With Sonic Youth still on vacation, Thurston Moore has formed a new band comprised of Northhampton, Mass cronies to play what he calls "Burroughs rock." Lucky for us, our first taste of this exciting new genre sounds quite a lot like vintage Sonic Youth (sort of Sister's "Stereo Sanctity" meets Daydream Nation's "Hey Joni") – a loose, breakneck gallop, waves of two-guitar noise-terror and a fired-up Moore singing a tribute in the form of a playful punk-rock taunt. After the refined, largely acoustic craftsmanship of his 2011 solo album, it’s nice to hear him inducing some migraines again.

Listen to "Burroughs":

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• Photos: Random Notes

“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.