Put This in Your Ear: The 30 Best Songs of September

From new LCD Soundsystem to Big Boi's NSFW take on desserts

September 1, 2017 9:00 am

Each month, we curate a playlist of our favorite new music. To give you a little context, here’s a five-point deep dive into the songs you can expect to plug up the airwaves for the next 30 or so days.

1. September’s theme: Where have you been? 
For all the young talent on this 30-song playlist, let’s take a moment to respect our elders. Back after extended absences: LCD Soundsystem, Mogwai, The National, Foo Fighters, Fischerspooner (damn, feelin’ like 2002 all over again), Wu-Tang Clan, Beck, Brand New and Robert Plant.

2. Who the hell is … King Krule?
An indie British musician who mixes trip-hop, lounge and lyrical despondency. A bit Lynch-ian in delivery, NPR aptly called him a singer “who beat-sings poetry that tumbles up and down like a diary written in M.C. Escher-space, through a voice like a languorous boxing glove.”

3. Curveball pick: Alex Cameron, “Runnin’ Outta Luck”
The Aussie musician used to perform under the high-concept guise of a failed lounge singer. A few years later, Cameron is a success: He’s signed to a good indie label (Secretly Canadian), collaborating with Angel Olsen and members of Foxygen, and co-writing songs — like this one — with the Killers’ Brandon Flowers. Which might be why this ‘80s ballad sounds like a Sam’s Town b-side.

4. Best new video: Big Boi ft. Troze, “Chocolate”
“Sweet tooth / baby, make that dollar stretch.” The more active half of Outkast flavors his new electro banger with some NSFW dessert imagery.

5. The next big thing: Lil Uzi Vert
You might know him from his guest stint on “Bad and Boujee,” but the Philly rapper is multilayered: he loves Paramore and Marilyn Manson, often gets tagged as part of the new wave of “emo” hip-hop, and says he eventually wants to make a rock album. But for his proper debut, just released, he’s working with The Weeknd and Pharrell … and making sounds that fit comfortably next to his Migos cohorts.

(Top photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)

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