THE BEST:
‘If The Car Beside You Moves Ahead’ – James
Blake
James
Blake’s atmospheric electropop has always been fairly left-field, but the
choppy and distorted vocal editing that he brings to this song is truly
ground-breaking. It stutters along in a panicky manner (the lyrics the lyrics
repeat repeat like this like this), perfectly fitting the song’s theme of
life speeding ahead. Will James Blake be releasing an album soon of similar-flavoured
stutter-pop tunes? I hope so (although I can imagine a whole album of this might give
me an anxiety attack).
‘Hot Pink’ – Let’s Eat Grandma ft. SOPHIE
Creepily-named
alt-pop duo Let’s Eat Grandma take things in a more dancey direction on their
latest single ‘Hot Pink’, teaming up with banger-crafting producer SOPHIE. In
fact, the combo of Brit-inflected vocals and EDM instrumentation remind me a
lot of AlunaGeorge.
‘Hell No’ – Von Sell
This
Brooklyn-via-Germany musician almost had to give up his career as a vocalist
after suffering vocal chord pain and discomfort which left him unable to sing. Fortunately,
after over a year’s break from music, Von Sell has managed to make a recovery
and bring his dream career back to life. His new single ‘Hell No’ is quite the
comeback – it’s a melancholy electropop single with a soaring groovy chorus and
unusual progression that keeps you hooked. It gets a big 'hell yeah' from me.
‘Comet Tails’ – Filthy Kitsch
Joe
Shackleton is another artist who has had to battle through injuries to keep his
music career alive. Once a drummer for several indie bands, the Stockholm
musician had to give up after suffering several joint problems. Whilst his days
playing percussion in live shows may now be over, this hasn’t stopped him recording
new material under a new alias Filthy Kitsch. ‘Comet Tails’ is a stomping triumphant
song made up of driving guitars, bright synths and cheery ooh-la-las. It’s an
excitingly fresh indietronica sound that proves a debilitating injury needn’t be the end,
but instead the beginning of something new.
‘Baby I’m Bleeding’ – JPEGMAFIA
This
beat is absolutely bonkers. At first you wonder where its heading with its
looped juddering vocal sample. Then JPEGMAFIA starts angrily spitting over it, some
bass and a snare come in, after which it turns into a mean head-bobbing banger.
The experimental hip hop artist has a new album out titled Veteran full of
similarly crazy sampling for those hungry for more.
THE WORST:
‘Supastars’
– Migos
Migos are masters at creating middle-of-the-road trap rap. I can't bring myself to listen to their new two hour album. I'd rather wipe my butt with sandpaper.