Downloads of the Week
YEAH YEAH YEAHS
“Despair” (video)
★★★ 1/2
REMARKABLY, the New Yorkers have become the first band to ever shoot a video on top of the Empire State Building, and the resulting clip for “Despair” (the second single off their “Mosquito” album) makes you wonder why no one thought of it before. An already beautiful song is given an extra dose of splendor thanks to the sight of Karen O joyously dancing around the observation deck in a bright yellow jacket while dawn rises over Manhattan behind her. The love that the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have for their hometown is most definitely mutual.
JANELLE MONÃE
“Dance Apocalyptic”
★★★
HAVING already knocked it out of the park with her Erykah Badu collaboration earlier in the year, Monáe is again teasing her upcoming second album, “Electric Lady” (out Sept. 10), this time with a bubble-gum pop song that has more in common with classic girl groups than the futuristic funk she’s been touting up to now. Outrageously fun.
JON HOPKINS/HAYDEN THORPE
“Goodbye Horses”
★★★
CAST your mind back to the disturbing memory of Buffalo Bill cavorting semi-naked in “The Silence of the Lambs,” and you may remember Q Lazzarus’ cult indie hit “Goodbye Horses” playing in the background. Now, the serene song finally gets a long-overdue reissue — on 12-inch vinyl — through Brooklyn’s Mon Amie Records, along with a haunting cover recorded by Wild Beasts’ Hayden Thorpe and British electronica whiz Jon Hopkins. Gorgeously unsettling, whichever version you prefer.
JOEY BADA$$ Feat. KIRK KNIGHT
“Amethyst Rockstar”
★★ 1/2
HE may only be 18, but Joey Bada$$ is already positioning himself as a future rap kingpin. Taken from his new self-released mixtape “Summer Knights,” this MF DOOM-produced track keeps things minimal and allows the Brooklynite to put his gruff flow on show. He’s not quite the finished article, but the raw talent is undeniable.
FRANZ FERDINAND
“Right Action”
★★★ 1/2
BACK when they first started, Franz Ferdinand decreed they wanted to make music for girls to dance to. This funky rocker (from their forthcoming “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action” album, out Aug. 27) sounds like Talking Heads at their buoyant best and will likely have the girls, the boys and probably the odd invertebrate jiving all summer long.
EDITORS
“A Ton of Love”
★★
AFTER experimenting with electronics on their underrated last album, the Brits are back with more mopey and overdramatic rock on the new record “The Weight of Your Love.” This lead single is one of the few satisfying moments, if only because it’s a blatant Echo & the Bunnymen rip-off. If you’re gonna steal, you might as well do it from someone good.
PIXIES
“Bagboy”
★★★
THE indie-rock heroes are back with their first new song in nine years, and their first without bassist Kim Deal. Not that you could tell, because the remaining members have filled the hole admirably to create a tune that sounds like vintage Pixies — sinister, absurd and exhilarating. More please, fellas.
ABOUT GROUP
“Walk on By”
★★ 1/2
WHEN not fronting Hot Chip, Alexis Taylor sings in this side project, which has a penchant for meandering free jazz and experimental soul. As new album “Between the Walls” shows, it’s not always an easy listen, but during this cover of the Bacharach/David-penned staple, a moment of unlikely beauty emerges from About Group’s controlled chaos.