6 Best Songs of the Week: Cut Copy, Ariel Pink and more

New music from Moon King, Ariel Pink, Empress Of, Cut Copy, Cults and Japanese House

Listen to our selection of the best songs we have heard this week.

Moon King - In & Out

Moon King is the dream pop project of Toronto musician Daniel Benjamin (previously Daniel Woodhead). After a recent move to Detroit, it seems the change of scene has given Daniel the impetus for a change of direction musically. His previous shoegaze sound has changed to dreamy synth pop. This lo-fi disco track with its fluttery synths and vintage drum machines is the classic homage to the late 70s' early 80's disco era. Benjamin's dreamy blissed out vocal melody drips in retro warmth. “In & Out” is the first track released from Moon King's new cassette Hamtramck '16 August 4 via Arbutus.

Japanese House - Roadhead

Japanese Breakfast is the musical project of Michelle Zauner. Her sophomore Album Soft Sounds from Another Planet is out July 14th via Dead Oceans. So far, we’ve heard “Machinist” and “Boyish” from the forthcoming album, this track dropped last week alongside a self-directed video. In a recent press release, Zauner said, "'Road Head' is the fifth music video Adam Kolodny and I have collaborated on. For this one, we wanted to focus on staging and an exaggerated colour palette. We were inspired by Fallen Angels and Twin Peaks." We look forward to listening to the full body of work tomorrow.

Cut Copy - Airborne

Cut Copy who have had a short hiatus shared new song "Airborne" this week. It is the first taste of new music we have heard from the group since 2013's Free Your Mind. The track is released digitally via Astralwerks. As of yet, we are unsure whether it could be the first single from a new potential album or if this a standalone release. Ben Allen-produced the track which has that distinctly Cut Copy feel good vibe. Watch this space. 

Cults - Offering

Cults recently announced a new album, Offering, and have shared its title track. The duo's third album Offering is due out October 6 via Sinderlyn. It is the bands first release in four years after 2013's sophomore release, Static. The band issued this joint statement: "We had been working on a lot of songs for a long time and when this one came together it felt like a release. We were trying to make a jam about finding hope in what can seem like a hopeless situation. It's hard these days to feel like you're being heard, or like the people who might hear you care enough to look outside themselves and help you. The song kind of comes full circle in the bridge, with the lines 'Give back to, the one who first gave you, the one that you know, the one who forgave you, who showed you love.' In stress full moments we think it's important to focus on the people who have helped you out and are there for you. Every cool thing that ever happened started with just a few close people in a room together."

Empress Of - Go to Hell

Empress Of has released a new song, “Go to Hell,” via Terrible Records. Lorely Rodriguez self-produced the song, which is cowritten with Caroline Polachek. Rodriguez released her first Empress Of album, Me, in 2015. We heard from her again last year when she followed it up with a one-off single, “Woman Is a Word,”. She also made an appearance on Blood Orange’s song “Best to You.” 

Ariel Pink - Time To Live

Weirdo lo-fi bedroom pop hero Ariel Pink recently announced the forthcoming release of his upcoming album Dedicated To Bobby Jameson. Ariel has shared the second teaser from the new LP following "Another Weekend". It is a fuzzed out mesh of psyche peaks, black metal stabs with funk bassline. Talking about his new album Pink recently said “His book and life resonated with me to such a degree that I felt a need to dedicate my latest record to him”. He continues “We follow the protagonist through a battery of tests and milestones, the first of which sees him reborn into life out of death,” Pink explains, referencing the opening track, “Time to Meet Your God.” “From there, he seesaws his way between the innocent love and the rock-solid edifice of childhood-worn trauma that together constitute his lifelong initiation into the realm of artifice and theatrical disposability.”