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Why The XX's new track is the bell of Gatsby's ball. Plus, Sigur Rós sells free singles with their scented candles, Charli XCX's anti-pop wins me over, Daniel Johnston writes a comic soundtrack about space ducks (really) and introducing Waxahatchee...
The XX
Track: Together
From: The Great Gatsby Soundtrack, Out 16 May 2013
Wholly unsurprisingly, I'm completely in love with the new XX track: a beautiful, orchestrally-enhanced reimagining of the sort of down-turned, darker works from their Co-Exist album. No, they haven't reinvented their own wheel especially for Baz Luhrmann's long-awaited adaption. Instead, they've played it to a shrill, echoing click and stuck some dramatic, sweeping string sections in among their usual breathy minimalism to create a powerfully emotive piece that we cannot stop listening to. The other great triumphs of the fabulous Gatsby soundtrack? Lana Del Rey's haunting Young & Beautiful and Jack White's gut-wrenching, Django-appropriate cover of Love Is Blindness. Sure, there are a few clangers on there, too. And they have, once again, wheeled out Emeli Sandé for a number (got to be a running joke now, surely). And what's up with that will.i.am track? And we agree with this man about that Beyoncé cover, too. But over-all, this Jay-Z-produced musical spectacular looks set to give the movie itself a serious run for its money. If it ever comes out.
Sigur Rós
Track: Ísjaki
From: Kveikur, XL Recordings, 17 June 2013
Any band that releases a scented candle that evokes the smell of a campfire lit by a rosy-cheeked lad deep in the heart of an Icelandic forest as a genuine piece of buyable merchandise is alright by me. Sigur Rós transport us to the otherworldly, out-of-body, post-rock hinterland once more with their undeniably beautiful follow-up to last month's single release, Brennisteinn. Ísjaki will be the lead single from their forthcoming album, Kveikur, which is out on 17 June. And, to show they're not all about extracting money out of fans for atmospheric homeware, it will be available as a free download for all those who pre-order the 'collection'.
Charli XCX
Track: Various
Album: True Romance, Warner, Out Now
Look, it's grown on me, OK? Like a bubblegum-pink vine covered in decapitated Barbie dolls, metal spikes and old Backstreet Boys memorabilia. Charli XCX's (albeit second) debut album has come about at exactly the right time. She embodies the on-trend aesthetic of the 90s, the attitude of the revival genre of the moment, grunge, and the sound of now: quirky street-pop layered with spaced-out electro and littered with attitude-packed, teetering-on-the-edge-of-socially-acceptable expletive lyricism. Oh, and she's well into Tumblr, too. She'll be fine! Essentially, I applaud those in popular music who 1) Write their own songs, 2) Make them interesting and 3) Manage to carve a niche for themselves in the X-Factor-saturated commercial market. And Charli ticks all of those points. Download the album here and make up your own minds. And watch her You (Ha Ha Ha) video below, too.
Waxahatchee
Track: Brother Bryan
From: Cerulean Salt, Wichita, TBC Summer 2013
Brooklyn-born, gravel-voiced Waxahatchee emerged as one of the most talked-about stars of SXSW festival when it hit Austin, Texas like a tornado of sound and secret performances back in March. And, with her down-beat, minimalist sounds and soulful, lyrical whimsy, it's not hard to work out why every blog from her to Beirut was banging on about her. Luckily for us, she's not exclusive the US: having just signed with indie label Wichita, she's set to release her album Cerulean Salt in the UK sometime this summer.
Daniel Johnston
Track: Space Ducks
Album: Space Ducks, Out 29 May 2013
WHAT. THE ACTUAL... Just press play. You'll know what I mean. New album's out Monday. It's Daniel Johnston's first record in a good four years (he was the guy behind the Hi, How Are You? record, the band T-shirt of which Kurt Cobain wore in this famous photograph). It is the soundtrack a 24-page, self-drawn comic called Space Ducks: An Infinite Comic Book of Musical Greatness. You'll either think it's the greatest thing you've ever seen/heard or the most irritating piece of music in the universe. Utterly polarising stuff. Personally, I freakin' love ducks. And space. So the combination of the two plus a concept album is a winner in my unashamedly geeky (comic) book.
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