Add to playlist: magnetic, unusual music by Frances Chang and the best songs of the week | Music

From Brooklyn, New York
Recommended if you like Cate Le Bon, Astrid Sonne, Julia Holter
Next thing New single No Avatar is out now

“No, I’m not taking a picture / Just walking around without an avatar,” Frances Chang sings on No Avatar, chatty and passive against piano players, crisp drums and crisp vocals. Like the fragmented music of Astrid Sonne, the Brooklyn singer’s music is hard to pin down, reflecting the single’s desire to avoid external meaning. His music resonates with inner feelings, evoking the strangeness of home: the music of a simple piano, the sound of rain; mist melting on the evening horizon; grooves sneak in at the end of the song like a cat next door making itself at home. It’s a word that shares a lot current affairs of Copenhagen in which Sonne is the main instrument, but in a soft and warm way: Chang’s January song I Can Feel the Waves is a six-minute track that begins with a frenzy, then gives way to a beautiful piano and an intimate look.

Chang has recently signed to RVNG Intl, the same brand that launched Julia Holter, another worthy match for her amazingness – and support Cate Le Bon, another beauty expert from far away. He released his debut cassette, the hard-hitting Support Your Local Nihilist in 2022, and in 2024 his debut album, proggy, Psychedelic Anxiety. His new features strip away all that noise for a low power that allows his music to shine through. I Can Feel the Waves is also about being anonymous, and loving the ongoing mysteries about yourself and others. Ironically, the lens is part of what makes her so attractive. Laura Snapes

This week’s best songs

Lambchop – Weak
Backed by guitar, choir and Justin Vernon on banjo, this is one of the most simple and beautiful songs of Kurt Wagner’s 40 years of music, as he sings about the threshold between life and death. BBT

Silvana Estrada and PabloPablo – In Front of You
Estrada’s music is always beautiful, and here he and Madrid’s PabloPablo lay beautifully around his light cuatro strings – but then a fluid, melodious melody opens up the space. LS

Josh da Costa – Proving Me Right
A former member of the unfairly overlooked CMON, including Drummer Drugdealer and MGMT, Da Costa summoned the spirit of Sparks for this new wave song, singing like a ship in a storm. BBT

Martin Brugger – Knees, Hands, Shoulders, Teeth
As the head of Squama Records, Brugger releases experimental records with the likes of Damien Dalla Torre and Enji. His ambient music is amazing – a soft, melancholic vibe, with a hint of Kentucky post-rock. LS

Bedouin – On my own
With contributions from Lemon Twigs, the Arab-American singer-songwriter’s backing is classic piano-driven MOR – but his soulful voice offsets beauty and sadness and decline. BBT

Sound Bodies – Jacken’s Failed Hornpipe
Also Sheffield cabaret-doom-folk ensemble Slug Milk, Rob Bentall and Zebedee Budworth bring things back to life with a 10-minute prospect of nyckelharpa and plucked dulcimer that builds to a heart-stopping finale. LS

Liz Lawrence – Burst into Flowers
In 2024, UK singer Lawrence endured the death of his 35-year-old sister. This song, about the lavish tribute of flowers at her funeral, is based on a powerful refrain, and is a powerful tribute. BBT

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