Best New Tracks Of The Week: October 15th, 2023
Another big week of new releases, let's get it. <3
5. Let Them Live - Death's Dynamic Shroud
DDS release about 9 albums and 200 songs a year and generally, I'm pretty iffy on them but this single really works for me. I love the versatility of vocal samples throughout. I also love the very vibrant and futuristic beat which builds and builds and eventually gets these wiry guitars right at the end it's a very focused and well-executed rendition of their sound.
4. N/Y - The Haxan Cloak
It has been 10 god damn years since this masterful dark ambient project last released new material. What he returned with is sonically very different, but honestly I'd be more surprised after all this time if it sounded the same. With stuttering drums and distant booming electronica this feels closer to something Prurient was doing around the last time we got new Haxan Cloak music. It trades out nuance in between the cracks for pummeling intensity and comes out the other side looking pretty strong doing it.
3. It Takes A Woman - Chris Stapleton
Country music's golden boy has that title for a reason. On yet another great new single Chris Stapleton once again shows himself to be a nuanced songwriter but one that doesn't compromise on compelling sonic moments. From the gentle swaying instrumental bridge to the gentle backing vocals on the hook this song plays its nuance card perfectly. Even if some of the more strained singing isn't the best I've ever heard from Stapleton this song is still delightful.
2. The CIA - Glass Beach
Music blog darling emo band Glass Beach are back with a riveting new single that has plenty of noise and chaos to pitch out. But cut in between its most frantic moments are some genuinely great refrains that have been stuck in my head all week. Like a gothic Jane Remover the combination of memorable vocal lines and blistering noise is one that clicked with me right away and isn't letting go.
1. One Hand Behind The Devil - Maruja
This year Maruja became the newest British post-punk band to blow me away with their early work. They followed up an EP with this new single that might be their best song yet. It does a wonderful job of building up momentum with its versatile instrumentation and a front man who reminds me of former Black Country, New Road leader Isaac Wood if he got into more bar fights. The result is a song that disguises its impressive complexity with a rough-and-tumble sound that I find irresistible.
