Sufjan Stevens + Lowell Brams: The Runaround

Drawn from Sufjan Stevens’ forthcoming instrumental/new-age/ambient album, Aporia—made in collaboration with his stepfather and Asthmatic Kitty record label co-owner, Lowell Brams—”The Runaround” veers sharply from the artist’s more bombastic works (as well as his quietly devastating ones). Though Stevens’ (modified) voice appears toward the track’s end, the focus here is on the melody and its electronic power. Equally mesmerizing, the music video from abutta492 (aka …

Noga Erez feat. Reo Cragun + ROUSSO: Views

Tel Aviv-based musician Noga Erez may be speaking about her own industry when she drops the lines “People buy views / I know it’s old news / but I got bad news / for everybody” in her latest single, “VIEWS,” but the sentiment applies to self-promotion everywhere. Featuring LA hip-hop artist Reo Cragun, and frequent Erez collaborator ROUSSO, the track confronts over-saturation and does so …

Listen Up

Surf-rock, dance-pop, and funk-inflected tunes, as well as a few of our other favorite tracks this week

U.S. Girls: 4 American Dollars A playful tune about the perils of living in our money-driven society, “4 American Dollars” by U.S. Girls (aka Meghan Remy) features poignant lyrics about the inner workings of our economy and Remy’s bank balance: “In this world where they say: ‘It’s not personal, it’s business’ / Moving numbers from account to account / Keeping secrets in an offshore fount / My money is …