Best June singles: Japanese Breakfast, Superchunk, Fairy Bones, Pharrell, Deer Tick, the Regrettes, decker.

Ed Masley | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption 10 songs you need to hear right now From Radiohead to decker., Arcade Fire to Lorde, these are required listening.

Arcade Fire hit the disco after getting drunk on "ABBA Gold" while the 20th anniversary reissue of "OK Computer" uncovered a gorgeous old treasure from Radiohead in a month also brought new tracks from Superchunk and locals decker., Fairy Bones, Mill's End and Lane Change. Here's a look back at the best June singles,topped by a breathtaking ballad from Japanese Breakfast.

1. Japanese Breakfast, “Boyish”

They were also on my best May singles playlist with “Machinist,” a very different type of track from “Soft Sounds from Another Planet,” the sophomore effort they released July 14.

This song is a bittersweet ballad whose pop sensibilities are rooted enough in the music of the girl-group era that they usher you in with the definitive Phil Spector beat and follow through with Michelle Zauner’s pining delivery of the sort of melody the Brill Building crew was so revered for cranking out.

Zauner says she and prouder Craig Hendrix were shooting for a “sort of grandiose Roy Orbison-esque ballad… We wanted the chorus to have big arrangements, lots of harmonies and synth strings, to create a really sweeping, melancholic effect that mirrored the nature of the lyrics.”

“Boyish” definitely has the haunted quality of Orbison’s best work with lush synth orchestration supporting her vocal on the melancholy chorus, where she tells her clearly ineffectual lover, “I can’t get you off my mind. I can’t get you off in general/So here we are/We’re just two losers/I want you and you want something more beautiful.”

2. Radiohead, “I Promise”

What is it saying when one of the 10 best songs I heard all month was recorded in 1997? It’s mostly saying they should maybe have released that song in 1997. But I’m sure they had their reasons, one of which may well have been that "I Promise" doesn’t much sound like a natural fit for the rest of the music on “OK Computer.”

I know the official line is that they felt it wasn’t strong enough to be included, but if that’s the case, they may have been mistaking interesting for strong.

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It’s a timeless acoustic-guitar-driven ballad that more than lives up to guitarist Ed O’Brien having described it as sounding “a bit like Roy Orbison” in an interview quoted on Pitchfork prior to the song’s inclusion on the new reissue of “OK Computer.”

That makes it the type of song that clearly plays to Thom Yorke’s vocal strengths, his haunting upper register doing a brilliant job of underscoring the breathtaking beauty of the melody and the vulnerability of the lyrics in the same expressive breath.

3. Superchunk, “I Got Cut”

The indie-rock legends have clearly brought their A-game to this latest single, the proceeds of which will benefit Planned Parenthood.

After setting the tone for their first release in four years with a hail of feedback, they follow through with the power-chord punch of a stop-start guitar riff that makes you wonder if there’s any point in deciding if it’s power-pop, garage-rock, Buzzcocks-flavored punk or a refreshing combination of the three.

I think I’ll go with “a refreshing combination of the three.”

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Mac McCaughan says the single was inspired by “images like the photograph of our current president surrounded by a bunch of other ancient white guys, all smiling as they took away access to reproductive health care for women all over the world.”

On the positive side, McCaughan says, “the song is also inspired by shows of unity like the Women’s March on Washington in January. It’s about freedom of choice. It’s about healing psychic and physical wounds and staying free. It’s about getting out of the way to make room for people younger and more enlightened than ourselves.”

4. Fairy Bones, "No One Can Suffer Like I Can"

Fairy Bones have never come up with a track that sounded more like it should be a hit. I loved “8 Ball” and “Pink Plastic Cups,” their two previous singles, but those had alternative-radio written all over them (in a good way). This one feels more like that rare breed of rock song that could totally cross over to the pop charts (also in a good way).

Not that they were looking to cross over to the pop charts. But it wouldn’t kill them if it did.

When I mentioned to Chelsey Louise that this one seemed to have more crossover appeal than their previous work, she said, “That's definitely fair and not something we consciously thought when recording it but once it was done I think we all felt like, ‘S—t, we have something different here.’ I was particularly excited about how ‘pop’ it came out, because you know, I dig pop.”

It’s a brilliant arrangement, setting the tone with a cavernous guitar sound and pulling it back to just bass, drums and vocals when the verse kicks in before the unexpected payoff of the detour they take on the chorus hook, which seems to occupy a no man’s land where Damon Albarn and Rihanna know it’s kinda dumb that they have yet to work together.

The singer credits producer Bob Hoag with the way that reggae-flavored chorus hook drops in out of nowhere grabs you by the collar, makes you fall in love and sends you on your way with the melody firmly entrenched in your subconscious.

“Musically, this song went through a bazillion forms,” she says. “Bob Hoag was the one who added the organ in the chorus. We always want people to be grooving and the down beat with the organ helps keep that groove rather than silence.”

Lyrically, the single finds her addressing her struggles with depression with a self-effacing sense of humor.

“At this point, I'm trying to transition everyone who likes us into a new mindset slowly — that being sad is okay,” she says. “That suffering is subjective. And that also, it can be funny at the end of the day. It's personal for me because I have a habit of dissing myself in my head.”

If something terrible is going on in her corner of the world, she says, “I'll tell myself, ‘Suck it up b---h, there's so much worse happening in the world.' But I realized, if I don't help myself first, I'm cornering myself into being useless to others. I need to save myself before I can save anyone else. I use humor to mask the fact that I'm ‘suffering.’ So do others. Misery loves company and all that. It's kind of nice when someone else understands that. Just ’cause I post something nihilistic doesn't mean you need to be worried. I'm still working this all out myself so I don't want to come off like I have all the answers, or any answers for that matter, but that's where I'm at in my head right now.”

5. Pharrell Williams, "There's Something Special"

The title really says it all. There's something special going on here. And it goes beyond how well they used it in "Despicable Me 3" to underscore one of the movie's sweetest scenes.

And I'm sure there are those who would rather he'd come up with something much closer in spirit to "Happy," his multi-platinum contribution to the second movie in the franchise.

But I prefer this tender throwback to the golden age of soul that somehow manages to tap into the gospel-flavored essence of that era without feeling like it's playing dress-up for a '60s prom scene, its backing vocals steeped as much in hip-hop culture as the rhythm is in something Otis Redding might have done.

Pharrell's falsetto is the perfect vehicle with to put this song across, with a vulnerability adds to the charms of an opening line as hopelessly romantic as "There's something special on the other side of this moment / And it's about what you and I decide." And the spoken-word section is just as effective.

This is one of five tracks he contributed to "Despicable Me 3."

6. Deer Tick, “It’s a Whale”

This song is all forward momentum, rocking with punkish intensity, which definitely suits the singer’s sneering of the lyrics, “Heading nowhere with the last of my kind / I’m a martyr and I lived on borrowed time / And I’m fine.”

There’s a life-affirming feedback solo under which the bassist appears to be playing an old Pretenders song (“Time the Avenger,” if you’re keeping score at home). And when they come back from the solo, there’s an organ adding to the reckless charm.

“It’s a Whale” is from one of two albums they plan to release in September.

“Deer Tick Vol. 1” is focused on “the edgy folk/rock, song-driven style that endeared Deer Tick to so many,” while On “DeerTick Vol. 2,” they “let loose with a heavy dose of punk, power pop and garage rock with addictive hooks and soaring melodies.” This is clearly not on “Deer Tick Vol. 1.”

7. The Regrettes, "Seashore"

There’s always something to be said for filtering the timeless charm of ‘60s girl-group music through the snarl and sneer of classic punk. That something is, “I love when people do that, especially women or, in this case, teenage girls.”

Lydia Night was all of 16 when she stepped to the mic and set the tone for "Seashore" with "You're talking to me like a child / Hey, I've got news / I'm not a little girl / And I won't give you a little twirl," her pouting delivery as sweet as it is seething.

She brings the chorus to a climax with a defiant yet charming delivery of "I'm like nobody else / So you can just go (expletive) yourself."

But for me, her greatest moment as the girl most likely to become her generation's Chrissie Hynde is when she rhymes, "You're talking to me like I'm hurt" with "And I'll stick kick your (expletive) even in my skirt."

And this is all before they hit you with one of the decade's most inspired lead guitar breaks.

8. Decker., “Matchstick Man”

Brandon Decker has characterized the first single he’s shared from his next album as no less than a “direct response to the ridiculous election of Donald Trump and a reminder that the masses who support human rights must be conscious of our strength, unity and need to act.”

Decker says the election “was palpably and significantly unsettling to the masses who are deeply opposed to the racism, sexism, xenophobia and overall ignorance Donald Trump has paraded around America for the last year - as well it should be."

At one point, Decker sings, “That businessman just makes me nervous / Cast your ballots in the lurches / We slept so long we could deserve this / I’ll tell you something you all may not want to hear / The revolution you’ve waited on is already here / Comes a time you figure out / Comes a time when your time’s all out / But then again you never really were in control.”

The track is an impassioned rocker with a cavernous guitar sound supporting some truly heroic solos. They were going for “Southern Man,” Decker says, or “Ohio.” And although it doesn’t sound specifically like either song, you couldn’t scrub the Neil Young off this record with a wire brush.

It’s when those cavernous guitars recede coming out of the second chorus that the tone of Decker’s lyrics turns more hopeful, quoting the John Lennon song “Instant Karma” (“We all shine on like the moon, the stars and the sun”) and urging listeners to fight the power (“ring the bells, beat the drums and sound the trumpets / Raise your fists”).

And if the guitars end up getting the last word? That’s what Neil Young would have wanted.

9. Arcade Fire, “Everything Now”

I suppose it was only a matter of time before these venerated indie icons let their inner ABBA take the wheel. OK, not really, but damn, this record sounds like ABBA. In a good way. Or a fun way. Or if nothing else, an unexpected way that’s sure to fluster some fans while others embrace it. I am choosing to embrace it. As an ABBA fan.

This is the title track of Arcade Fire’s fifth release. And I would be surprised if the entire album sounds as much like it was written after getting drunk to ABBA’s video for “Dancing Queen” but I would also be OK with that. As much fun as they seem to be having with the groove, even dropping some flute into the mix, it’s not all fun and games.

They ease in with a melancholy intro with Win Butler singing “I’m in the black again / Can’t make it back again / We can just pretend / We’ll make it home again.” And even when the groove takes over, the lyrics never fully give into the song’s euphoric disco undercurrent.

Take the opening verse: "Every inch of sky's got a star / Every inch of skin's got a scar / I guess that you've got everything now / Every inch of space in your head / Is filled up with the things that you read / I guess you've got everything now / And every film that you've ever seen / Fills the spaces up in your dreams.”

10. Lane Change, “Floodwater”

This is gospel-flavored boogie-rock as the Black Crowes learned it from the Rolling Stones, who learned it from falling in love with American music, gritty blues guitar licks topped by soulful Southern gospel vocals. And fading it in on the a cappella chorus hook before the drummer brings the band in is a brilliant touch.

The lead vocals are traded, passing from singer Myles Vann to bassist Lizzie Shafer, punctuated by a wall of gospel-flavored backing vocals singing “Hey.” There’s an obvious spiritual undercurrent to the lyrics, with a chorus built around the premise of floodwaters rising while the singers ask the Lord to “save our souls.”

And if it does turn out to be a flood of biblical proportions, other aspects of the song are firmly rooted in the here and now. Take the opening verse. "Something's rising in the streets / Too many people in too deep / It's hard to see, it's hard to breathe / Nobody getting what they need.”

As Shafer explains the song and its accompanying video, “We really wanted to write a song that reflected everything we saw going on in the world, but didn't want to tell the listener how to feel. In the concept for the video, we set out to capture the energy and message of the song visually to compliment the sonic element.”

11. Waxahatchee, “Never Been Wrong”

This is Waxahatchee in full-on rock mode, as established by crashing, distorted guitars and an insistent snare beat on the intro before pulling back on the opening verse to allow for Katie Crutchfield to command the spotlight with her vocal.

“I spend all my time learning how to defeat you at your own game,” she begins. “It’s embarrassing.” The guitars and drums disappear altogether on the chorus for Crutchfield and a gorgeous wall of pure pop harmonies to handle the first part of each line alone as she vows, “Everyone will hear me complain / Everyone will pity my pain.”

And no one’s pitying her pain as much as she is. But she goes beyond self-pitying to work in elements of self-effacing self-awareness to brilliant effect. Of course, her most withering lines here are directed at the other person, but the vitriol sounds well-deserved.

12. Chuck Berry, "Darlin'"

"Darlin'" can't help but resonate more than the previous songs shared from Berry's final album, a disc he announced on his 90th birthday, dying five months later, before the finished album was released.

For one, it's a ballad. For another, consider the opening line: "Darlin', your father's growing older each year / Strands of gray are showing bolder, come here / And lay your head upon my shoulder, my dear / The time is passing fast away."

It's the sound of one of rock and roll's last true elder statesmen preparing his family and fans for the inevitable, making the most of Berry's conversational approach to singing, which adds a layer of intimacy to the proceedings.

Tissues not included.

13. Vince Staples, "Rain Come Down"

The third single from one of the year's best hip-hop albums, "Big Fish Theory," "Rain Come Down" immediately grabs you by the collar with a trippy synth-bass loop before shifting the spotlight to a melancholy vocal hook from special guest Ty Dolla $ign.

But it's when Staples grabs the mic that this hypnotic single really hits its stride as the Long Beach rapper paints an unapologetic portrait of life in the streets after slipping in poetic references to "blood on the leaves" and the "nose on the Sphinx," which some scholars believe was removed to conceal its black identity.

"Where I'm from, we don't go to police," he raps. "Where I'm from, we don't run / We just roll with the heat .... And the cops don't come for some weeks / No, the cops don't come for some weeks."

14. Mill's End, "Follow the Money"

These locals have managed to filter the reckless abandon of classic garage-rock through the snottier side of the slide-guitar-fueled '80s cowpunk spectrum to arrive at an incendiary shot of protest-rock.

"You can see it, you can feel it," Jeff Bump sneers. "There are those who just choose to ignore it / Follow the money."

As Bump explains the inspiration, "I was just observing that many of this country's polices are decided by a small group of rich guys, i.e. Koch brothers, big oil and Big Pharma, etc., and if you want to know who is behind it you 'follow the money.'"

15. Lorde, “Perfect Places”

“It’s just another graceless night” for Lorde, the 20-year-old pop star, on this “Margaritaville” for Generation Z.

“Every night, I live and die,” she tells us. “Feel the party to my bones / Watch the wasters blow the speakers / Spill my guts beneath the outdoor light.” And it only gets darker from there, heading into the chorus with the chilling “If they keep tellin’ me where to go, I’ll blow my brains out to the radio.”

Among the things I kinda loved about the Miley Cyrus song “We Can’t Stop” is the way you had to read the cautionary tale into the bittersweet tone of the song while she was singing “And we can’t stop / And we won’t stop.” It was nuanced. Or it may not have been there at all.

This is in your face and obvious. And maybe that’s a good thing if the message is what ultimately matters here to Lorde and her listeners.

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