20 best July singles: Courtney Barnett, Thee Oh Sees, Wilco, Jamila Woods, Yohuna, Diners, Drake, Fergie
July will more than likely be remembered in the mainstream as the month that gave us Fergie and her girlfriends romping through the most MILF-centric music video since "Stacy's Mom."
But it also featured great new music from Thee Oh Sees, Wilco, Clams Casino and AlunaGeorge, to name just a few of the artists you'll find on our playlist of July's best singles.
1. Courtney Barnett, "Elevator Operator"
This track does a brilliant job of kicking off my favorite album of 2015, "Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit." But it's a single now by virtue of a great new video, her best since she starred as the saddest clown ever in "Pedestrian at Best." It's not here for the video, which features guest appearances by Sleater-Kinney and Jeff Tweedy with Barnett dressed as an elevator operator, though. It's here because she's an amazing storyteller with a keen eye for detail. Consider the opening verse “Oliver Paul, 20 years old / Thick head of hair / Worries he’s going bald / Wakes ups at a quarter past nine / Fare-evades his way down the 96 tram line / Breakfast on the run again, he’s well aware / He’s dropping soy linseed Vegemite crumbs everywhere.” And just like that, you’re drawn into a character Ray Davies would be proud to call his own, a character she sketches while her drummer bashes out the beat like so much over-caffeinated Motown. All that and a Sims City reference?
2. Thee Oh Sees, “The Axis”
This is the third track they’ve shared from “A Weird Exits,” due Aug. 10. And if the songs we’ve heard so far are any indication, which I’m pretty sure they’d have to be, that new release should effortlessly live up to the psychedelic splendor of their previous recordings. This atmospheric, organ-driven ballad is the album’s final track, creeping along at a very trippy snail’s pace for more than six minutes, the final minute and 41 seconds of which are given over to an epic, explosive guitar lead that brings what started as a haunted psychedelic soul song to a speaker-shredding climax. Is the title a tip of the hat to the Jimi Hendrix Experience album, “Axis: Bold As Love?” It sure does feel that way. And the lyrics are just as inspired, setting the tone with a withering shrug of “Don’t you know how much I don’t love you? / Don’t you know how much I don’t care? / And can’t you see how much I don’t need you? / Just like you were never really there.”
3. Wilco, “Locator”
This single was surprise-released to celebrate the anniversary of “Star Wars,” the album they surprise-released last summer not long after playing a concert at Salt River Fields, where this could easily have slipped into the set list. It’s the sound of classic Nels Cline-era Wilco, setting the tone with a groove that could pass for a roomful of jazz students channeling “Walk on the Wild Side” and following through with a majestic foray into mesmerizing psychedelic pop before bringing the clatter like a “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” outtake (in a good way). It’s available for free at wilcoworld.net in exchange for your email address, allowing locator to find you.
Best June singles: Angel Olsen, Bat for Lashes, Beck
4. Jamila Woods feat. Chance the Rapper, “LSD”
Chance the Rapper fans will recognize Jamila Woods as the gospel-flavored vocalist who did so much to shape the sound of “Sunday Candy” and “Blessings.” Now, Chance is returning the favor with a guest rap on this deeply soulful slow jam that plays directly to the strength that made their previous collaborations what they were. “LSD” does NOT refer to sheets of acid here. It stands for Lake Shore Drive. Hence the chorus of “You gotta love me like I love the Lake / You wanna love me? Better love the Lake.” Woods has issued a statement explaining the single. “When I was a kid, getting on Lake Shore Drive from the south side to go downtown was magical. I lived on the east coast for a few years and people would laugh when I told them we have beaches and a lake we can swim in. I always wanted to write about that…. LSD is an ode to Chicago, a song for the complicated love I have for my city."
5. Yohuna, “Apart”
Yohuna is Brooklyn synth-pop artist Johanne Swanson, who slips into the darkness here after setting the tone with a comparatively breezy introduction whose melodic sensibilities had me thinking she was heading somewhere much closer to ‘70s pop. The darker textures suit the brooding nature of the lyrics, though, as Swanson paints a melancholy portrait of two lovers drifting apart. This song first made the rounds in demo form three years ago on the “Le Sigh Vol. 1” compilation. But Swanson went back in and re-recorded it with Owen Pallett for a long-awaited debut album that’s been five years in the making, aptly titled “Patientness.”
6. Diners, “Fifteen on a Skateboard”
In which Tyler Blue Broderick waxes nostalgic for the days of being 15 on a skateboard, moving through the neighborhood. Those memories are triggered, as so often happens, by a song, one “so familiar I was long gone.” The sound is breezy easy-listening with lush orchestration and soothing harmonies to underscore the dreamy chorus hook, setting the tone with the sound of a skateboard in action followed by the harp-like chiming of an Omnichord. There are definite echoes of bachelor pad music, Burt Bacharach and maybe the sort of vibe Brian Wilson was chasing on “Let’s Go Away For Awhile.” But in the end, it sounds like Diners. And that key change on the second instrumental break is classic.
7. Drake, “Too Good”
This is the next Drake single so you might as well get used to it because his singles have a way of blowing. See “One Dance,” in its eighth week at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100. Revisiting the Caribbean dancehall rhythms of their previous hit, Rihanna’s “Work,” the Canadian rapper and his greatest female duet partner trade off verses in a richly detailed he-said/she-said portrait of what may be going through the other person’s head while you’re busy convincing yourself that you’re the only person putting any effort into this relationship. By the second chorus, they’re both singing, “I’m too good to you / I’m way too good to you / You take my love for granted / I just don’t understand it.” It’s a brilliant device, but the quintessential Drake moment here is a line they take turns singing: “Last night, I got high as the expectations.”
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8. Fergie, “M.I.L.F.$”
It’s been a couple weeks now and I still can’t wrap my head around the thought that it’s taken this long for the woman who gave the world “My Humps” to get around to recording a song titled "M.I.L.F. $." But it was definitely worth the wait. There’s no shortage of songs about how the good the singer is in bed on Billboard’s Hot 100 countdown but this one undercuts the bragging with a playful sense of humor while “empowering moms to have fun,” as the singer told Billboard. “Being a mom and having a career, taking care of yourself and still being able to be flirty and fun and a little naughty sometimes, there's nothing wrong with that,” she said. “Society tries to tell moms what they should and shouldn't be, and it's just a little freeing to have fun with pushing those limits a bit. I might do it a little bit more than others, but that's just who I am.”
9. Phantogram, "You Don't Get Me High Anymore"
Sarah Barthel told Pitchfork this first taste of Phantogram's forthcoming "Three" taps into "this idea of wanting to feel something – basically, wanting to feel something strong and doing whatever it takes to feel it again, because you know it feels good and you miss it." You can definitely hear that sense of missing how it felt before informing Barthel's melancholy pouting of the chorus hook: "Nothing is fun, not like before / You don't get me high anymore." It's a breathtaking vocal underscored by hyperactive beats and ominous funk riff – at least until that atmospheric break before the chorus where Barthel invites you to stare with her into the abyss. Best rhyme: "Used to take one / Now it takes four / You don't get me high anymore."
10. AlunaGeorge, “Mean What I Mean”
The U.K. synth-pop duo of Aluna Francis (alluringly soulful vocals) and George Reid (production and instrumentation) are back with yet another taste of “I Remember,” a new album due in September. And this time, they brought reinforcements — MCs Dreezy and Leikeli47, who came up with fiery raps to underscore Francis’ lyrics, written in response to a person whose sexual advances she declined only to find him accusing her of playing hard to get. “I mean what I mean when I say so,” Francis sings. “Don’t try to be mean when I say ‘No.’” As Dreezy shrugs the advances of her would-be one-night stand, “I touch down, now he think he in the end zone / Called him little bird and put him back up in the friend zone.”
11. Ian Hunter, "Dandy"
In which Hunter pays bittersweet tribute to his dear friend, David Bowie, the pretty young thing who gifted Mott the Hoople with a proper glam-rock anthem in "All the Young Dudes," a song whose spirit this channels to brilliant effect. In the opening line, Hunter references "All the Young Dudes" and "Dylan's Mr. Jones," as John Lennon would put it, as a tip of the hat to Bowie's real name, David Jones. "Something is happening, Mr. Jones," he sings. "My brother says you’re better than the Beatles or the Stones." As the song goes on, he manages to squeeze in references to "Heroes," "The Prettiest Star," "Life on Mars," several Spiders from Mars and very possibly a few I missed -- all without sounding forced. I don't really know if "From Saturday night to Sunday morning" is a reference to "Drive-In Saturday" and the Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning," but I'd like to think it is. It's perfect, really – only better.
12. Injury Reserve, "Oh S--t!!!"
The title is how these local hip-hop heroes are hoping listeners respond to this, the first taste of the much-anticipated followup to their acclaimed debut, "Live from the Dentist Office." And there's no reason to believe it won't that reaction. The video dropped Tuesday and by Friday, it had already been viewed nearly 12,000 times. The production is brilliant, a shadowy, ominous backdrop to their some great, defiant raps as they address the state of their career, the pressure to drum up a hit, the freshness of their and more while memorably noting, "I say this ain't jazz rap / This that, this that spazz rap / This that raised by the internet ain't had no dad rap."
13. Clams Casino feat. Samuel T. Herring, “Ghost in a Kiss”
Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands tops a haunting hip-hop soundscape with a brooding monologue, his raspy baritone a perfect complement to the production. It’s dramatic stuff, especially when Clams Casino strips the music down to almost nothing for Herring to intone, “And you were always a ghost in my hand” and later, when he pitch-shift Herring’s vocals down to ominous extremes for “By the time we walk away along the grove again / We will have turned towards the door / A million times or more.” He sounds more like a devil than a ghost on that part, but it’s chilling nonetheless.
14. WOLFZiE and Dadadoh, “What I Got”
WOLFZiE sets the mood with ambient hip-hop soundscape and Dadadoh makes the most of it, offering a shout-out to his grandma (for “looking out for me”) and boasting about his rap skills on his to a chorus that’s more about counting his blessings. “I got the music, I’ll never lose it,” he raps. “I got my family, they always understand me / I got some groceries...hopefully / I got my homies, they never leave me lonely.” His delivery of “I got some groceries… hopefully” is flawless and the song’s prevailing tone is heartfelt and reflective but I’m pretty my favorite lyric is a tossed-off punchline: “Without a cell, ya still phony.”
15. Miranda Lambert, "Vice"
Miranda Lambert has always been among the more intriguing voices on the modern country landscape. So it only stands to reason that the first song we’ve heard from the singer’s first album since cutting her losses in that tabloid-friendly marriage to Blake Shelton would be brilliant. And it is. Rather than playing along with the accepted gender roles surrounding country breakup songs, she’s on the rebound and looking for love – and by love, I mean a meaningless encounter to help her through her wounded sense of self – in all the sexiest wrong places. And so she gets drunk “where the numb meets lonely” and crawls out of a bed she knows she has no business crawling out of at 7 a.m. with the certainly that she’ll be back tomorrow night to drown her sorrows in his arms.
16. Decker., "The Holy Ghost"
PopMatters premiered the Matty Steinkamp video for this first taste of decker.'s new album on Thursday and the visuals are stunning, as expected, with an incredibly videogenic star turn from the mighty Camille Sledge of Phoenix Afrobeat Orchestra in the title role. As decker., explained the concept to PopMatters: "The video is this frenetic glimpse of people in desperate moments.They’re all being witnessed by this ethereal ghostly, goddess figure who can’t stand what she’s seeing." And the song itself? It rocks while managing to sound as ghostly and ethereal as Sledge's goddess figure, arriving at some sort of gothic rockabilly swagger with a trembling lead vocal from decker. and excellent use of dynamics from producer Bob Hoag.
17. Topaz Jones, "Powerball"
Who among us hasn’t dreamed of how much better life could be if we suddenly purchased a Powerball ticket? I mean, other than the cranky people? Jones is all about it setting the tone here with “Last night I had a dream I won the Powerball / Flithy stinkin' rich, more millions than you can shower off / Everybody shouting loud while the announcer counting off / Read the last number, neighbors running in from down the hall / Jumping, spilling alcohol, over my button down.” You know what’s more contagious than the dream, though? The crazy funk groove Jones is rapping over, his words spilling out in a flurry of excitement while the bass holds down the fort.
18. Schoolboy Q feat. Miguel and Justine Skye, "Overtime"
If I were giving bonus points for subtlety and nuance? This would get no bonus points for that. But if you're looking for a song that just comes out and tells you what it wants in no uncertain terms, it doesn't get much more explicit than the oft-repeated chorus of this track. "I want to (expletive) right now." And no, the lyric isn't really (expletive). According to no lesser an authority on all things Schoolboy Q than Schoolboy Q, Interscope Records lobbied hard to have him send out for Miguel and Justine Skye and cut a track like "Overtime" to try and duplicate the mainstream breakthrough he enjoyed with BJ the Chicago Kid on "Studio." And if that was the goal, well, it certainly sounds like a hit, from Miguel's soulful pleas of "Baby let me know it's mine and I might put in overtime" to the insistent chorus hook, which results in no fewer than 35 uses of the f-word.
19. Chance the Rapper, "Living Single"
The old-school soul vibe of the backing track is right in Chance's power alley, Jeremih provides some deeply soulful singing on the chorus hook while Big Sean, Chance and Smino take turns in the spotlight, trading verses. This track is reportedly an outtake from "Coloring Book," Chance's latest album. It leaked in late July, inspiring disappointed tweets from Chance and Big Sean, who said it was "actually something I was workin on for my album," adding "sucks when people leak something not ready n spoil 4 da listeners." I completely get why they're both angry, but this track sounds plenty ready.
20. Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam, "A 1,000 Times"
The voice of the Walkmen and the former member of Vampire Weekend have an album coming out soon and this first taste makes the most of one of modern music's most distinctive instruments – Leithauser's soulful rasp of a voice, which sounds better than ever here. In an interview with Jenny Eliscu on Sirius XMU, Rotsam explained what he was going for: "I always wanted to try to really capture his voice in a way I felt like maybe it had never been captured before, just in terms of how it was recorded, and also pushing him to really scream,” he said. “Because it’s interesting, like his voice has this kind of choir boy aspect to it, but then when he screams, it’s like a little bit of the choir boy is still intact, and I think that’s a special blend of things."
Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Twitter.com/EdMasley
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