Every week, members of the Vulture staff highlight the best new music of 2015. We do not discriminate; as long as the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture 2015 Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the year’s best new tunes.
Beach House, “Sparksâ€
In a recent interview with NPR, Victoria Legrand stumbles when Bob Boilen asks her to clarify a few lyrics he can’t quite understand. It’s puzzling, she said, to be reminded of the fact that people still listen to lyrics carefully and interpret songs. But for all of its gauzy, dream-pop bliss, Beach House is still the kind of band that deserves a close listen. Fight the temptation to get lost in Legrand’s dulcet voice and give this new song from the band’s upcoming record, their first since 2012’s Bloom, your full attention. —Lauretta Charlton (@LaurettaLand)
Heather Woods Broderick, “Up in the Pineâ€
With her pensive brand of dream-folk, Broderick manages to mingle the sadly meditative quality familiar to modern indie-folk fans with accessible pop sensibilities. The thing that makes her so good is that she never seems to be trying to break your heart — she just kinda does. In “Up in the Pine,†acoustic guitars flutter in and vocals drift by as Broderick cogitates on the “red blood moving around†inside her. It’s only a matter of time before some clever indie filmmaker gets her to record songs for a teen-angst coming-of-age movie. —Greg Cwik (@GregCwik1)
Demi Lovato, “Cool for the Summerâ€
Does Demi’s new song borrow from Katy Perry’s bi-curious debut, as haters have argued? Sure. But if that’s the worst criticism anyone can come up with about this instant pool-party classic, is it really worth complaining? Just give Demi the award for most shameless ploy for 2015’s Song of Summer that she’s rightfully earned. (Nice try, Maroon 5.) —Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett)
Gallant, “Weight in Goldâ€
There’s not much I could say about Gallant, a little-known 23-year-old singer from L.A., that his latest should-be hit doesn’t already. It was Zane Lowe’s first Beats 1 world exclusive for a reason. If after one listen you’re not hooked, get your hearing checked. —DL
Martin Garrix vs Matisse & Sadko, “Dragonâ€
EDM’s favorite wunderkind Martin Garrix broke through in 2013 with the wildly popular club track “Animals.†His latest creature is “Dragon,†a collab with DJs Matisse & Sadko. You’ll be dancing to it for the rest of the summer. —Eric King (@erickingdavid)
The Libertines, “Gunga Dinâ€
Nostalgia generally has excellent timing with music. For whatever reason, you always want to hear the music you listened to ten or so years ago. The emo revival kicked in exactly when you took that old Brand New T-shirt out of your closet to wear unironically. And, now, 11 years since their last record, the Libertines are back! The good news is they sound frighteningly like the Libertines — like if the Clash were just a bit blurrier and aimless. If this all goes as planned, this will start a chain reaction that leads to a British-invasion revival and everyone having super-angular guitars. —Jesse David Fox (@JesseDavidFox)
Little Boots, “Get Things Doneâ€
If Chromeo and Kylie Minogue had a love-child raised on Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor, she would become Victoria Hesketh, a.k.a. Little Boots. Specifically, she’d be Little Boots’s new album, Working Girl, out this week. Those first two influences are the foundation for “Get Things Done,†a bass-heavy disco blessing that’s got a hook as punchy as Chromeo’s “Night by Night.†—DL
Micachu and the Shapes, “Oh Babyâ€
Most recently, Micachu was heard composing the soundtrack to Scarlett Johansson’s experimental Under the Skin. Now, thinking about it, that film is a good metaphor for Micachu, who always sounded like an alien interpreting popular music and turning it into something totally different. I remember when she first showed up, seven or so years ago, she noted Justin Timberlake as an influence on her twitchy, childlike pop. Now she returns with “Oh Baby,†with deeply affected vocals making her sound like an old blues man. Through her alien prism, this is probably what the Black Keys sound like. —JDF
The Phoenix Foundation, “Give Up Your Dreamsâ€
Swirling, shimmering guitars belie the sardonic lyrics of the Phoenix Foundation’s latest single, which suggests you should probably just give up on your dreams since they’re not gonna happen anyway. Like Tame Impala’s distant second cousin, the six-piece psych-pop outfit laces its accessible, dance-ready songs with head-trip guitar interplay while the jangly music envelops the despondent lyrics like scar tissue accruing over a wound. —GC
Rush Midnight, “The Sameâ€
A three-minute piece of gleaming post-disco pop, “The Same†seems to be looking back to the early ‘00ts, when indie acts traded in their guitars for synthesizers. (The early ‘00s are now the good old days — feel old yet?) It has the feeling of a chiller Cut Copy, with its pulsating synth and laserlike electronics whizzing by. All the traits of the early DFA days are discernible. While his Rush Midnight moniker has been mostly concerned with getting your ass on the dance floor, he sounds more tranquil here, as the former Twin Shadow bassist’s vocals haunt the song like ghosts in the machine. —GC
Statik Selektah featuring Action Bronson, Elle Varner, and Ab-Soul, “All You Needâ€
No song sounds more like New York City in the summer than this song off DJ-producer Statik Selektah’s album Lucky 7, which came out today. This song should soundtrack a montage of dudes in the early ‘90s playing sweaty outdoor basketball. —JDF