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Romance, rave-ups, new rap, the right to fail, it's all here in this week's singles selections so let's get down to business...

Chemical Brothers - "Do It Again" [video]
The first single from the forthcoming Chems album sounds immediately familiar. Granted, it's not electronica rocket science, but the simple driving beat and the nonsense lyrics ("gotta brain like bubblegum / blowing up my cranium") have a base limbic-system-activating power to them. Plus, the video with that little girl getting her jam on out a car window is just rad.

Rilo Kiley - "Moneymaker" [video]
If you were unsure just what Kiley and Co. were talking about in this video, the porn industry intro in the video should leave no doubt. Appropriately, this cut shows a seedier side of the Kiley sound. Gone is her good-girl indie pop sweetness, replaced by a vampish look, a soulful stomp, and vocals that sound like a subdued Karen O.

Sean Kingston - "Me Lay"
In a shameless rip off of Zep's "D'Yer Mak'er", this Jamaican up-and-comer follows up his first single (the irresistible summer jam "Beautiful Girls") with another smooth winner using his reggae-meets-soda-shop-pop formula. It sounds like an ill-advised concoction, but somehow the clean-and-dirty genre blend hurts just right.

Tender Forever - "Take It Off"
You caught us, this one's not new. But Tender Forever recently came to our attention on tour with Electrelane and this track from Melanie Valera's 2005 album The Soft and the Harcore is the bee's knees. The sound of rain in the background, lo-fi beats and warbly wonderous vocals perfectly conjure the slow striptease of a lost weekend of romance.

Tegan and Sara - "Back in Your Head"
Maybe it's their nearly identical new mullet-esque haircuts, but T&S' first single sounds like some magical marriage of Cyndi Lauper screech and Pat Benatar snarl laid over a jaunty little piano line that's pure pop fun.

Shout Out Louds - "Tonight I Have to Leave It" [video]
Swede and SOL frontman Adam Olenius manages to sound both like a mush-mouthed Robert Smith and an emotive Bono on this cut from the band's recent EP, while the slow-building orchestration perfectly captures the swells and silences of an attenuated romance.

Santogold - "You'll Find a Way (Switch & Graeme Sinden Remix)"
If you missed our recent feature on lady rappers nipping at M.I.A.'s heels, you need to check out this unstoppable remix of up-and-coming Brooklyn MC Santogold's "You'll Find a Way." A lazily infectious beat underpins Santi White's vocals, which expertly oscillate between fiery call-to-action shout-singing and coyly intimate sing-song.

Cat Power - "It's Alright to Fail"
Sparely orchestrated and depressing as all hell, this song sees Chan Marshall covering Jesse Harris for the Ethan Hawke-curated soundtrack for forthcoming film The Hottest State. It's not Marshall's most innovative cover, but garners major points for indie synergy!

—Jocelyn K. Glei
07.16.07

Click here for the previous installment of the Singles Roundup.