I love writing this column. Getting to share with you the new and/or classic tracks that are exciting me the most on any given week is an absolute delight. That said, there are certain weeks when a theme emerges, connecting the songs to each other in a way that feels like kismet.
This is one of those weeks, with each track giving me some degree of film noir, caper vibes, that I am 100% here for.
Karen O – “YO! MY SAINT (feat Michael Kiwanuka)”
World weary, lovelorn Karen O is my favorite Karen O (see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ classic “Maps” for the definitive version). On this new single which accompanies an elegant short film for the French fashion house Kenzo, she’s able to use her expertise in this type of performance to interplay beautifully with the equally world weary and deeply soulful Michael Kiwanuka. And, if that’s not enough of a selling point for this song, it’s also worth noting that the cinematic structure of the instrumentation works brilliantly for the actual film it was designed for; and my imagined noir alike.
Calibro 35 – “SuperStudio”
Building off of the gorgeous, slow burn epic-ness of the Karen O track, we arrive at this stone cold jam from the Italian combo Calibro 35. This track is essentially a smart, sophisticated theme song for a 70s heist film that doesn’t exist, but definitely should. You’ll probably want to make it your theme song for the weekend/the rest of your life as well.
Franz Ferdinand – “Feel the Love”
The title track from Franz Ferdinand’s forthcoming new album made me appropriately anxious for it’s release, but after hearing this track it’s become my most anticipated record of 2018. There’s a deep after hours, dance club energy here that calls to mind a film where everything has gone just wrong enough to end up completely right.