THIS WEEK'S KEY RELEASES
Pere Ubu _ "Drive, He Said 1994-2002"
The three works collected here are related, but they are not political or prophetic albums; if they can be classified into any literary genre, it's journalism. While composing these records, David Thomas was out on the highways of America, observing those who gas up in its truck stops, drink in its juke joints, and shop in its big box stores. The albums form a travelogue of a wasted (or wasting) America, with Thomas traversing its macadam east-west highways on a journey that parallels Mark Twain's watery north-south journeys a century earlier. "Drive, He Said 1994-2002" is David Thomas' "Life on the Mississippi," a book that Thomas himself has described as "the great American novel." _ Ed Whitelock
The Charlatans UK _ "Different Days"
Lana Del Rey _ "Lust For Life"
Justin Townes Earle _ "Kids in the Street"
Lil Yachty _ "Teenage Emotions"
Shakira _ "El Dorado"
NOW HEAR THIS
Bubblemath _ 'Edit Peptide' (album stream)
Bubblemath releases its first album in 15 years, "Edit Peptide", this Friday. Though it may seem odd to refer to such refined music as childlike, fearlessness overtakes the compositions and playing across this record. It most often mimics a child's need for magic and wonder. The opening 12-minute epic "Routines Maintenance" walks the tightrope between classic rock and rock music from the far reaches of the future. Lyrics fire into the air with an effortlessness one is tempted to call stream of consciousness, music passages flow as rich and fluidly as a dream and the piece itself demonstrates that Bubblemath has emerged from whatever hardships it experienced fully intact and determined to mine its singular musical path. _ Jedd Beaudoin
(http://popm.at/2rwvWlw)
Swarming Branch _ 'Surreal Number' (album stream)
With the observational skills of Ray Davies, the freak folk interests of early Beck and a conceptual bent that places the outfit in line with fellow Ohioan Robert Pollard, Swarming Branch's music is as accessible as it is intellectually rewarding. The real pleasure of listening to this collection comes not in peeling away the layers or finding new nomenclature to describe the dizzying array of sounds contained in these tracks. Instead, it's in letting the music work its charms in these brief and brilliant bursts of both sincerity and hilarity. _ JB
(http://popm.at/2rtETvD)
WATCH THIS
REIN _ "Democracy"
Sweden's REIN worries a lot about society's largest problems, including the return of fascism in the Western world, the degradation of women's rights, and income inequality. REIN brings these issues front and center in her righteous brand of electropunk. REIN's latest single is "Democracy" and it's a banger that hits the nail right on the head, calling out those billionaire business figures that control 85 percent of the world's wealth. Accompanied by footage of protests from around the world, the video for "Democracy" is powerful and moving as REIN questions whether those of us in so-called First World democracies are actually experiencing anything like real democracy. _ Sarah Zupko
(https://youtu.be/aojTpBBfdRE)
Tess _ "Love Gun"
Tess Oceane Joffroy hails from Saint Denis on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and that stunningly gorgeous location is the setting for Tess' new video for the single "Love Gun". The island vibes imbue "Love Gun" with warmth and mellowness as the sound of waves lapping the shore intertwine with the instrumentation. Meanwhile, Tess' electropop aesthetic embraces minimalist textures and quiet space within the confines of a traditional pop song. That allows Tess' music to both feel vast and intimate at the same time. Tess' voice recalls Bjork and the Knife at moments, but she's more resolutely pop like an Ellie Goulding or Hannah Reid (London Grammar), and her music draws more from R&B than those aforementioned northern artists. _ SZ
(http://popm.at/2qgyDUn)
UNKLE _ "The Road" (feat. Eska)
Transcendent. This track soars, a multidimensional UNKLE piece as free as the open road it's named for. Eska's voice is a flame over dynamic instrumentals that go from frenzied to sweet and sublime over the course of the song. There's an unedited feel to the song, a quality that has the potential to make things muddy. Here, though, it comes off as exuberance. From the entrancing opening riffs to the final bursts of sound, a monumental outing. _ Adriane Pontecorvo
