THE BEST:
'Herside Story' – Hare Squead
Ever wondered what Irish hip hop
sounds like? Just like American hip hop judging from those accents. But that
doesn’t make these guys any less real. Their music video, clearly shot in a neighbour’s
greenhouse, is charmingly lo-fi. And that tropical-flavoured trap beat combined
with their smooth bars and r&b croons has all the warm and feelgood vibes
of a summer pool party. ‘For all the love
doers in this cold cold season’, as the trio put it.
'Spit Out The Bone' - Metallica
After two hard rock albums, a nu
metal album, some over-compression and whatever the hell that Lulu record was, Metallica seem to have
finally returned to form with this new ridiculously-fast thrash epic ‘Spit Out
The Bone’. The group have a new LP, Hardwired
… to Self Destruct, out that I shall be reviewing some time in the near future.
Fingers crossed for more furious chugging and guitar duelling.
'Holy Hell' – Father John Misty
The beautifully cynical singer-songwriter serves up his reaction to the new president-elect in the form of a gorgeous piano ballad. It’s lyrics are gloomy, as I’ve come to expect from Father John Misty, although uncharacteristically the artist does try to end things on a positive note: ‘There’s no-one in control/ And it’s our life to choose’
‘Caving In’ - Come Down To Us
There’s some interesting mixing
choices being made by this mysterious group describing themselves as ‘ambient
gender terrorism’. Why are the drums so buried? Combined with the shiny guitars
and dreamy vocal textures it works though. And I’m loving the mushrooms making
up the artwork. Was this music made by gnomes and trolls?
'Haze' - Mai Lan
French singer/producer Mai Lin is sporting
some serious FKA Twigs vibes here, her vocals dancing over the abstract
instrumental backdrop. She recently appeared on that M83 album that I reviewed
and loved earlier this year, which you can check out here.
THE WORST:
'2000 Miles' - Daniel Nuver
It was all going so well… and then
he opened his mouth.