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New Releases

Pictoria Vark Releases Cathartic Single "Good For"

All proceeds from song sales on Bandcamp will go to relief efforts run by the Baltimore IWOC.

Indie rocker Pictoria Vark has released a new single called "Good For."

It's a song that feels like a cry into the darkness, making it a perfect fit for lonely, quiet, quarantined nights. Layering gentle, searing guitar over a rousing bassline, it's both a breath of fresh air and a smoky cloud of existential questions. Though folkier than some of Vark's past work, it's also a study in contrasts. The music alternates between growling bursts of emotion and more languid, relaxed choruses all while switching time signatures seamlessly.

According to Vark, the song is a testimony to both trauma and healing. "'Good For' is about a difficult moment I experienced when I was 16," she said. "As awful as the event was itself, the worst part was being dropped by friends who I had hoped would be there for me. But it feels relieving to have made peace with the pain in writing this song, turning it into something almost unrecognizable."

The song was written in early 2019, and like most of what Vark writes, it was first sketched on bass and then pieced together in the studio. "Unlike my last EP which used more lofi recording techniques, we recorded in a studio on Staten Island with a friend of ours, Rain Johannes, who did a really fantastic job engineering," said Vark. "We tracked everything in one day; I've been playing music with Jason Ross and Gavin Caine on drums and keys for nearly a decade, which has made our musical chemistry really strong."

Vark is a trained bass guitarist and has been touring and recording since she was 17. The solo project that is Pictoria Vark was conceptualized around 2018. "I've been lucky enough to embark on some solo DIY tours in various parts of the country," said Vark. "I've opened for bands including Half Gringa, Camp Cope, and Thin Lipz and can't wait to get back to playing live soon."

She also plays bass for the band Squirrel Flower, and has opened for Big Thief, Julien Baker, and Sasami, among other indie giants. The band was just about to embark on a tour before the COVID-19 crisis hit. Now, Vark is back at home like most of the rest of us. "I'm lucky to have a place to stay and food to eat. I think the uncertainty of everything has made it difficult to make it through each day, but I'm doing my best to find hope in collectivity," she said. In an effort to lend a hand, all proceeds from Bandcamp sales will be donated to the Baltimore IWOC's relief efforts.

Fortunately, we also have music to get us through these times. From helping us to make peace with things that happened when we were teens to buoying us as we struggle through a pandemic, music is always there. "Good For"—along with Vark's excellent EP, Self-Titled—show that she's poised for indie rock greatness. But it's also the kind of music that feels potent when listened to in solitude, in the middle of the night, looking for the sound of someone aching just like you ache, and finding catharsis in that bittersweet connection.

Follow Pictoria on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, and Bandcamp.

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MUSIC

All the Lyrics on Big Thief's U.F.O.F.

Adrienne Lenker's lyrics are the sort that need to be read, reread, painted on your bedroom wall, tattooed on your forehead, and read again before you even begin to take in their full majesty.

Big Thief - UFOF

via youtube.com

Big Thief's sophomore release, Capacity, was a virtuosic album that spun family traumas into quiet, mystical hymns.

Their newest release, U.F.O.F., builds on that formula, winding complex melodies into cohesive, restrained folk songs to create music that sounds much more simple than it is.

While Capacity sulked in the shadows of the past, U.F.O.F. leaves that decayed house of memory walks out into the summer air, and turns its eyes to the sky. Its lyrics explore death, terminal illness, and the desire to escape or transcend the limits of human life and consciousness. Ultimately, the album is about the vast, unknowable things that flicker on the edges of ordinary reality and promise the existence of something beyond.

In some ways, U.F.O.F. seems like it's meant to be listened to in complete silence, perhaps played out on staticky speakers in an abandoned lakeside mansion. Pensive, abstract, and full of longing, it almost seems like a living thing, ready to be peeled apart, mulled over, and shaped to fit each listener's experiences. Though some of its earlier songs are jagged and abstract, the music in grows more and more powerful and pleasing to the ear as the album progresses.

One highlight is "Terminal Paradise," a song that starts softly but builds up to a rustle of bell-like tones and jingling guitar patterns. The track feels somewhat like the stirrings of an early autumn wind, the scent of impending rain, or the breathless feeling of a plane taking off. "Jenni" is a powerful follow-up, a tangle of screaming guitar tones and slow drum beats.

The album's final track, "Magic Dealer," winds everything together. "I am the photograph in you, still as the moment we're lying in right now," whispers the band's lead singer, Adrienne Lenker. That lyric could encapsulate all of U.F.O.F., which, for all its winding rhythms and secret passageways, never feels rushed or urgent. Instead, it feels sort of like lying in someone's arms and ignoring the entire world, feeling the persistent chill of an impending ending, trying to hold onto a moment as it rushes away.

Despite the beauty of its music, the album is truly remarkable because of the quality of its lyrics. Lenker shines more lyrically than vocally on U.F.O.F. She has an uncanny talent for putting breathtaking words in strategic places—a silkworm here, you have wings of gold/you will never grow old there, a crystal between quotidian descriptions of suburban nights. In her ability to make pure poetry sound effortless and genuine, Lenker may be one of the closest lyricists to Leonard Cohen that we have today.

Despite their beauty, the lyrics are sometimes inaudible, at times so wispy that even quiet guitar plucking buries them. Perhaps that's on purpose—maybe this album is more about the music, especially since Lenker's solo album, abysskiss, allowed her words to take center stage. Maybe it was meant to be this way, designed so only certain phrases make it out of the fray, so fragments of poetry appear like lamplights on a misty road.

Though sometimes the lyrics are unintelligible, they are so heart-stoppingly gorgeous that it would be a shame for them to go unnoticed. So, without further ado, here are the lyrics to every song on U.F.O.F. (with my personal favorites in bold).

Contact

[Verse 1]

Jodi
Please turn the pages for me
You seem so free
You know I'm barely, barely

[Verse 2]
Wrap me in silk
I want to drink your milk
You hold the key
You know I'm barely, barely

[Verse 3]
Parker Lake Beach
All of the sunnys swimming
I wanna see
To feel my body sinking, sinking

[Verse 4]
She gives me gills
Helps me forgive the pills
She makes me sing
She is both dreamer and dream
And dream, and dream, and dream


UFOF

Big Thief - UFOF (Official Audio)www.youtube.com


[Verse 1]
To my UFO friend
Goodbye, goodbye
Like a seed in the wind
She's taking up root in the sky
See her flickering
Her system won't even try
To defend and ripen
In the radio action

[Chorus]
She'll never return again
Polarize, polarize
The seasons will bend
There will soon be proof
That there is no alien
Just a system of truth and lies
The reason, the language
And the law of attraction

[Verse 2]
Just like a bad dream
You'll disappear
Another map turns blue
Mirror on mirror
And I imagine you
Taking me outta here
To deepen our love
It isn't even a fraction

[Chorus]
Switch to another lens
The last sunlight
I don't need any other friends
The best kiss I ever had is the flickering
Of the water so clear and bright
To leap in, my skin
And I could feel the reaction

[Chorus}
Just like a bad dream
You'll disappear
Another map turns blue
Mirror on mirror
And I imagine you
Taking me outta here
To deepen our love
It isn't even a fraction


Cattails

Big Thief - Cattails (Official Audio)www.youtube.com

[Verse 1]

And the clusters fell like an empty bell
Meteor shower at the motel
Where the empty space is a saving grace
Making good time and doing well
Still the question sings like Saturn's rings
Maybe she knows and she won't tell

Caroline, Caroline
I never could leave you to struggle
Hold the line, hold the line
I'll be there on the double
In time, in time
Everyone does see trouble

[Chorus]
And you don't need to know why when you cry
You don't need to know why
You don't need to know why when you cry

[Verse 2]
Violet's eyes, Violet plays
Going back home to the Great Lakes
Where the cattail sways
With the lonesome loon
Riding that train in late June

[Chorus]
With the windows wide by my side
With the windows wide
With the windows wide by my side

[Verse 3]
And the clusters fell like an empty bell
Meteor shower at the motel
Where the empty space is a saving grace
Making good time and doing well
Still the question sings like Saturn's rings
Maybe she knows and she won't tell

[Chorus]
But you don't need to know why when you cry
You don't need to know why
You don't need to know why when you cry

[Verse 4]
And I find you there in your country flair
Middle of the river in a lawn chair
With your wrinkled hands and your silver hair
Leaving here soon and you know where
To where the cattail sways with the lonesome loon
You'll be riding that train in late June

[Chorus]
With the windows wide by your side
With the windows wide
With the windows wide by your side
You don't need to know why
You don't need to know why when you cry


Open Desert


[Verse 1]
Vacant angel, crimson light
Darkened eyelash, darkened eye
The white light of the living room
Leaking through the crack in the door
There was never need for more
Things we're meant to understand

Crawling closer to your hand

[Chorus]
To the poison image
Brave surrender
Kiss the water

[Verse 2]
After all my teeth are gone
After all the blood is drawn
The white light of the waiting room
Leaking through the crack in the door

[Chorus]
Through the poison image
Brave surrender
Kiss the water

[Outro]
Through the mirror, mountain view
She has one green, one eye blue
I can see her smiling through
The white light of the living room
Leaking through the crack in the door
The white light of the living room
Leaking through the crack in the door
There was never need for more
Things we're meant to understand


Orange


[Verse 1]

Orange is the color of my love
Fragile orange wind in the garden
Fragile means that I can hear her flesh
Crying little rivers in her forearm
Fragile is that I mourn her death
As our limbs are twisting in her bedroom

[Chorus]
Lies, lies, lies
Lies in her eyes
Lies, lies, lies
Lies in her eyes

[Verse 2]
She tells me to close and count to ten
As she wanders freely through the forest
Can I close and open once again?
The question that I seek for reassurance
[Chorus]
Lies, lies, lies
Lies in her eyes
Lies, lies, lies
Lies in her eyes

[Verse 3]
Hound dogs crowing at the stars above
Pigeons fall like snowflakes at the border
She kneels down and holds the frozen dove
Moon drips like water from her shoulder

[Chorus]
Flies, flies, flies
Flies from her eyes
Flies, flies, flies
Flies from her eyes

[Outro]
Orange is the color of my love
Fragile orange wind in the garden
Fragile means that I can hear her flesh
Crying little rivers in her forearm
Fragile is that I mourn her death
As our limbs are twisting in her bedroom


Century

Big Thief - Century (Official Audio)www.youtube.com

[Verse 1]
Dogs eyes in the headlights of the driveway
Cool autumn rain
Bugs died on your windshield on the freeway
Wonder if you'll be the same
Centuries flower

[Chorus]
And we have the same power
We have the same power
We have the same power
We have the same power

[Verse 2]
Moth flies in the window of the kitchen
You hang up your coat
Cold lips and gold eyes listen
There's something that I want you to know
Turn on the shower

[Chorus]
'Cause we have the same power
We have the same power
We have the same power
We have the same power

[Verse 3]
No resolution, no circling dove
Still caught in the jaw of confusion
Don't know what I'd do for love
But stay another hour

[Chorus]
'Cause we have the same power
We have the same power
We have the same power
We have the same power


Strange


[Verse 1]

Doesn't it seem strange
Searching for a hidden page
The fairy's cage
Coming of true age
Leave the costume on the stage
The silkworm's rage
Iridescent thread, beautiful and dead
Billions of worms were boiled to make the bed

[Chorus]
Strange, see the luna moth cry
Lime green tears through the fruit bat's eyes

[Verse 2]
Scatter and destroy
Every power you enjoy
To lay with the void
Twirling of the dime, splitting of the mind
Drawing constellations 'til the stars align

[Chorus]
Strange, see the luna moth cry (Cry)
Lime green tears through the fruit bat's eyes (Eyes)

[Outro]
You have wings of gold
You will never grow old
And turquoise lungs
You have never been young
You have wings of gold
You will never grow old
And turquoise lungs
You have never been young
The silkworm's rage
Iridescent thread, beautiful and dead
Billions of worms were boiled to make the bed
Strange, see the luna moth cry
Lime green tears through the fruit bat's eyes


terminal paradise


[Verse 1]
Driving through the night
Rings of crystal, crystal light
Every gulp of the warm suburb air
Betsy's auburn, auburn hair
[Refrain]

Ooh, ooh

[Verse 2]
Drive into New York with me
How she keeps me calm
Street lights, boys and poison palms

[Refrain]
Ooh, ooh

[Bridge]
Drive into New York with me
Big lights in the city
[Refrain]
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh

See my death become a trail
And the trail leads to a flower
I will blossom in your sail
Every dreamed and waking hour


Jenni


[Verse 1]
Too hot to breathe
Too hot to breathe

Too hot to breathe

[Chorus]
Jenni's in my room
Jenni's in my room
Jenni's in my room

[Verse 2]
Her skin so bare
The fragrant air
Her vacant eye

[Chorus]
Jenni's in my room
Jenni's in my room
Jenni's in my room

[Verse 3]
The signal swarms
The portal forms
She calls me through

[Chorus]
Jenni's in my room
Jenni's in my room
Jenni's in my room


Magic Dealer

[Verse 1]

Starve, magic mirror
I thought the crumbs of your life wouldn't dry
It hurts to see clearer

Falling like needles, the passage of time

[Chorus]
Would it hurt, would it hurt to be nearer?
Heaven is stitching across me
My chest is the crossing
The blood is parting all the time, but I don't mind

[Verse 2]
Carve magic dealer
Bring me the company I couldn't buy
As I go cleaner
Falling like needles, the passage of time

[Chorus]
Would it help, would it help to go deeper?
I am the photograph in you
The photograph in you
Still as the moment we're lying in right now
Starve, magic mirror
I thought the crumbs of your life wouldn't dry
It hurts to see clearer
Falling like needles, the passage of time

Eden Arielle Gordon is a writer and musician from New York. Follow her on Twitter @edenarielmusic.

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New Releases From Shawn Mendes, Vampire Weekend and More

New singles from Kim Petras, Lauv, Shawn Mendes, The National, Faye Webster. Plus, new releases from Still Woozy, ALASKALASKA, and Big Thief!

Music

Photo by Simon Noh on Unsplash

May is a month known for celebrating workers' rights, cherry blossoms, and new music.

This week brought new singles from the likes of Kim Petras, Shawn Mendes, Lauv, The National, and Faye Webster; debut releases from Still Woozy and ALASKALASKA, and the long-awaited albums of YG, Big Thief, and Vampire Weekend.

Singles

1. Kim Petras — "Got My Number"

Pop savior Kim Petras has blessed us with a new, boppy single called "Got My Number." It's a definite upward mood swing from last week's confessional breakup cut "Broken." On "Got My Number," Petras sings of moving on (and the debauchery that might accompany that) over a glossy beat: "Don't wanna be a good girl tonight / I just wanna be a bad girl alright."

2. Lauv — "Drugs & The Internet"

Lauv is back with a bittersweet new single called "Drugs & the Internet" accompanied by a surrealist video. The "I Like Me Better" singer explores technology-induced-depression in a track that starts off as a piano ballad but soon evolves into something much bouncier. "And I don't wanna hit delete/ On all the parts of me that they might hate/ So now I'm laying in my bed/ And I can't get out my head."

3. Shawn Mendes — "If I Can't Have You"

Shawn Mendes announced on Instagram that he would be dropping a surprise single this week called "If I Can't Have You." The teaser image features a rainbow-sherbert swirl of water-color tones coming together to form a silhouette of the singer's head.

Shawn Mendes - If I Can't Have Youwww.youtube.com

4. The National — "Hairpin Turns"

Gearing up to release their forthcoming album, I Am Easy To Find, The National shared a lovely new single this week called "Hairpin Turns." The full album is due out May 17th on 4AD records.


5. Faye Webster — "Right Side Of My Neck"

Faye Webster put out a daydream of a new song called "Right Side of My Neck," that sounds like how having butterflies on a first date feels. The Atlanta-based songwriter's forthcoming album, Atlanta Millionaires Club, is due out May 24th via Secretly Canadian.

EPs

6. Still Woozy — Lately EP

Still Woozy, the project of Sven Gamsky, is putting out his anticipated EP, Lately. Based out of Oakland, Still Woozy puts an R&B spin on the laidback, wavy synths and geometric textures that have come to be associated with the nebulous 'bedroom pop' genre. This self-released EP is the long-awaited showcase of Still Woozy's immense talent, and it does not disappoint.


LPs

7. ALASKALASKA — The Dots

The South London-based group have crystallized their idiosyncratic, freeform sound into an excellent debut album called The Dots, which melds together experimental pop and jazz.


8. Big Thief — U.F.O.F

Big Thief continues to prove themselves as one of the most skilled folk bands in the game on their new album, U.F.O.F., out today on 4AD. On the new record, the indie-folk four-piece gazes through the lens of the supernatural, while grounding their spectral songs in lived experiences, creating a sound that's as haunted and airy as it is immaculately constructed. It feels special to be alive at the same time that Big Thief is putting out music.


9. YG — 4REAL 4REAL

The Compton rap heavyweight delayed the release of his album after the passing of his close friend Nipsey Hussle. YG's last album entitled Stay Dangerous came out in 2018. This year at Coachella, YG unveiled a new single called "Stop Snitchin'" and today his full-length is here in all of its glory. On 4REAL 4REAL, YG doesn't hold back as he flexes his gift for dexterous, melodic rap.

10. Vampire Weekend — Father of the Bride

Vampire Weekend's Father of the Bride is finally here! After months of anticipation and cryptic clues, the new 18-track record is being hailed by some as Vampire Weekend's magnum opus. It's a definite shift in direction from 2013's Modern Vampires of The City. Fans are not just clocking it as Dad Rock because of Ezra's newfound fatherhood, though that definitely might have something to do with the band's change of tone. As the singles have indicated, their new sound sinks into jammier, even deadhead-esque territory. Underneath it all, FOTB is still quintessential VW — packed with dense, heady references and irresistible, evergreen choruses. Although the album art might not be the best they've ever had, it's safe to say this new LP exceeds all expectations and solidifies Vampire Weekend as one of the most important and influential indie rock bands of our generation.

Sara is a music and culture writer. Her work has previously appeared in PAPER magazine and Stereogum.

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Release Radar: 10 Hidden Gems For Spring

New music from DEHD, Porridge Radio, Barrie, Big Thief, Emily Reo, Bad Bad Hats, Caural, Fennesz, Kiwi jr., and Laura Stevenson!

Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash

Spring is here, our windows are open, and there's a ton of great new music out! With the last of the cold hopefully filtering out for good, it's time to welcome the warmer weather with 10 new releases that you may not have heard yet but definitely should check out.

Singles

DEHD - "On My Side"

Chicago indie rock trio, DEHD, are back with a new single from their forthcoming debut album Water. "On My Side" chugs forward with rugged guitar riffs punctuated by warbling vocals. It sounds a lot like the way it feels to be driving steadily on a long road trip, which suits their golden-hour-lit music video for the song that they shot on their way back from SXSW on a gravelly patch of highway.

Water is out 5/10 via Fire Talk.

Porridge Radio - "Give/Take"

Porridge Radio initially started off as Dana Margolin's bedroom project but later bloomed into a full 4-piece band. The Brighton-based group's driving, new single "Give/Take" looks at the ever-shifting emotional landscape of desire and the song highlights the band's fully-fleshed out sound on this bass-heavy track. Margolin's rich vocal delivery floats over new wave synths as a heavy bass-line helps push the track forward; "Give/Take" sounds like it could fit right in on the 4AD catalog. This is their first release since 2016's debut LP, Rice, Pasta and Other Fillers.

"Give/Take" is out now via Memorials of Distinction.

Barrie - "Saturated"

Dream-pop five-piece Barrie continues to throw a fresh spin on retro synth-pop sounds with their new song "Saturated" off their highly anticipated debut Happy To Be Here. Earlier this year, they put out singles "Darjeeling" and "Clovers." This time around, Barrie looks inward and taps into their feelings on "Saturated," a stripped-down track that shimmers in a cool-toned glow.

Happy To Be Here is out 5/3 via Winspear.

Big Thief - "Cattails"

Listening to Big Thief's folksy new track is like feeling the first warm breeze of the season. In February, the indie rock four-piece put out "UFOF," the title track from their upcoming album. On their new song, "Cattails," Adrianne Lenker's soft, spiderwebby vocals sway over acoustic fingerpicking––the result is expectedly gorgeous and mellow.

U.F.O.F. is out 5/3 via 4AD.

Emily Reo - "Balloon"

Emily Reo's new single "Balloon" off of her forthcoming album Only You Can See It, is a bubbly exploration of technicolored electronica and bright, poppy hooks. Reo's voice, layered and modulated, dazzles over a series of intricate, shifting rhythms. Aptly titled, the song soars higher and higher as it goes along––like a drifting balloon. Only You Can See It is streaming in full over at NPR.

Only You Can See It is out 4/12 via Carpark.

EPs

Bad Bad Hats - Wide Right

Bad Bad Hats' indie-rock stays consistently infectious on their newest EP, Wide Right. It's made up of three songs: "Liz Phair," "Dunno Why," and a title track. Last year, they put out a folksy indie-pop album called Lightning Round. With sporadic hand claps, shredding guitar solos, and relatable lyrics, their new EP is just as hard-hitting as ever.

Wide Right is out now on Bandcamp.

Caural - Word is Bond (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

This soundtrack is the first new work from vet beat-maker Caural (real name Zachary Mastoon) in nearly ten years. Over six tracks, Caural creates a sonic collage out of bits and pieces of experimental beats, hip-hop samples, and fragments of jazz. The soundtrack was written for "Word is Bond," the debut film from Alex Mastoon (Caural's wife) that explores the LGBTQ experience in hip-hop.

Word is Bond (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is out now on Bandcamp.

LPs

Fennesz - Agora

Austrian electronic musician, Christian Fennesz, recorded his latest offering Agora in his apartment with just headphones and a computer. Fennesz' deeply ambient, experimental album is made up 4 tracks that are each between 10-12 minutes long. Listening to Agora is an exercise of meditation among swaths of distortion. It's truly an ineffable listening experience.

Agora is out now via Touch on CD and DL. You can listen to a medley of all four songs called "Umbrella" on Fennesz' bandcamp.

Kiwi jr. - Football Money

After signing to Mint Records, Kiwi jr. have put out their seriously great debut full-length, Football Money. Over ten energetic tracks, Frontman Jeremy Gaudet delivers his vocals in a Stephen Malkmus deadpan as he tackles the anxiety and ennui of living in a city (Toronto). Filled with catchy hooks, jangly guitars, and twangy riffs, Football Money tempers the lackadaisical sound of '90 slacker rock with the terse, chaotic energy of a band like Parquet Courts. Football Money showcases Kiwi jr.'s sharp songwriting skills and their ability to hit the sweet spot between earnest and sardonic lyrics. Their debut crystallizes the band's years of playing around the Toronto music scene into ten tight tracks, leaving just enough space for the band to goof off and not take themselves too seriously.

Football Money is out now via Mint Records.

Laura Stevenson - The Big Freeze

The Big Freeze is Laura Stevenson's fifth solo record, and it shows off the singer's fully realized sound. Quiet, minimal, and intricately arranged, the new record's measured pace allows Stevenson's control over her celestial voice and guitar to shine extra bright. As gorgeous as the songs appear to sound on the surface, the record as a whole explores the difficulties surrounding loneliness, depression, and self-harm. As the album resolves, it brings a real sense of catharsis. It's a healing album that delves into painful topics but instead of alienating the listener, The Big Freeze welcomes you into Stevenson's vulnerable world with open arms and soft tones.

The Big Freeze is out now via Don Giovanni Records.Bio

<hr color="red">

Sara is a music and culture writer who lives in Brooklyn. Her work has previously appeared in PAPER magazine and Stereogum.

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Scared of the Future? These Five Brand-New Songs Will Make It All Go Away

Here's some of the best new music out this week—featuring apocalyptic dance parties, aliens, love, and New York City, they're sure to ease your anxiety about impending doom.

It's March, which means that we all need great music to get us through these last stretches of winter. And the earth is dying, so we also need songs to help us deal with that. Here are five new tracks released in the last week or so, each presenting a sonic escape from these uncertain times.

  1. Johnny Marr — Armatopia

With "Armatopia," the ex-Smiths songwriter and guitarist has created a new genre—which he calls "eco-disco," aka songs meant for dancing in the face of ecological destruction. "Armatopia," with its wailing anthemic synths, is upbeat enough to get you smiling and swaying on even the most delayed subway ride. Its lyrics, however, are filled with panic about the earth's destruction. The video leans into this theme, featuring a bunch of depressed misfits leaving the isolation of their technology-consumed lives and finding love and communion at a dance party.

Johnny Marr - Armatopia (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com

"Johnny and I wanted to work with the idea that even when the future of a person seems bleak and uncertain, they can still choose to pursue pleasure and self-indulgence," said the video's director, Kris Rimmer. "We chose the derelict tower block to contrast their eccentricities and followed them on a journey to 'the last place on earth left open. There seems to be something quite significant about finding romance in the last days of existence." Gospel for the modern era, indeed.

2. Big Thief — UFOF

The Brooklyn quartet, fronted by Adrienne Lenker—who is possibly the closest thing we've got to Leonard Cohen today—takes on aliens with their new single, off their forthcoming album of the same title. It's an interesting choice of subject matter, as Big Thief's last album, Capacity, was a decidedly earthbound journey through family memories and trauma. UFOF pits Lenker's whispered voice-over layers of plucked guitar, telling the story of an alien friend who appears, only to leave "like a seed in the wind / taking up root in the sky." Lenker continues, "The seasons will bend / there will soon be proof / that there is no alien / just a system of truth and lies / the reason, the language / and the law of attraction." Despite its extraterrestrial overtones, it's an intricate reflection on life on earth.

Big Thief - UFOF (Official Audio)www.youtube.com

3. The Tallest Man on Earth — The Running Styles of New York

Kristian Matsson is only five foot seven, but he's made a name for himself as The Tallest Man on Earth. His newest single, "The Running Styles of New York," pits his gravelly voiceover rhythmic strumming and glossy strings that rise and fall, creating a soundscape that would fit well with a dramatic departure at the end of a film, preferably involving a train, fields of corn, and a sunset. "We're moving on, into the days of our grace returning," he sings. By the end of this song you almost believe him.

The Tallest Man On Earth: "The Running Styles Of New York" | I Love You. It's A Fever Dream. [Audio]www.youtube.com

4. Lord Felix — Love Is Fleeting, I Promise

"Love Is Fleeting, I Promise" is an entrancing invitation to Lord Felix's debut album, In Bloom, Forever. Glossed over with reverb-soaked electric guitars set atop a slow-moving beat, this is a grainy, nostalgic dream of a song that marks the arrival of a promising new voice in emo-rap. Other highlights from the album include "Him" and "Spring / Summer '99," both songs that seem perfect for stoned recollections of hazy summers past.

Love Is Fleeting, I Promisewww.youtube.com

5. Helado Negro — Running / Pais Nublado

"Running" is a delicate, hypnotic fusion of jazz and R&B. Its running piano motif sweetens up Helado Negro's smooth, vicious voice, and it all winds together to create an expansive lullaby. The song is a promising taste of the artist's forthcoming new album; This Is How You Smile. The other new single, "Pais Nublado," is an evocative patchwork of such transportive beauty, it makes the whole world fall away.

Helado Negro - Runningwww.youtube.com

Eden Arielle Gordon is a writer and musician from New York City. Follow her on Twitter at @edenarielmusic.

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