THE BEST:
‘Remorse’ – Gregor
A lack of remorse is generally a sign of psychopathy. Whilst Gregor’s monotone vocal delivery may seem a bit apathetic and the 80s-esque instrumental a little Patrick Bateman, I’m willing to assume from the cartoonish feel of the track that the Melbourne singer isn’t really the psycho he envisages (trust me, it takes one to know one…).
'Ready to Go' - Celebration Guns
Arizona rock band Celebration Guns release this jangly indie song that seems to sporadically go off in all directions and yet somehow never feel messy. It’s like throwing a palette of paint at a blank canvas and somehow creating a Turner landscape.
'Tuberculosis' - Polonium
‘I spent the 12 best
years of my life behind a desk’. Whilst pop stars like Lunchmoney Lewis and
Rihanna are busy brainwashing us to work harder (see here), these New York
noise-punks are fighting back with this smothering ode to wasted youth. The chugging
guitars and machine gun percussion perfectly capture the brutality and relentlessness of
being trapped in a 9 to 5 office job. Listen here.
'So Bad' - Big K.R.I.T
‘So Bad’ is thankfully anything but. Revered for having some of the fieriest flows in the game, Mississippi rapper Big KRIT decides to tone things down on this new track. To the accompaniment of a gorgeous gospel-flavoured beat, he proves that he can sound just as good laid-back as he can spitting at hyperspeed (relatively speaking, that is. Compared to Earl Sweatshirt, he’s still bouncy as a ping-pong ball).
‘May Flower’ – Byron Major
If these funky vocals and gleaming chords don’t leave you warm inside, you clearly lack a pulse. Or ears. Most likely both. This South African ‘soultronic’ artist may well be this generation's Stevie Wonder.
THE WORST:
'Big
Talk' - Azealia Banks
Creative beats, glitzy singing and acrobatic flows – these
are the things I listen to Azealia for, none of which she displays here. This is trap rap at it's most generic. Plus, Rick Ross is on it.