Listen Up
Contemporary classical, disco remixes, spooky tunes and more new music
Chromatics: You’re No Good
With neon-saturated, Dario Argento-like visuals, the Chromatics return with a titivating video for “You’re No Good,” the first visual treatment from their seventh studio album Closer to Grey. Referencing the giallo genre, the Johnny Jewel-directed video features the band caught in a glimmering magenta haze with the unexpected and even macabre never far away. The LP is the band’s first official complete release in seven years, and coincides with a European tour.
Keaton Henson + The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra: Initium
Straying from the typical folk releases fans have come to expect from him, Keaton Henson taps The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for the first “movement” from his classical album Six Lethargies. It’s Henson’s first release since 2016, shortly after halting his tour circuit—citing a sense of overwhelming anxiety when performing. “Initium,” as Henson explains, is a “perfect expressionistic representation of a human’s desperate attempt to stay afloat and breathe among the chaos.” The orchestra performs the nine-minute arrangement while Mark Knoop conducts and a one-take scene of rolling ocean waves unfolds. It’s delicate, elegant, haunting and masterful all at once and marks the beginning of the six-part project set to be released via Mercury KX.
Kim Petras: Massacre
Incorporating a prequel-like extension to last year’s celebrated eight-track EP Turn Off The Light, Vol. 1, Kim Petras’ new 18-track LP Turn Off The Light is meant to “tell the whole damn story,” according to the pop singer. Spooky from start to finish, the album may be one of the only out there to look to Halloween, horror, the supernatural, demonic and campy for inspiration—and succeed. Standout track “Massacre” actually subverts the classic “Carol of the Bells” melody into something eerie, but dance floor ready. Petras will tour her debut full-length album, 2019’s Clarity, this fall.
Electric Guest: More (Franc Moody Remix)
With the original version to appear on the forthcoming album KIN by Electric Guest (aka Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton), this version of “More” is remixed by music collective Franc Moody (London-based Ned Franc and Jon Moody). The original is softer, more R&B- and pop-inflected, while this iteration boasts a disco beat, and crescendoes with a funky breakdown. Taccone’s vocals are afforded new energy in this version and it breathes new life into the tune.
The Japanese House: Something Has to Change
The Japanese House’s newest release “Something Has to Change” delivers those same four words over and over, seemingly to convince listeners and perhaps singer Amber Bain herself. Backed by an upbeat instrumental, the song is a dreamy chill-pop tune from Bain and her band—who appear for the first time together in the music video directed by photographer Nadira Amrani. The track will appear on The Japanese House’s forthcoming EP of the same title, due out in November.
Listen Up is published every Sunday and rounds up the new music we found throughout the week. Hear the year so far on our Spotify channel.
