The Straight’s highly subjective rundown of songs you need to download this week

M83

“Graveyard Girl” (Mute)

An ode to every sad-eyed Goth princess you ever knew in high school, this rare hooky-pop number from Anthony Gonzalez plays like a long-lost track from a John Hughes teen movie circa 1985.

No Kids

“For Halloween” (Tomlab)

On paper, not the most seasonally appropriate choice, but the catchy ooh-oohs and herky-jerky beat feel more like April than October. It’s so good you’ll be inclined to forgive Vancouver’s own No Kids for shamelessly sounding like an Of Montreal B-side.

Weezer

“Pork and Beans” (Geffen)

The first classic Weezer tune we’ve heard this decade features Rivers Cuomo singing about the importance of being true to yourself—even if that entails dressing like a dork and selling fewer records than Timbaland.

Blood on the Wall

“The Ditch” (The Social Registry)

Remember when every Sonic Youth song came into the world swaddled in 16 layers of distortion? As an added bonus, BOTW singer-bassist Courtney Shanks sounds every bit as riot-cool as Kim Gordon in the EVOL days.

Wolf Parade

“Call It a Ritual” (Sub Pop)

A surprisingly dark sea chantey from the usually chipper Montreal act, full of clanking electric pianos, buzzing guitar solos, and Spencer Krug’s suddenly sullen chirrups.

The Rolling Stones

“Champagne & Reefer” (Universal)

Old-school blues-rock doesn’t get any better than Buddy Guy sitting in with the Stones on a Muddy Waters tune about two of our favourite things.

The Raconteurs

“Carolina Drama” (Warner)

High-drama Gothic murder balladry that updates the equally killer “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”, only with bloodied milk bottles and priests instead of shotguns and big-bellied sheriffs.

Kathleen Edwards

“Oil Man’s War” (Universal)

Ontario roots-pop diva takes a jangly shot at American warmongers, with backing vocals by Canuck troubadour Jim Bryson and piano by Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

Fleet Foxes

“White Winter Hymnal” (Sub Pop)

It isn’t hard to picture Seattle’s Fleet Foxes riding off into the sunset while singing the tune’s charmingly cornball, four-part harmony. Or at least to the nearest Starbucks.

Foals

“Electric Bloom” (Transgressive)

Irresistibly gloomy post-postpunk featuring a bass line that evokes classic Joy Division and a drummer whose kit is seemingly made of sheet metal. You can dance to it, but only if you’re willing to throw away the Paxil first.

Ashlee Simpson

“Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)” (Geffen)

America’s favourite acid-reflux queen ditches bubble-gum new wave, hooks up with Timbaland, and comes out sounding like Fergie and Gwen Stefani swapping spit at a French discotheque.