This week’s best new songs you need to hear are all about big team-ups (and Grand Theft Auto). From frequent collaborators reuniting to genre crossovers you wouldn’t have imagined in a million years, each song features artists we’ve loved for quite some time. From the star-studded collab featuring Justice, Tame Impala, SZA, and delightfully weird King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, to local favorite N8NOFACE with Angélica Garcia and Scarlett Seraphim, and The Drums featuring Genesis Owusu. Each song brings the heat in its own way, making for insatiable listening.
Justice, Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard “Flower in a Hurricane”
With the news that they’ll be the primary composers of the Grand Theft Auto VI score, Justice offered a taste of what’s to come with the single, “Flower in a Hurricane,” featuring Tame Impala, SZA, and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
When you have a feature list that sounds like the start of a joke, it can be even more jarring to find out that this unexpected collaboration pays heavy homage to the classic Dire Straits song “Money for Nothing,” along with other ‘80s tracks that evoke the Vice City feel.
Strangely, all those ingredients work together. Part of that is likely due to Justice’s proven ability to sample a wide range of influences and translate them into their unmistakable electronic sound à la “D.A.N.C.E.”
RELATED: Justice electrify the Hollywood Bowl with relentless onslaught of electronic music
Meanwhile, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala and SZA take on duet duties, settling into a jam reminiscent of their other Parker track, “Neverender,” after the guitar solo intro. Then there’s King Gizzard, with the band obviously working outside their normal wheelhouse but flourishing anyway.
RELATED: See photo of Tame Impala’s first Los Angeles show ever. It was free, and they were the opening act.
If anything, “Flower in a Hurricane” is a wild ride that speaks as much to Justice’s talents as producing titans as it does to their ear for curation.
Listen to “Flower in a Hurricane” the new single from Justice, Tame Impala, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, & SZA.
N8NOFACE, Angélica Garcia, & Scarlettt “Gray Area”
N8NOFACE had a busy weekend, dropping his new album, Tomorrow’s World, and kicking off his tour at his label Stones Throw’s 30th Anniversary show in LA. Out of all that noise comes the track “Gray Area,” featuring Angélica Garcia and Scarlett Seraphim.
While N8NOFACE is no stranger to working with other artists, the song finds Garcia and Seraphim moving seamlessly into his world, where the former brings her similarly inventive electronic soundscapes and the latter’s deadpan delivery is the perfect foil to N8NOFACE.
RELATED: Juliette and The Licks Return to Shred the Teragram Ballroom, N8NOFACE Opens
Their back-and-forth, in particular, keeps your attention as the production gradually reveals itself as a gleeful exercise in stretching synthesizers to their breaking point. Think freestyle music, but if aliens were tasked to recreate the genre and explain why it makes humans dance.
RELATED: Artists You Should Know Featuring Angélica Garcia
Alongside Garcia’s melodic bridges, you get a song that, contrary to its title, is a colorful example of how N8NOFACE continues to push himself past the already hard-hitting and satisfying riot bangers.
Listen to “Gray Area” the new single from N8NOFACE, Angélica Garcia, & Scarlettt.
The Drums & Genesis Owusu “Blackstar”
Ever since Jonny Pierce opened up his band to the possibility of features, The Drums has frequently pushed outside their brand of tried-and-true indie rock, with their latest song, “Blackstar,” featuring Genesis Owusu.
For those familiar with Owusu, “Blackstar” is actually a smooth continuation of the amped-up electronic rock music he’s become best known for in recent years. As for Pierce on The Drums’ side of things, he opts to take a backseat, providing backing vocals and the instrumentation.
RELATED: Watch The Drums perform “Let’s Go Surfing” at Just Like Heaven and why it was such a special set
Despite being a more subtle merging of worlds, the single becomes a testament to how carefully balanced the two artists are in terms of their respective sounds. In that space, it’s easy to hear their connective tissue, whether it’s the jangly guitars made digital, the sense of impending doom, or the undeniable sheen of the production that gets you going.
RELATED: Genesis Owusu Brings the Rapture of the “Struggler” to the Fonda Theatre
Considering “Blackstar” is the latest in a slew of singles featuring other artists from different corners of the music industry, it says a lot about Pierce that each one meets the collaborator in their space before amplifying the preexisting energy.
Listen to “Blackstar” the new single from The Drums & Genesis Owusu.
Current Best New Songs of the Month
Want more new music? Stream our best new songs of the month playlist, featuring our hand-picked selections of the best new indie and alternative music. Always curated, never cluttered, only the goods.
BEST CONCERTS IN LOS ANGELES THIS MONTH
