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Friday, March 1, 2013

James Blake/Wavves/Alkaline Trio (singles roundup)

Add Date: February 26 

Artist: James Blake 

Album: "Retrograde" (single) 

Label: Republic 

Genre: R&B, electronica, soul 

Comments: "Retrograde" is the lead single from Overgrown, the forthcoming second album from British electro-minimalist James Blake. His eponymous 2011 debut is one of the sparsest pop records that you'll ever come across; though this track hardly sounds overproduced, it does hint at a fuller, more accessible sound. It's an excellent slice of neo-soul.


Artist: Wavves 

Album: "Demon to Lean On" (single) 

Label: Warner Bros. 

Genre: Rock, alternative 

Comments: What's more surprising: that Nathan Williams' slacker surf-rock project Wavves would end up on a major label, or that the first single from the band's forthcoming Warner Bros. debut, Afraid of Heights, would clock in at over 4 minutes? While you ponder the answer to that question, check out the excellent "Demon to Lean On", which hints at a Cloud Nothings-style transition (read: maturation) for Wavves.


Artist: Alkaline Trio 

Album: "I Wanna Be a Warhol" (single)

Label: Epitaph 

Genre: Rock, punk 

Comments: When I saw the title to the lead single from Alkaline Trio's upcoming album My Shame Is True, I was really hoping that they'd be poking fun at The Dandy Warhols. From that standpoint, "I Wanna Be a Warhol" is disappointing; lyrically, it's a straightforward song with lines like "I wanna be a Warhol/displayed on your wall/I'm up there staring back at you/staring back at you". But if you're looking for an upbeat pop-punk song, nobody makes 'em better than this longstanding Chicago band.

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