Singles Going Steady: Spoon, Rich Robinson, Rentals

Welcome back to Singles Going Steady, a semi-occasional playlist of songs we recommend you checking out this week (or more specifically, this very moment). Some were chosen because the artist is appearing in the Valley some time in the next week. Others were chosen because they're new. The only thing they have in common is that we enjoyed them and we thought you might enjoy them, too.

1. Spoon, "Do You"

Earlier this week, this song became the first official video from Spoon's first album in four years, "They Want My Soul." And it's a blast to watch -- an eerie, post-apocalyptic ride that begins with Spoon front man Britt Daniel taking his seat behind the wheel, a bandage on his forehead, and ends with Godzilla-sized children running amok in the city. And it suits the song, a bittersweet chamber-pop gem with haunting harmonies and an aching lead vocal from Daniel, who memorably urges, "Someone get Popsicles / Someone do somethin' 'bout this heat / 'Cause it's late in October and tar's still melting in the street."

2. Spoon, "Inside Out"

Another preview of "They Want My Soul," this track blends ethereal synths, a throbbing bassline, celestial harp, a metronomic beat and Daniel's anxious rasping about how time's gone inside out and he doesn't make time for holy rollers but then they wash his feet. It's haunting stuff with a soulful lead vocal from Daniel and a gorgeous sense of atmosphere.

3. RIch Robinson, "I Know You"

Guitarist Rich Robinson is playing Phoenix Sunday in support of "The Ceaseless Sight," a solo album that, like his other solo albums, should speak directly to anyone who knows him mostly through his tenure in the Black Crowes, for whom he wrote the music to "She Talks to Angels" at the tender age of 15. This track struts and swaggers like the Rolling Stones of a "Let It Bleed" vintage with a sense of atmosphere that echos "Gimme Shelter," some scrappy blues guitar licks and a truly Jaggeresque delivery on the chorus

Details: 8 p.m. Sunday, July 27. Rhythm Room, 1019 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix. $25. 602-265-4842, rhythmroom.com.

4. Meghan Trainor, "All About That Bass"

"All About That Bass" is a spirited, sexually assertive female-empowerment anthem for women who don't subscribe to the emaciated-fashion-model school of booty management, set to music that could pass for Duffy covering a song from "Hairspray." And... it's really cute. She sets the tone with "Yeah, it's pretty clear, I ain't no Size 2 / But I can shake it, shake it like I'm supposed to do" and works her way around to "Yeah, my mama she told me, 'Don't worry about your size' / She said, 'Boys like a little more booty to hold at night.'"

5. The Rentals, "1000 Seasons"

As the return of the Rentals continues, the latest taste of their first proper album of the century follows through on the promise of "Thought of Sound," the first taste of the new release. The only real connection to their '90s work -- at least in terms of personnel -- is former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp, whose latest collection of Rentals include Ryen Slegr of Ozma, Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, haunting strings from Lauren Chipman and vocals by Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, who really underscore the pop hooks of the chorus. It's so contagious, it feels a little like the theme song to an old Saturday morning cartoon.

6. Unicorns, "Rocketship"

They're back from a 10-year hiatus, opening shows for Arcade Fire and now there's this -- a Daniel Johnston cover set to be included on a digital reissue of their classic, "Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?," where psychedelic whimsy meets digital pulse and futuristic electronic squelches. It sounds like science-fiction soundtrack music would have sounded in the '60s if Syd Barrett had been called in for the job. Their bags are packed and they're ready to go, as they sing, on a trip far away. And by the time they're through, you'll want to stow away like Dr. Smith on "Lost in Space."

7. Destruction Unit, "Dust"

These local garage-rockers manage to sound like they're channeling Motorhead, Ted Nugent and the Stooges at the same time. And that's just the headbanging intro -- all reckless abandon and forward momentum. Which is to say it rocks. And it only gets better from there as it makes its way to an explosive climax, bringing the noise with all amps on 11. This is what punk rock should sound like in 2014. And 2024.

8. Echosmith, "Cool Kids"

These fresh-faced kids from California have been known to cover "Pumped Up Kicks," that old Foster the People song. And you can kind of hear the inspiration rubbing off a little in the groove of this infectious pop song with just enough pout in the vocal as the singer confesses, "I wish that I could be like the cool kids 'cause all the cool kids, they seem to fit in." Of course, with a proper hit single at their age, they're the cool kids now.

9. Tom Petty, "Forgotten Man"

There's a reason that title can not be applied to Tom Petty, who would have to go away to be forgotten. Or at least stop making records that continually live up to his legacy. This latest taste of his upcoming album is straight-up garage rock with speaker-shredding bass guitar and a singalong chorus. Mike Campbell contributes exactly the sort of scrappy trash-rock solo this single demands. And Petty's lead vocal is all you'd need to teach a class in capturing the essence of '60s garage-rock. The end result is everything you could have wanted in a new Tom Petty record.

10. Dierks Bentley, "I Hold On"

The Phoenix native gives his inner U2 fan the wheel on this anthemic country ballad from "Riser," written while trying to process his feelings of loss after losing his father. "After my dad passed away," he told me, "I was sitting in Arizona, just looking at the sunset and I was thinking about the road trip he and I made together from Phoenix to Nashville when I was 19 in a 1994 Chevy truck. And I was thinking, 'Why do I hold on to that same truck?' It's because my dad did several of those road trips with me sitting shotgun and 'I Hold On' is one of the first songs I wrote after he passed away, asking why do I hold on to these old things, like guitars and boots that require duct tape every night? You start asking questions about yourself when you're the only person standing at the helm of the ship anymore. You don't have a captain helping you out."

Details: 7 p.m. Saturday, July 26. Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave., Phoenix. $29.25-$54. 800-745-3000, livenation.com.

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Twitter.com/EdMasley