by Gaby Whitehill

Disclosure, David Bowie: the best tracks of the week

Brilliant new music from Joel Compass, Eminem, Warpaint & more

 

Disclosure, David Bowie: the best tracks of the week

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It's the first day of November, and the last week of October gave us a smorgasboard of exciting new music.

The sad death of Velvet Underground icon Lou Reed inspired many artists to cover his classic tracks - we've picked the best effort below. There's also the return of Disclosure, a brand new Bowie track, and an actually good new ARTPOP cut from Gaga. Unbelievable. Check out our best new tracks of the week below.

 

Disclosure, 'Apollo'
After delivering a stellar album packed full of modern pop classics, the Howard brothers unleash a slightly less-accessible industrial slice of tech-house perfection, swirling with eerie vocal samples and their trademark wobble-bass flourishes. You'll be pressing repeat again and again as many others already have - 'Apollo' has racked up nearly half a million plays in just four days. 

 

David Bowie, 'Atomica' 
Bowie could literally release a recording of him flossing his teeth in the morning and we'd all fawn over it, but 'Atomica', one of four new tracks taken from the expanded edition of The Next Day, is genuinely brilliant - a guitar-driven, rocky, New Wave tinged track. It's only a short preview, but it's enough to get us excited about what's still to come from the music legend.

 

Joel Compass, 'Run' (featuring Pusha T)
Rising R&B star Compass has been variously compared to The Weeknd and Frank Ocean, but sounds entirely himself here on this epic, confident, emotional track which features massive US rapper Pusha T, who apparently was the one to reach out to Compass after hearing the track and liking it. So do we. 

 

Twin Shadow, 'Perfect Day'
Unsurprisingly, there's been a lot of Lou Reed covers that have aired this week, from The Killers to Arctic Monkeys to Arcade Fire. However, our favourite one of them all comes courtesy of a much lesser-known artist - Twin Shadow AKA George Lewis, who delivered a sparse and eerie, but nonetheless beautiful, version of the 1972 classic. An appropriate tribute. 

 

Eminem, 'Love Game' (featuring Kendrick Lamar)
This is one of two new previews of Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP 2 we've heard this week, alongside the catchy but dull 'Monster', featuring Rihanna. Eminem's clearly having a lot of fun on this one, cracking gross-out gags over a rather pleasant, 60s sampled swing beat. Kendrick also sounds great - a bit of light relief from his usual darker subject matter.

 

London Grammar, 'Nightcall' (Joe Goddard remix)
UK trio London Grammar covered Kavinsky's 'Nightcall', taken from the fantastic Drive soundtrack, for their slow burning album If We Wait, turning it into a sultry, dark masterpiece topped with soaring vocals. Now Hot Chip alumni Joe Goddard spins the wheel on the track once more. In its latest incarnation, it's now a sparky house track, gilded with snatches of raw percussion and a bouncy bass refrain.

 

Warpaint, 'Love Is to Die For'
We fell in love with Warpaint in 2010, when  they unleashed the captivating 'Billie Holiday' and coyly catchy 'Undertow' on the world along with a hauntingly awesome debut album. Then they disappeared for a while. Now they're back with 'Love Is to Die For', a stunning morose slice of indie-pop, spearheaded by Emily Kokal's gorgeous vocals and the grooving bassline. The repetitive chorus eats away at you on first listen, enticing you to come back for more.

 

Lady Gaga, 'Mary Jane Holland'
Following the rather disappointing 'Venus', Gaga previews another ARTPOP cut - this storming, dramatic electro banger. Gaga delivers a powerful vocal performance in this ode to marijuana, which swirls from stomping bass to synthy breakdowns in a brilliantly dizzying fashion. 

 

Blood Orange, 'You're Not Good Enough'
The follow up the stunning 'Chamakay', the lead single from Dev Hyne's second album in the guise of Blood Orange, is a floaty synth led track reminiscent of The Police, with its funky bass groove and guitar flourishes. Hynes' silky, breathy vocals ramp up the retro vibe even more. We're looking forward to Cupid Deluxe more than ever.

 

Katy B 'I Like You'
Katy B goes all out on this George Fitzgerald produced house track, which is instantly engaging from the first thirty seconds. We can't see how this could fail to be anything less than a hit - Katy's flirty vocals ride the melodic beat excellently, and the elements of R&B, house and techno work together perfectly.

 

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