THE PLAYLIST

Jenny & The Scallywags (feat. Singto Numchok)/ Please Put

Down Your Phone

Stop what you’re doing because Bangkok’s folk rock five-piece Jenny & The Scallywags have just dropped what could possibly be the most universally relevant jam of the modern times. Set to toe-tapping, ukulele-versusguitar melodies, Please Put Down Your Phone features lush boy-girl harmonies courtesy of singer-songwriter Singto Numchok and the band’s very own Jenny Lackgren. “Please put down your phone/ Look at me, look at me/ I’m right here, right now,” Singto implores. “And all those things you read/ Are just lights on a screen/ ‘Till the battery runs low.” Touche, guys.

Amber Coffman/ Nobody Knows

Nobody Knows marks the third single from Amber Coffman’s upcoming debut solo album City of No Reply. While it doesn’t deviate too far from previous cuts All To Myself and No Coffee, the song does highlight the former Dirty Projector member’s aptitude for putting a contemporary spin on ‘70s pop. There’s also a whiff of funk-leaning ‘80s R&B here that recalls Blood Orange, which always comes as a welcome element.

The National/ The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness

With Donald Trump firmly implanted in the Oval Office, this year has had more than its fair share of songs with a political bent. The latest band to get in on the act is none other than melancholia-inflicted indie-rock quintet The National. Touted as “an abstract portrait of a weird time we’re in”, their new cut The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness speaks of the dystopian world we have found ourselves in and how faith is perhaps the only thing you can possibly cling on to. “We’re in a different kind of thing now/ All night you’re talking to God … Also no other faith is light enough for this place/ We said we’d only die of lonely secrets,” Matt Berninger sings in his signature baritone alongside Aaron Dessner’s jagged guitars.

Fleet Foxes/ Foo’s Errand

Fool’s Errand is the second single taken from Fleet Foxes’ forthcoming record Crack-Up. The track follows Third of May/Odaigahara, the epic nine-minute-long first offering, and finds the folk ensemble in their classic bittersweet element. “I knew it was a fool’s errand, waiting for a sign,” frontman Robin Pecknold muses. “But I can’t leave until the sign comes to mind.” The gentle piano then chimes in, supplying the production with a ray of optimism all the while addressing the underlying sense of resignation.

Beach House/ Chariot

The Baltimore dream-pop duo Beach House have just announced the release of their first compilation album B-Sides and Rarities, a follow-up to 2015’s Depression Cherry and Thank Your Lucky Stars. Here, we get to hear Chariot, one of the two previously unreleased tracks scheduled to appear on the record. Musically, it’s what one would expect from the pair — vocalist Victoria Legrand relishing in her brand of pastel-hued dolor and Alex Scally in his mix of sustained organ keys and emotive guitar.