Mavis Staples: If All I Was Was Black

The title track from Mavis Staples’ forthcoming album (out 17 November), “If All I Was Was Black” confronts not only racism the singer faced in her eight decades of performing, but also the violence she witnesses today in racial conflict. Written in collaboration with longtime friend and Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, the track (and the album’s other songs) aims to “bring us all together as …

Sure Sure: Hands Up Head Down

LA-based band Sure Sure (aka Chris Beachy, Kevin Farzad, Charlie Glick and Michael Coleman) return with a super-catchy tune “Hands Up Head Down.” A falsetto, staccato hook and an undeniable bop unite for electro-pop perfection. The lyrics explain a dance move for the anxious—as the title suggests—and the song will surely have a video to match in time. The band performs at Silverlake’s Satellite this …

Bibio: Phantom Brickworks III (Edit)

With a soundscape that acts as a bridge to another world, English experimental electronic producer Bibio’s “Phantom Brickworks III (Edit)” is an assemblage of mostly improvised musical pieces imagined throughout the years. The minimal, atmospheric track glides forward on delicate, sometimes odd, sounds under the guidance of a piano. Bibio also directed, shot and edited the brand new video, featuring calming autumnal sequences.