1. John Cale: “Shark — Shark”
Eighty-two years old and still making bops like this? May we all be so blessed. Droning guitars, a hypnotic melody, percussion that sounds like someone drumming on a trash can — this single from his forthcoming album “Poptical Illusion” is classic John Cale.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2. Nilüfer Yanya: “Like I Say (I Runaway)”
Speaking of mesmerizing loops and artful distortion, here’s the latest from the British singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya, whose previous album, “Painless,” was one of my favorites of 2022.
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
3. Carly Pearce: “Fault Line”
There’s a throwback charm to much of the music made by Carly Pearce, a millennial country star with a flair for good, old fashioned craftsmanship. I hear a little Loretta Lynn in this fiery and clever ditty about a relationship on the rocks: “We should probably go and find a ‘For Sale’ sign,” she sings, “’Cause we’re livin’ on a fault line, and the fault is always mine.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
4. Ibibio Sound Machine: “Pull the Rope”
I confess I was not familiar with the Afro-funk group Ibibio Sound Machine before Jon Pareles selected this track for a recent Playlist, but it’s certainly got my attention now. This title track from its recently released LP “Pull the Rope” is buoyant and catchy, building its refrain around an optimistic message: “Even though we’re eager to pull the trigger, let’s pull the rope — together, we hope.”
▶ Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
5. Caroline Polachek: “Starburned and Unkissed”
I recently saw Jane Schoenbrun’s stirring and surreal movie “I Saw the TV Glow” and when this Caroline Polachek song played while one of the main characters trudges through a high school hallway, I was like, “Oh I will be seeking out this soundtrack.” Polachek effectively conjures a feeling of adolescent boredom here, intercut with sudden, if fleeting, moments of vivid rapture.