This week is all about name-brand recognition, and living up to the hype. Zola Jesus, Tory Lanez, Juan MacLean, Lee Bannon—these are all names, and they all deliver. Then there's the newer goods: Harriet Brown, ETHEREAL (Duncan Cooper was on it before anyone else y'all, recognize), Sylas. There's old and new all mixed up together this week but it all magically works so, so well. We're a big happy FADER fam so have a happy, happy weekend.
Lee Bannon, "LB - MFS-1"
"Nasal vocalizations get seriously twisted up on this skittering, break-beat-laden, possibly Björk-sampling (?) new single."—Emilie Friedlander. Read the full write up.
Zola Jesus, "Go (Blank Sea)"
"It's just about the feeling of being downtown in a sea of people, but at the same time you feel completely alone," Danilova told me. "It's just this idea of being a human in a civilized world and how it doesn't really mean anything. It still feels savage in a weird way."—Patrick D. McDermott. Read the full write up here.
Tory Lanez, "Henny in Hand"
"Tory's singing is a bit rouge, a falsetto that feels on the edge of derailment at every note's turn, but he sticks the landing, bursting into breathless bars for the last 20 seconds."—Matthew Trammell. Read the full write up here.
Made in Heights, "Ghost"
"Delivers soft-sung quips like You think that love's a way to keep score/ You're talking like you read about it before deciding to shrug it off and ride it out. Because, as she sings, the only way to feel is wild."—Zara Golden. Read the full write up here.
Sylas, "Hollow"
"It's all about the way that opening churn goes straight for the gut, the way the beat chokes and snaps during that indecisive wait on me/don't wait on me refrain, the way that angelic voice zooms in and out of view over the chaos."—Aimee Cliff. Read the full write up here.
ETHEREAL, Cactus Jack
"Four years ago, at my first The FADER pitch meeting, I led from left-field with Ethereal, a wheelchaired Atlantan making stoned, Pokemon-referencing jungle music and rapping about wanting crepes and tea."—Duncan Cooper. Read the full write up here.
Skinny Friedman x Go Dreamer, Go Maco's "U GUESSED IT (Remix)"
"The cross-state duo slow down the opening riff and loop Maco's title phrase into a frantic chant."—David Turner. Read the full write up here.
Juan Maclean, Sharon Van Etten's "Our Love (Remix)"
"The edit retain's the original's romantic tone but dreams up something a tad more euphoric, looping soft-pop synths and Van Etten's pristine vocals until it almost feels cheery—but not oppressively so."—Patrick D. McDermott. Read the full write up here.
Harriet Brown, "New Machines"
"Brown wraps trickling synths and drum machine heartbeats around himself in an inordinately romantic fashion. It's rose-tinted but real."—Ruth Saxelby. Read the full write up here.
Asaad, "VVS"
"Asaad isn't a new face to those who've been watching closely, but still attacks the track with a fresh, young energy and hype that carries through the 90 second cut."—David Turner. Read the full write up here.
