ListenUp
Farewell to B.B. King, J*Davey’s new album and Jessie Ware’s beautiful cover of a pop hit in this week’s music
B.B. King: Guess Who (Live at Sing Sing Prison 1972)
The legendary B.B. King passed away yesterday and his heart-rending blues will be truly missed. Regarded as one of the world’s most significant guitarists, King leaves a career that spanned decades: beginning to record professionally in 1949 at 24 years old and continuing to tour extensively in his 70s. On Thanksgiving in 1972, King visited New York’s maximum security Sing Sing prison, where he sang “Guess Who” to the inmates—some who likely were being introduced to the blues for the first time—and delivered a most sincere and beautiful performance.
Tanlines: Pieces
The humorous Brooklyn synth-pop duo Tanlines don’t disappoint with their latest music video, which they decided to debut on Funnyordie.com. The downtempo but grooving “Pieces” follows Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm as they pick up two cute girls but lose it all in a tough game of two-on-two basketball. Tanlines’ new album Highlights—if you didn’t catch the preview stream via a conference call (another one of their out-of-the-box promo moves)—is out 19 May 2015.
Sylvan Esso: H.S.K.T. (Hercules & Love Affair Bleeps and Vox Mix)
To celebrate the one year anniversary of their debut album, Durham, NC-based duo Sylvan Esso share a new tasteful remix of their song “H.S.K.T.” (short for “head, shoulders, knees and toes”) by regular collaborators Hercules & Love Affair. This Bleeps and Vox Mix is a minimalist but bass-y dance floor grinder guided by Amelia Meath’s light voice—with lyrics inspired by Miley Cyrus and realization.
J*Davey: Strong Anticipation
LA-based duo J*Davey—vocalist Jack Davey (aka Briana Cartwright) and keyboardist Brook D’Leau—have made their latest EP POMP available to stream in its entirety on NPR. Like the pair’s previous releases, it seamlessly blends pop with R&B, electro, hip-hop and even new wave. The lead single (our pick) “Strong Anticipation” is—in true J*Davey style—lush, sexy and entirely addictive.
Jessie Ware: Jealous (Nick Jonas Cover)
As part of her performance for BBC Radio 1’s Academy in Norwich, English singer and songwriter Jessie Ware covered Nick Jonas’ “Jealous” in a sultry, smooth and slightly pared-down manner. Ware makes the song very much her own but maintains the groove of the original—which is an example of perfect pop—while adding a little extra emotional distress as contrast to the jazzy overtones.
ListenUp is a Cool Hunting series published every Sunday that rounds up the music we tweeted throughout the week, also found in Listen. Hear the year so far via Cool Hunting Spotify.
