New collabs, remixes and singles from Lana, Disclosure and Drizzy
SONG OF THE WEEK: Lana Del Rey - 'Young and Beautiful'
Church bells, swelling strings and sumptuous ennui in the beautiful new epic from Lana, taken from the all-star soundtrack to The Great Gatsby. It's surely written from the perspective of Fitzgerald's flighty, money-driven Daisy Buchanan, in love with the "electric soul" of Gatsby but who marries another. Yet the song expresses a vulnerability and willingness to be toyed with ("The way you'd play with me like a child…") in a way Daisy would never admit - that's all Lana.
FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK: Rone - ‘Bye Bye Macadam’ (Aquarian Remix)
When we spoke to UNO NYC's Aquarian earlier in the year, the NY-native described his sound as "broken beats, a sort of brooding, dark ambience, heavy kicks, sub bass." And like on his 2012 Obsidian EP, this week Aquarian lays Rone's atmospheric 'Bye Bye Macadam' with a pounding techno pulse that dips in and out of dark, barren recesses. Driving and totally unpredictable - unless you're watching the Soundcloud waveform.
OLD SONG OF THE WEEK: Björk - 'Army of Me'
Now old enough to skydive, get a tramp stamp and buy a deck of Mayfair without getting heart palpitations, 'Army of Me' turns 18 this week. Not that you feel that Björk ever had fear of any of defying law-enforcers in this futurist battle hymn, one of her most urgent punk assertions. Bjork clearly feels affection towards her progeny, too, releasing a 20-track version in Army of Me: Remixes and Covers (2005) - in which the original version was gloriously unequalled.
FEATURE OF THE WEEK: Disclosure - 'You & Me' (Feat. Eliza Doolittle)
Disclosure know what works for them - shuffling two-step beats, powerhouse vocals, and a fat drop in the chorus. So perhaps the most surprising thing about their new single 'You & Me' (out April 28) was the provenance of their guest vocalist: Eliza Doolittle, the UK singer best known for the hold music-friendly 'Pack It Up'. But recontextualising Eliza makes perfect sense for Disclosure too, a band that twist UK garage just enough to make it exciting and modern - no song sounded better in the sun this weekend.
REMIX OF THE WEEK: Mozart's Sister - 'Don't Leave It To Me' (Cadence Weapon Remix)
A new remix of the track originally taken from Mozart's Sister's Hello EP, we get a guest verse from Cay Cay and vocal FX that make it sound like Mozart's Sister is singing through a mouthful of Listerine. Gargle!
SADCORE SONG OF THE WEEK: Drake - 'Girls Like Beyonce'
Don't let the swagged-out 'Started From The Bottom' fool you! Drizzy is still sad. Young Moolah's most sensitive member twists Destiny Child's finger-clicking 'Say My Name' into a sad-wave cry jam, picking up where basically every current produce left off in plundering millennium-period R&B for a Hype Machine hit. Drake makes it work, though I'm still waiting for this era's 'Marvin's Room' or 'The Motto'.