Car Seat Headrest - Times To Die
"All of my friends are getting married / All of my friends are right with God..." Virginia indie music maverick Will Toledo contemplates mortality on this, his first new single since signing for Matador in the US. A forthcoming compilation album Teens of Style synopsises his career to date.
Sia - Alive
The lead single from Sia's new album This Is Acting is an original composition originally written for Adele, and also rejected by Rihanna, before the Australian decided to record the song herself. There are co-writer credits for Adele and Tobias Jesso Jr. and – hopefully – a forthcoming video in which the song is interpreted by Sia's mini-me dancer Maddie Ziegler.
Lil Wayne - Pour Up
After losing to George W Bush in the 2000 election, Al Gore briefly took to introducing himself at speaking engagements as the man "who used to be the next president of the United States." In a similar fashion, the hyper-prolific Lil Wayne was once widely tipped as the future of hip-hop. On 2008's Tha Carter III album, Jay Z even dubbed him his "heir". (Weezy, standing in the next booth, misunderstood, thinking he'd just been described as Jay's "air" and wondered what the hell that was supposed to mean.) But things haven't quite panned out for the New Orleans rapper, who has been mired in record- label disputes, as well medical and legal troubles, since then. This new mixtape jam drops offers a few clues as to what the true source of his problems is. "Got my codeine and I poured up a lot," he purrs on the refrain here. "I poured up a lot."
Courtney Barnett - Shivers
"I've been contemplating suicide, but it really doesn't suit my style," drawls Barnett, on the b-side to her new Jack White-produced single Boxing Day Blues Revisited. "So I think I'll just act bored instead."
Er, good? I think.
