Round-up Tracks: Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, and more

Only one band could put out a new track slap bang in the middle of Christmas Day and get away with it. Radiohead can command attention at any moment, even if it’s a track that’s been shunned in favour of Sam “saucy warbler” Smith. Truthfully, ‘Spectre’ is probably too delicately constructed to be the kind of all-guns-blazing, melodromatic sountrack a Bond flick would require. It finds Radiohead entering a new space, sitting comfy in a cushioned world of calm. Thom Yorke gives an under ether, floaty vocal take sounding like the sweeter cousin to ‘Pyramid Song’, and it’s enough to fully distract you from Christmas turkey, if only for three minutes. (Jamie Milton)

The fanfare of LCD Soundsystem’s return almost dwarfed ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’’s delicate touch. Indeed, Christmas miracle though it may be, it’s a softly swaying ballad that marks LCD’s return, rather than the bombastic, unifying and anthemic dancefloor breakers that they built their name on. Centred around a silky piano, it sees James Murphy reflecting on another festive season full of melancholy - if this song really has been floating around in his head for the last eight years, someone should probably buy the guy a sherry. The sass and bite is still there, Murphy comparing a pants Christmas to “some listless, awful sex”, but ‘Christmas Will Break Your Heart’ sees LCD returning with beauty, rather than brawn, and it’s all the more magical for it. (Tom Connick)

“I ain’t dropped that album, but the shoes went platinum,” points out Kanye West on his succinctly named New Year’s Eve release ‘FACTS’. While ‘SWISH’ remains an elusive future dream, Yeezy’s affinity for trainers takes central stage on a diss track that proudly claims to have overtaken Michael Jordan in the shoe stakes. When he’s not throwing shade at Nike, Kanye West is busy recommending Drake as a solid designer choice for any rival sports companies, and making one million a minute, apparently. (El Hunt)

Listen to ‘FACT’ on Soundcloud

Grimes has always been partial to demos. ‘Art Angels’ started out as a lil’ old thing she’d left lying about called ‘REALiTi,’ after all, and in the past she’s treated us to everything from a song written for a greedy cat, to a terrifyingly original take on the Christmas single format. Written pre-‘Halfaxa’ - Grimes’ second album - ‘Fifteen Minutes To’ creeps through eery classical progressions; like a clapped out music box spinning in an echoey alleyway. Mostly incomprehensible, Boucher’s lyrics become yet another instrument in this strange, winding dream-state. (El Hunt)

As if nailing last year’s unofficial ‘song of the summer’ and soundtracking tooth extractions in perversely humoured dentists’ offices worldwide wasn’t enough for The Weeknd, the sneaky sneak chose the Christmas break to put out two more tracks. While most of us were wallowing in a haze of pigs in blankets induced ecstacy, the Future-featuring ‘Low Life’ emerged without fanfare. A shadowy prospect, it’s a snared, sharp-edged and claustrophobic offering, swapping blows with swampy bass pounds, and the pianoey cousin of The X Files theme tune. (El Hunt)

Tags: LCD Soundsystem, Radiohead, Listen, Features