Listen Up
An emotional music video, a Califone cover and more new music this week
Sylvan Esso feat. Collections of Colonies of Bees: Funeral Singers (Califone Cover)
This cover of experimental folk-rock band Califone‘s “Funeral Singers” (from 2009’s All My Friends Are Funeral Singers) by Sylvan Esso and Collections of Colonies of Bees sublimely blends all three outfits’ distinct styles. The tune fuses moody electro-pop and indie rock, beginning with Amelia Meath’s gorgeous, familiar vocals—which are then layered with more and more voices. The song builds rhythmically and eerily, ultimately creating an emotional three-minute journey.
Omar Apollo: Erase
20-year-old Omar Apollo, fresh off a US tour, offers “Erase”—a supernatural, wavy tune inflected with soul and R&B. As the song bounces along, Apollo can be seen, in the accompanying music video, scooping up empty liquor bottles and recalling scenes from the night before. “I still think about the time I spent just trying to grow with you,” he sings. Maturity meets youthful habits in this one, and it’s clear that his next releases—succeeding his EP, Stereo, from earlier this year—will show signs of growth.
Metric: Now Or Never Now
The third release from Metric‘s forthcoming album, “Now or Never Now” delivers bright guitar melodies for more than six danceable minutes. It’s big, bold and beautiful—with lead singer Emily Haines’ vocals very much a call to action. The band has been playing the track live for some time now but the studio version is a true taste of what we can expect from their first effort with outside producer, Justin Meldal-Johnsen.
The Blaze: Queens
“Queens” is the latest single—and movie-like music video—from French electronic duo The Blaze. Cousins Jonathan and Guillaume Alric comprise the band’s entire creative team—helming everything from lyrics to production to music video direction. The song is a bellowing, haunting combination of dark house music and electronic stadium anthem. And the accompanying video is a harrowing tale of human experience told through a candlelit memorial, tormented love and a fringe youth existence. “Queens” is the latest of a handful of singles that will appear on the pair’s debut album, Dancehall, out 7 September on Animal63.
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.
