With a few precious weeks to go before Labour Day, we have to jam in as much summer music as we can with the Five Songs You Must Hear list. Anything here that causes you to reach for the volume knob?
1. Eddie Vedder, Save It for Later
Single (Seattle Surf/Republic)
RIYL: Ska covers
Eddie has covered my all-time favourite English Beat song, which first appeared in 1982. You might have heard it during an episode from season three of The Bear. It’s stripped down and a little more sedate than the original, but it still makes you want to move. And for the first time, you might be able to pick up on all the lyrics. This is how you take an old song and give it new life.
2. Serj Tankian, Justice Will Shine On
Foundations EP (Gibson Records)
Recommended If You Like: System of a Down, obviously.
Serj is quite the guy: film producer, visual artist, poet, activist, and author as well as singer and songwriter. One thing he doesn’t seem to be interested in anymore is being the frontman of System of a Down. The last record, Hypnotize, was released on November 22, 2005, so I wouldn’t hold much hope for anything new. Best make due with Serj’s latest project.
3. Cults, Hung the Moon
To the Ghosts (Imperial)
RIYL: Pandemic records. They’re still coming.
There was a time in the 2010s when this NYC indie duo looked like it was only a matter of time before they had a major mainstream breakthrough on the level of, say the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or maybe even The Strokes. That, however, never quite happened. But now that they’ve returned with their first album in four years, it’s time for fans to be optimistic once again. This record, their sixth, was largely conceived during the pandemic.
4. Bastille, & (Ampersand), Part 1
& (Ampersand), Part 1
RIYL: Concept records
Dan Smith’s band—sellers of over 10 million albums worldwide—is back with their fifth album, grabbing the “&” symbol for an album before Ed Sheeran decided to take it. This is a sprawling project which will be released in four parts, designed to be a a “collection of story songs that intertwine the lives and wide worlds of startling women and men.” The full set will be out on October 25.
Listen here.
5. Peck and Beck, Death Valley High
Stampede Duets (Warner)
RIYL: Duets, obviously
Orville Peck is primarily known as a country artist. Beck is the kind of musician that will try anything. The two of them appear on this single from Peck’s upcoming record of duets on August 2. Who else is on the album? Kylie Minogue, Margo Price, and Diplo, to name a few.
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