Welcome to Future Sounds! Every Wednesday Ghettoblaster brings you a handful of singles from upcoming albums to excite and entice your ears. Below you’ll find songs that really stand out as essential listening. So please sit back, relax and treat yourself to some seriously great music.

Black Surf – Sink (Cowboy Records) 

Much like The Postal Service’s Give Up and Animal Collective’s Merriwether Post Pavillion, surf-grunge band Black Surf’s debut ep, Let’s Pretend It’s Summer, is another album that was born out of file sharing technology. The band sent files back and forth from Leeds to Syndey before meeting up in the studio to lay down the tracks. Sink is the latest single from the album, possessing a bouncy beach rock charm, reminiscent of bands like Surfer Blood or Weezer, but they don’t stick to one sound too long. The guitar sound on this song is very dynamic, varying depending on the part of the song: from a sharp, pitchy twang to a soft, syrupy strum, to a fuzzed out bellow. With a beautiful sentiment at it’s core, “”Let’s sink, in the moment we’ll let it be.” It is an energetic burst of distorted guitar, injecting infectious surf rock with grunge fury. Let’s Pretend It’s Summer, fittingly comes out August 26th on Cowboy Records.

Prophets Of Rage – Prophets Of Rage

Prophets Of Rage is the political supergroup comprised of members from Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy, and Cypress Hill. After the announcement of this collaboration, we’ve been patiently waiting to see what this new combo would sound like, now this song has given us the answer. It is exactly what you would expect and more, first hearing Tom Morello’s unmistakable guitar sound, then Chuck D’s familiar vocals. The gang gives you a taste of all their styles, with the verses capturing the spirit of 80’s and 90’s hip hop, and the chorus being a classic RATM groove. Tom Morello calls it an, “elite task force of revolutionary musicians determined to confront this mountain of election year bullshit.” Not only is this a driving pump up song, but it is also just what we need at this time. With all the violence that is occurring, people on both sides keep saying we just need to love and unify, which is true, love can definitely move us forward, but anger and rage (within reason) in the face of tyranny can also move us forward. The band will have an ep out later this year, so “clear the way for the Prophets of Rage.”

Wilco – Locator (Anti Records)

Last year Wilco surprised us all with their album Star Wars, where they outfitted their folk rock style with some noise rock fuzz. To celebrate the one year anniversary of Star Wars, they released Locator and announced their 10th album, Schmilco, out September 9th. On this song they continue the sound they established on Star Wars, with sludgy guitar and bass, while snares and softly tapped. The song builds in the chorus until the sound suddenly drops out for a beat, only to be met by a screeching guitar as the song builds, before simmering back down and fading out. Wilco is continue to explore the sound that worked so well for them on the last record, and judging by this song and the album cover, this record will be as wacky and wonderful as the last.

Touché Amoré – Displacement (Epitaph Records)

Great art often comes from intense pain. This pain often comes when a loved one is lost, and when that loved one is your mother a whole new level of grief is discovered. Recently, we have seen many artists express this grief through music:  Local Native’s Columbia, Protomartyr’s Ellen, and Sufjan Stevens’ Carrie and Lowell. Jeremy Bolm, lead singer of post-punk band Touché Amoré, recently lost his mother to cancer and the band’s forthcoming album, Stage Four, focuses on his response to this loss. On this song Jeremy tries to make sense of the entire situation, but in particular he examines his mother’s religious beliefs, his lack of those beliefs, and what implications that has on the afterlife. Dealing with denial and anger, “I asked your god how could you but never heard an answer,” depression and suicidal thoughts, “Last week I crashed my car and I walked away unscathed. Maybe that was you asking me to keep my faith,” and while Jeremy doesn’t get any answers or signs from god he does find some solace, “I’m not sure what I believe, well I think that’s understood, but I know she’s looking out for me the way she said she would.” While songs of this nature are usually more soft and intimate, the hardcore venue makes this song so powerful. Hearing the pain and frustration erupt from Jeremy, makes this one of the most genuine, emotional performances of the genre. Stage Four is out September 16th on Epitaph Records, and this song shows us that it will be an intense, heart-breaking yet inspiring record.

Hiss Golden Messenger – Biloxi (Merge Records)

MC Taylor recently announced Hiss Golden Messenger’s fifth album Heart Like a Levee, out October 7th on Merge Records. The album is about his struggle between being a traveling musician and a father. He wrote the album in a hotel room when he was “wrenched apart by my responsibilities to my family and to my music.” Biloxi succinctly describes this struggle, with the repeated line, “It’s hard lord, lord it’s hard.” Taylor describes his trials with cryptic, fantastic lyrics talking about jungles and dragons. Though the subject matter is very heavy, it doesn’t weigh down this bright folk song, that skips along without slowing down, lead by Taylor’s unique timbre, sounding like Bob Dylan mixed with The Tallest Man on Earth. This is an addictive acoustic rock number, that it is built for and deserving of repeated plays.