This was admittedly a strange week in new music. Ed Sheeran covered Fetty Wap’s runaway hit “Trap Queen,” Mariah Carey premiered a song on Match.com, and Kelly Clarkson took on Rihanna’s “Bitch Better Have My Money.” But aside from the weirdness, we did get to hear some great tracks from artists like Beirut, FIDLAR, and Lil Wayne to name a few.
Among all the noise, there was a lot of new music to slip through the cracks. Here are the songs and music videos you may have missed this week.
Blur — “Ong Ong”
The latest clip from the freshly reunited Blur is for “Ong Ong,” and the video jumps right into an 8-bit world filled with candy, ice cream, and all of the dumb things we distract ourselves with on our phones. The sweet track from The Magic Whip has the boys in Blur dressing up in costumes and once again pairs the Britpop giants with food. Why is it always food?
Little Boots — “Better in the Morning”
English electropop singer and DJ Victoria Hesketh, better known to the world as Little Boots, has returned with her first track from her upcoming third album, Working Girl. “Better in the Morning” is a infectious pop gem dedicated to pushing through the worst hangover, and hearing it is one thing that could potentially help you in such a situation. The GIF-able clip is inspired by Clueless, Little Boots told the FADER, but hopefully things turn out better for her than the last person to send up that film.
We Were Promised Jetpacks — “A Part of It”
The anthemic and rollicking sounds from Scottish indie rockers always feel like they can fill a stadium, even though it’s more likely they are playing your favorite dive club, at least for now. Their clip for “A Part of It,” from last year’s Unravelling, features a story in three parts of a young girl trying to escape some untold danger along the British countryside. Her panic and urgency is only heightened by WWPJ’s excellent score.
JEFF the Brotherhood — “In My Mouth”
We’re apparently in the new age of videos starring puppets. Just last week, Tame Impala released a clip for “Cause, I’m a Man” with puppets, and Nashville rockers JEFF the Brotherhood now have their new visual for “In My Mouth” starring marionettes. The track from the newly released Wasted on the Dream is exactly the sludgey, lo-fi type of thing you would expect from these two. And if you aren’t familiar, here’s the perfect opportunity.
F*cked Up — “Year of the Hare”
Click here to play “Year of the Hare”
Now here’s a strange, but incredibly unique one from Canadian hardcore punks F*cked Up. They decided to make a choose-your-own-adventure style music video for “Year of the Hare” that you guide with your keyboard. It follows a boring guy who has a boring life that’s slowly and weirdly interrupted by a life-size rabbit. He’s caught in a loop, and you use your keyboard to hit the right key to move on to another screen. Definitely one of the most interesting music videos we’ve come across in a while.
Nate Ruess, featuring Beck — “What This World Is Coming To”
For the latest track from Fun frontman Nate Ruess’ forthcoming solo debut, Grand Romantic, he recruited folk-rock legend and Grammy winner Beck. The two of them make for quite the pair, creating a sound that brings to mind ’70s country rock and ’90s stadium Britpop. (It couldn’t be a song with Nate Ruess on it if it didn’t sound enormous.) Still, the sound is a departure from the bombast and fireworks of Fun, yet it suits Ruess well. We’ll be able to hear the whole package when his album drops next week.
