Best Songs of the Week

This week we premiered the Michael Christmas mixtape Is This Art? He had already impressed with the songs and videos leading up to the tape, but the first track on the tape? Damn. Over a fat bassline, Christmas shows off his humor and effortless delivery, and... oh shit was that a Pigeons & Planes reference at 1:50? Confirmed, this is the best song of the fucking decade.—Confusion

Jon Tanners whenever he hears his name in a rap song:

Like many others, I have trouble sitting through an album, listening to it from start to finish. I cut albums into portions, mixing in other sounds to cleanse my palate. But since the first moment I put on St. Vincent's new album, I haven't been able to stop listening.

It's an intriguing piece of art that shows off Annie Clark's versatility. "Huey Newton" exemplifies this, starting off slowly with some sentimental lyrics and delicate vocals before exploding into confrontational electric guitars for a jarring result. Well done, Annie. Well done.—Joyce

You would never have expected it a couple of years ago, but Jeremih has proved to be a master of reinvention. His evolution from the straight ahead R&B singer who made "Birthday Sex" into more interesting territory really became clear with 2012's Late Nights With Jeremih mixtape, while his collaboration with Shlohmo, "Bo Peep (Do U Right)," cemented his status as alt-R&B blog favorite.

Now, the unlikely duo have a whole EP on the way, and have released their most interesting song yet. "No More" starts off with Jeremih's vocals clear and foregrounded, but they gradually degrade and disintegrate into wonderfully emotive pitch-shifted moans and groans. Excellent, experimental R&B of the highest order.—Constant Gardner

Bands like Arthur Beatrice are faced with an interesting dilemma: instead of wondering how to not let the instrumentation overpower the lead singer, they have to figure out how to not let the voice of their lead singer overpower the instrumentation. Because Ella Girardot has a mind-blowing voice, pristine and confident, that commands attention as soon as you hear it on the track. The band could probably pair her vocals with simple, unimaginative production and still create something effective—her voice is that good—but they don't. Instead, the foursome manages to match the intensity of Girardot and deliver a sound equally stunning and hypnotic.

"Late," the latest from their upcoming debut album Working Out, is yet another impeccable display of this ability, and arguably their most impressive. —Katie K.

The best voices–the ones that strike our cores and cut across generations–rarely find their memorability solely because of training. That's a vast over generalization, but some of the finest singers of the last hundred years have remained in the public consciousness not because they could hit the highest notes, but because their voices possessed a uniqueness and grit that spoke to spirit beyond metrics and standards.

London's D/C only has one single to his name, so going overboard on the hype machine will do no one much good, but debut song "Devil On My Shoulder" puts the singer's gripping rasp on full display, an arresting cello arrangement that leaves ample room for its creator to shine. A very promising first step.—Jon Tanners

Royce Wood Junior lives with Jamie Woon, but that isn't why you should want to listen to his music. You should want to listen to his music because it is an enjoyable muddle of offbeat production and soulful vocals. The song lulls the listener in with Royce's rich, timeless voice before throwing you off-guard with the kind of production quirks that will have you coming back for more.

A great debut track, and with an EP coming soon on Parlez Parlez, we can't wait to see what direction Roce Wood Junior takes things.—Constant Gardner

I've had mans confused at my admiration for "German Whip." Excuse me for a) loving most of the UK music scene, b) being fascinated by rap that's a bit quirky and awkward, and c) the catchy-ass "see man driving a German whip" phrase. And terms like "bang out of order" or "treating mans like a private caller." The verses are catchy even if you don't want them to be... to the point where PMR signed this tune over six months after it hit the Internets in video form, and so far we got word that TwoInchPunch got to officially remix it. While TwoInchPunch keeps the trap-y vibe to the beat in tact, it's the lush melody that's thrown atop that snappy beat that can't be neglected. Do I look like a baller? Do I move like a pauper? Don't answer those, but turn up to this.—khal

I don't listen to Skrillex. Or Ellie Goulding, for that matter. It's not because I've taken a particular disliking to either of them; I genuinely just grew tired of Ellie Goulding's shtick after the relentless radio assault of "Lights" and then that goddamn Bassnectar remix prolonging it. And I actually used to love Skrillex back when he was Sonny Moore, lead singer of From First to Last—I've got the scars from their Bamboozle '06 set for proof.

So imagine my shock at having a song by both of them as my best song of the week. A song that's two years old, at that. "Because" is a hypnotic, sensual track which Skrillex says he recorded in a hotel room. According to our ever-reliable commenters, it samples Goulding's "Figure 8" as well as her cover of Active Child's "Hanging On," so it's unclear whether she was even a part of the song's making—though the two were dating at the time. Luckily, she hung on to the track and premiered it earlier this week during her mix for Annie Mac’s BBC Radio 1 show.

In the past, I'd heard their collaborative track "Summit" and also her Skrillex-produced song "Bittersweet." Now I kind of feel like an idiot for sleeping so long on the rest of their work. Ellie Goulding once said they'd release an entire project together, so where's that at? It'd likely surprise the hell out of some music fans. Between "Because" and the new Chance The Rapper-featuring track he dropped live recently, it appears I may have severely underestimated Skrillex's ability to create versatile production. Let's leave the monotonous beat drops to 2013, shall we?—Dee

10 DANCE MUSIC PRODUCERS WHO USED TO ROCK

Even with the loss of former bandmate Maya Postepski, Trust's other half, Robert Alfons, has shown no signs of slowing down the shadowy synthpop project that released its debut album back in 2012. With a follow-up LP—Joyland—on the way, Alfons recently released "Are We Arc?" as a teaser for the album, due March 4. Trading off between a strained falsetto and a drunken mumble, Alfons has crafted a gorgeous preview of what's to come on Joyland, giving fans a track that works best during the darkest hours of the night.

Alfons groans about "the joy personified" on this record, presumably referring to a love now lost, but for such pleasure, he needs to look no further than his own music. "Are We Arc?" is a charged, atmospheric tune that blends passion with pain to create a mixture both sickly and addictive.—Gus Turner