It’s impossible to cover each bit of new music that comes out during the week, so every Friday, we’ll be doing an end of the week music roundup. It’s called Final Track, and we’ll count off a few songs released during the week that are worth giving a listen to.
Today, we’ve got RZA and the Black Keys, Bat for Lashes, Titus Andronicus, and more.
“The Baddest Man Alive” by RZA and the Black Keys
Not too rock for hip-hop town, not too hip-hop for rock town, “The Baddest Man Alive,” from the Man with the Iron Fist soundtrack, is a perfect mixture of the Black Keys’ swampy blues and RZA’s enviable swagger. “I snatch food from the mouth of a tiger/Take a gasoline bath then I walk through fire” is something very few people can get away with saying. He can.
“Six Directions of Boxing” by Wu-Tang Clan
F*ck it, back-to-back Wu-Tang. Method Man’s missed, but otherwise, it’s a ’90s throwback.
“We Found Love” by Bat for Lashes
A pared-down cover of the Rihanna hit, revealing a sad beauty that you don’t hear on the original.
“Telephuck” by Mr. Muthaf*ckin’ eXquire and Gucci Mane
Playful, but it leaves an impact: Mr. Muthaf*ckin’ eXquire and Gucci Mane are a hip-hop dream team.
“Keep it together_” by How to destroy angels_
The underscores in the title are very intentional and very annoying and very pretentious, but we’ll let Trent Reznor get away with it because he’s Trent Reznor, and he’s still putting out frustrating, yet ultimately gorgeous pieces of haunting twitchy work like, ugh, “Keep it together_.”
“Get Lost” by the Babies
There’s something to be said about a band not trying too hard. The Babies don’t want to be the greatest group of all-time or spend weeks in a recording studio — they want to make scrappy, jangle-y garage rock that always sounds off-the-cuff. At that, they’re pros. “Get Lost” is proof.
“Still Life with Hot Deuce and Silver Platter” by Titus Andronicus
And with every adventurous punk anthem, we grow more and more excited for Local Business (October 22).
