New tracks listening in the US this week

A selection of new songs from Björk, Yet, Blood Orange and more.

Björk, "Atopos"

Many different Björks converge on "Atopos", the first single from her album "Fossora", which will be released on September 30th. "Atopos" in Greek means "out of place" or "out of order". Here is the brash, declarative Björk, calling for unity and singing: “Thank you for staying while we learn and find our resonance where we unite.” And here’s Björk, with a heavy rhythm, like the one who collaborated with Kasimin, the Indonesian disc jockey, member of the Gabber Modus Operandi duo, on harsh, elemental syncopation of kick drums, which turns into a furious pounding at the end. There is also the nature-loving Björk, who in the clip surrounds herself with close-ups of mushrooms. And there is a modern chamber Björk, who chooses a family of instruments - in this track there are six clarinets from bass and above - and arrangements - intertwined, harmonically ambiguous.

Blood Orange, "Jesus Freak Lighter"

In Blood Orange’s "Jesus Freak Lighter," the edgy electronic rhythm clashes with a low, moody guitar riff - it’s a little New Order, a little Joy Division. While Dev Hines remains the creative core of Blood Orange, as usual, he has brought in several new collaborators to work on "Four Songs", a new EP album due out next week; it will be attended by Jan Isaiah, Eve Tolkien and Erica de Cassier. However, the song "Jesus Freak Lighter" is entirely Hines’s, which is fitting as it evokes the loneliness of the digital age: "Carried away," he sings with a kind of muted melancholy, "Living in my head, photo fantasy."

Phoenix featuring Ezra Koenig, "Tonight"

Phoenix returns to 2009 on the smooth "Tonight", not only in the way the band echoes the sound of the excellent "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" record they released that year, but also in the appearance of another late-century indie-pop luminary, Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend. “I’m talking to myself and it’s pretty amazing,” says Thomas Mars in the chorus; for the second iteration, Koenig adds backing vocals to keep him company.

Deerhoof, "My Lovely Cat"

What if edgy San Francisco art rock band Deerhoof decided to write a Rolling Stones song? The song "My Lovely Cat" can be as close to that as they can get, with a rambunctious, distorted 4/4 guitar riff, a more or less marching rhythm, and slide guitar that oscillates between teasing rhythm guitar and shadowy vocals.. Satomi Matsuzaki sings in Japanese about bonding with his cat in the Internet age: “Let’s watch on the home camera! Should I get Instagram (продукт Meta Platforms Inc., компания признана экстремистской организацией, деятельность на территории РФ запрещена) or TikTok?”. Of course, Deerhoof distorts the sound, suddenly falling silent, imperceptibly changing the key and rhythm, and in the last minute repeating obsessively. But beneath that lies the swagger of the Stones.

Madison Cunningham, Our Rebellion.

Opposites attract and bewilder in "Our Rebellion" from "Revealer", Madison Cunningham’s new album. When she tries to defuse the lovers’ quarrel by acknowledging the differences - "You speak in numbers, I sing in metaphors" - she insists: "I’m not trying to simplify you." This is certainly true of the music as well: a perpetual motion, a weaving of cleverly chosen guitar lines in bouncy 7/4 meter, folding and rearranging, stabbings and loosenings, sometimes running back as the cunning struggle continues.

Jordana, ’Is It Worth It Now?

Peppy synth arpeggios, confident guitar lines and broad-shouldered drumbeats promise something upbeat. But really, "Is It Worth It Now?" is an uplifting song for those who are deeply depressed: "Leaving your interest in the things that made you want to live is sad enough in itself, isn’t it?". She has a piece of advice - "Swim right into the center of all your doubts" - but the song ends with a question, not a cure.

The Waeve, Can I Call You.

Graham Coxon and Rose Eleanor Dougall are former members of two very different yet quintessentially British bands: Blur and the Pipettes. They recently formed a new duo, Waeve, and announced that their debut album will be released next year. The first single, "Can I Call You", is full of unexpected and sonic adventurous twists: Just when the song seems to have hit its stride as Dougall’s simple, folky piano ballad, Coxon’s screaming guitar solo takes it to another, much more alarming register. “I’m tired of love, I’m tired of pain,” they chant together in punk fashion, screaming to be heard over a cacophony that now includes Coxon’s screaming saxophone. "Can’t you just kiss me and then kiss me again?"

Yit, "Krank

One of several space jams from Yeat’s new Lyfë EP, "Krank" is groovy, circular, obscene, slightly dystopian and 10% less mysterious than the average Yeat song to date. It’s kind of like growth.

Bryson Tiller, Outside

Bryson Tiller sings with gymnastic energy, never letting the potential power of a lingering note get in the way of a deftly assembled cluster of syllables. Here he steps and slides to a beat that borrows heavily from the Ing-Young twins’ signature salad hit "Wait (The Whisper Song)".

Lewis Capaldi, Forget Me.

Roaring Prince Lewis Capaldi makes a living by singing himself hoarse, his hits filled with raw sloka eruptions so powerful that they transcend corn and turn into something much more boiled. Unlike his biggest hits, "Forget Me", his first new song in over three years, has a slow pace - you don’t bathe in his pathos the way you used to. The lyrics are carried along in a friendly manner, and only a faint echo of "Man in the Mirror" is heard at the beginning of the song. But Capaldi unleashes complete catharsis in the chorus: "I’m not ready to know that you know how to forget me, I’d rather listen to how much you regret me." The only catch is that the song seems to rush him, urging him not to lose heart. And getting bogged down is something Capaldi excels at.

Marisa Anderson, The Fire This Time.

When 21st-century folk-primitive guitarist Marisa Anderson — no stranger to electric instruments, home recording and multi-tracking — learned of the death of George Floyd in May 2020, she spent a day recording "The Fire This Time" and quickly uploaded it to Bandcamp. for a month as a charity single. She re-edited it for her upcoming album Still, Here. Anderson puts steady, mournful fingering behind the searching, ringing lines of slide guitar and, at 30 seconds, the police siren that swept past her window while recording. This is a musician who works out emotions physically, instinctively, with his fingers on the strings.

Macaya McCraven, The Fours.

Jazz, minimalism and a rich sense of unraveling mystery fill "The Fours" by drummer, songwriter and producer whose next album, In These Times, is out September 23rd. The track starts off with muffled drums and a patient bass, but other instruments keep popping in, slipping into the mix almost imperceptibly and then adding their own layers of counterpoint: cello, viola, piano, harp, saxophone, trumpet, flute, even a few flamenco-style claps from McCraven. Players band together in sections — strings, horns — or jump in with their own bits of melody; loops mingle with live instruments. The track is undulating and thick, then dissolves before revealing too many secrets.