Katy B - "I Like You"
UK pop singer Katy B is expected to release her new EP, 5 AM, November 4th and has already shared the title track. "I Like You," the latest single from the record, was produced by George FitzGerald, known for his 90's house inspired work and features a straightforward, driving garage flavored beat. With dark synth sounds coupled with a confident delivery, the hook-heavy track has undeniably British club feel that is bound to tear up dancefloors.



 Mount Kimbie - "Made To Stray" (DJ Koze Remix)

The excellent new album from Mount Kimbie, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, has brought on a slew of remixes from names like Kyle Hall, Lee Gamble, and now Berlin's DJ Koze joins that list with a stunning reinterpretation of "Made To Stray." Like much of his 2013 LP, Amygdala, the track balances strange, almost psychedelic elements with precise rhythms that border on hypnotic. Stretching to over eight minutes, the blissful remix is as sonically adventurous as we've come to expect from the producer while retaining the warmth that make even his zaniest tracks a rewarding listen. 

 

Coma - "Les Dilettantes (Roosevelt Mix)" 
Electronic pop duo Coma debuted their LP, In Technicolor, on Kompakt. One of the more memorable cuts from the record, "Les Dilettantes," a free form, spacey take on post-punk. Cologne producer Roosevelt, known for his smooth disco work, offers a more straightforward, club-ready version of the track in this remix. Singer Edi Winarni's distant vocals sound confident in the context of the funk infused beat that brings to mind Todd Terje's 2012 disco jam "Inspector Norse."



Palms Trax - "Equation"
The title track from Berlin producer Palms Trax's Equation EP, out on October 7th, is a deep, melodic tune that evokes late 80's Detroit techno and classic Chicago house. Built around a strutting, playful synth line and thick stabs, the producer manages to pack as much energy into the analogue jam as you'll find in any contemporary dance tracks. The killer combination of hard hitting techno and smooth house makes this one a continually rewarding listen.



Mount Kimbie - "You Took Your Time (Kyle Hall Remix)"
Arguably the best track from Mount Kimbie's latest album, Cold Spring Fault Less Youth, the King Krule collab "You Took Your Time" has received the remix treatment from several producers including Lee Gamble, Oneman, and now Detroit producer Kyle Hall has given us his take. By stretching the track to nearly 8 minutes and cutting up the vocals, Hall brings out the inner club banger in the UK duo's work as his signature crunchy techno style is paired with house melodies and tense rhythms.



Disclosure feat. London Grammar - "Help Me Lose My Mind (Paul Woolford Remix)"
Settle, the incredible debut album from UK house duo Disclosure is full of strong pop infused dance tracks that have led to the young pair being favored to win this year's Mercury prize. One of the more memorable album cuts "Help Me Lose My Mind" features vocals from London Grammar's Hannah Reid over an r&b flavored beat. Producer Paul Woolford rework offers a piano-driven house take on the original, favoring thick bass stabs over the original's feathery synths. Heavy drums and a simple yet effective piano riff elevate Reid's vocals to anthem status. The single which features this remix as well as one by Pearson Sound is out October 28 via PMR.

Editor's note: If you missed any of yesterday's selections, you can check them out here.

Jon Krol

Album:  David Bowie - The Next Day

This pick should come as no surprise to those who know me. I pretty much worship at the altar of Bowie-anything, and, despite his relatively weak output in the nineties and early 2000's, looked forward to this album with hot anticipation. Let's just say I wasn't disappointed. The Next Day hearkened back to Bowie's bygone era, the Berlin Trilogy, which was arguably his strongest moment as a songwriter and creative provocateur. After his limelight faded a bit in the late seventies, Bowie moved to Berlin and released Heroes, Lodger, and Low, three criminally overlooked albums in the pantheon of rock history. During that time, Bowie experimented with soundscapes and angular post-rock. The end result was something rock had rarely seen, a truly unique exploration of the medium. Listening to The Next Day, I felt like Bowie was continuing this journey. The songs were undeniably rock-oriented with pop hooks and guitar crunch for days. They were something more though. Vibe and attitude as only Bowie can pull off, the songs were interesting, and they felt fresh and new. After ten years off, it was as if Bowie re-discovered that inner spirit. Still exploring, in search of that perfect pop song, Bowie pushed himself and the end result was an album that ranks amongst his very finest.




Jeannette Chin

Album:  Mount Kimbie - Cold Spring Faultless Youth

When asked about their second album, Cold Spring Faultless Youth, the newly signed to Warp duo, Mount Kimbie, reported that unlike their first album, the music was largely inspired by elements of live performance, the approach towards songwriting being stimulated by being on tour for months on end without interruption. This difference in approach is easily traceable for Mount Kimbie fans upon listening to Cold Spring Faultless Youth. Brought to the forefront are melodies driven by electric guitars and synthesizers, rhythms that compel listeners to bob their head, and, perhaps the most surprising, the unrestrained use of vocals. That's right, in this album, the duo take turns singing discernible lyrics to discernible melodies. Two of the songs ("You Took Your Time" and "Meter, Pale, Tone") even feature the vocal magic of their music peer, King Krule. 

Despite having gravitated toward song-writing structures that some of us would lightly consider more "traditional," effectively stamped on each track is their unique signature, the sonic template of their style, whose appearance in 2009 had music critics speculating about the end of dub step. The duo was then listed among the list of artists leading what's left of it into a new era. Crackly textures, sudden transitions, idiosyncratic key signatures, scrambled drum patterns, and melodies that take multiple listenings to register, to fully coagulate inside our heads as listeners. It's all unmistakably packed in there. Moreover, their approach to vocals, to lyrics (with the aid of King Krule), is something that will be appreciated by those who pay homage to language considered to be poetry. Personally for me, out of any recent releases, it most closely resembles what I would imagine a Beat-Revival would sound like. Anyways, all this just scratches the surface of why, out of any album released this year, this one continues to be the most interesting for me to listen on repeat. Listen to it yourself and let me know what you think.



Song:  Kurt Vile - "Girl Called Alex"

For me and many others, Kurt Vile is a significant songwriter because he effectively portrays the voice of youthful indifference. A sort of vague, widespread ideological climate that can puncture a generation. In my mind, his music listens like a halo of apathy; fueled by nostalgia and as tender as it is reckless. It is also impressive, in more ways than one, you can't help but admire his handle on the guitar, his intuitive songwriting, but you're also impressed that he managed to pull himself out of bed to record it.  Overall, "Girl Called Alex" plays like a pure extract of everything Kurt Vile is good at, guitars that lull your head to the clouds, symphony moments, simple lyrics with bursts of rawness, and making you feel as though you are not alone in your strangeness. "I wanna live all the time in my fantasy infinity."

The 2nd single from Mount Kimbie's forthcoming Cold Spring Fault Less You is a weird and wonderful track titled "Blood and Form." A muffled repetitive drum beat drives an ominous synth melody and dead pan vocals. The song is somehow delightfully unsettling, if that makes any sense. "Blood and Form" is a perfect soundtrack to this grey, rainy day.