THE BEST:
‘Died Off Screen’ –
Pool Art
Regular readers of my blog ought to be familiar with this Manchester noise rock duo by now. Their experimental axework is arguably some of the most creative in modern rock. Don’t believe me? Check out this track for yourself. Its clangs and squeals have opened up a whole new sonic palette to explore. But rather than simply noodling away with these clangs and squeals, the duo are able to turn this dissonance into actual structured songs. Providing respite from the abstruse first half, the band even break into a stomping melodic riff for the second half to show they’ve got a sense of groove.
‘Wake of the Dawn’ –
The Gravity Drive
The Gravity Drive are only a duo, although you’d think from
the grandiosity of this song that there were fifty members. The pair both sing and play a plethora of different musical instruments. To add to their novelty, they’re also a married couple. Their
latest pop-rock epic starts off pretty fervently, but it’s during the soaring
chorus that the magic really happens. The harmonised vocals and layers of guitar and piano all come together triumphantly. It's
music for climbing a mountain to, or swimming an ocean to, or even swimming a
mountain to.
‘Plants’ – Crumb
Crumb come from Boston, which is no surprise given that it's a breeding ground nowadays for weird bands. There’s nothing too eccentric about the frontwoman’s dainty vocals - they could belong to any indie band - however the drunken jazz instrumentation is all very off the wall, stumbling and swaying and soaked in gloopy effects.
‘Flowers’ - Milk Buttons
Deliciously depressive vocals and inventively fucked-up guitars make up this Aussie psych rock duo’s sound. The lyrics meanwhile describe a bittersweet relationship, with a gloomily incanted chorus: ‘I wish this was not a dream’. It’s not what I was expecting given the cutesy band name and track title, and I love it all the more for it.
‘Zombie’ – Swet Shop Boys
Trans-Atlantic rappers Heems and Riz Ahmed are back to talk racial identity over a Bollywood-sampling banger. Their witty bars on what it means to be a migrant will satisfy those that like their hip hop with brains, whilst the bassy bhangra beat is certain to satisfy those that prefer their hip hop with brawn.
THE WORST:
‘Swish Swish’ – Katy
Perry ft. Nicki Minaj
The only good thing about this track is the beat, and that’s
ripped straight off a Maya Jane Coles track - which has already been ripped off in the past by Nicki Minaj in 'Truffle Butter'.