots and the Englishman’s diamond in the rough is a heart-splitting reflection.

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