Wednesday, 28 January 2015

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 28/01/2015: Charli XCX, Rihanna, Onoe Caponoe and more...


I didn't find anything truly worthy of slating this week, so I've decided to just dedicate it to 'the best' tracks of the week. I'm getting too soft. Enjoy!


THE BEST:


'Lord of the Light (Sum Riddim)' - Onoe Caponoe


Whilst checking out the trippy visuals for this enigmatic London rapper’s new single, I read this in the comment section below:

'I heard that this beat was originally the soundtrack to a Woolworths advert and Onoe found it by chance on a minidisc in a pond in Somerset'.


I really want this to be true.

'Ageless' – Call of the Void



Here’s one for my fellow metal fans. Denver hardcore/grindcore quintet, Call of the Void, have served up this new track from their upcoming LP and it’s deliciously savage. The drummer is a goddamn monster and the vocalist’s sounding absolutely livid.

'Number One' - Tuxedo



Time for my weekly dose of retro. This irresistibly danceable new track from US duo, Tuxedo, employs an instantly infectious eighties groove and a killer chorus. With Uptown Funk currently topping the charts, there’s nothing to stop ‘Number One’ scoring a number one (although it probably won’t because its not getting the promoting it deserves). Disco is back and it’s here to stay.

'Thumb' - Monophona



Luxembourg duo, Monophona, blend dark electro and folk in this new sweetly bleak track. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on in the music video but it’s hella creepy. I’m going to be seeing those black, vacuous eyes in my dreams tonight.

'Doing It' - Charli XCX ft. Rita Ora



I don’t want to like this track because, well, it’s girly. But man, the chorus has burrowed its way into my brain! I doubt there’s a deep Biblical meaning behind the phrase ‘doing it’, but similarly I don’t think the message of the song is wholly sexual. ‘Doing it’ could just be an ode to having fun. The video certainly aims to be about just that.

MEH:


'FourFiveSeconds' - Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney



Earlier this month Kanye and Macca joined forces for a surprise track, 'Only One', which I discussed a couple weeks back. The two musicians have now teamed up with Rihanna for this new single 'FourFiveSeconds'.

It's not one of the best tracks of the weeks and it's not one of the worst, but I thought it was still worthy of mentioning regardless, hence why I've lumped it into this one-time-only 'MEH' category.

The track features acoustic instrumentation and some brief keys, to which I guess Paul had a helping hand in. Rihanna and Kanye meanwhile handle the vocals (Kanye sings without auto-tune and his voice isn't actually half-bad). Overall, the vibe is almost folksy, albeit a little tame and slightly forgettable. I've heard local bands down the pub play similar styled songs. Still, I respect the three of them for trying something different and unexpected.