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Don’t get me wrong, we still love “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky.” But there were plenty of other awesome singles released this summer. Here’s 5 you may have overlooked.
Lorde — “Royals”
16-year-old Ella Yelich-O’Connor (who looks startlingly like a brunette Emma Stone) stormed out of New Zealand with this haunting bit of finger-snap pop, which sounds like what Lana Del Rey would sound like if she ever woke up enough to have a personality. Her debut album Pure Heroine (Universal Music) comes out on September 30.
Superchunk — “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo”
This two-minute slice of prime Superchunk, the lead single from I Hate Music (Merge Records), is as melodic and powerful as anything the North Carolina quartet has done in their 24-year history. The great video consists mostly of snapshots of people posing with their favorite albums, tying into the lyrics about music’s redemptive power.
Washed Out — “It All Feels Right”
Georgia-born chillwave artist Ernest Greene is still probably best known for his early single “Feel It All Around” (which you may know as the theme to Portlandia), but the dreamy “It All Feels Right,” like the rest of his new Paracosm (Sub Pop Records), is a perfect soundtrack for a late-night, windows-down country drive.
Janelle Monáe — “Q.U.E.E.N.”
Afro-futurist Janelle Monáe is about 10 times more thoughtful and artful than Lady Gaga, and a better singer and songwriter to boot. A cult favorite for years, her teaser single (featuring Erykah Badu) for the upcoming The Electric Lady (Wondaland Arts Society Records) suggests she may finally make the mainstream breakthrough she deserves.
King Krule — “Neptune Estate”
British teenager Archy Marshall has been an underground name for a few years now, but his long-awaited debut album 6 Feet Beneath the Moon (XL Records) is attracting more attention to his woozy mix of trip-hop beats and Morrissey-style glum romanticism.
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