THE BEST:
‘Levitate’ – Twenty One Pilots
Frontman
Tyler Joseph is rapping his butt off on this new single and the beat is insane,
melding 808s and raw percussion whilst topped with various moody sounds. It’s very
different to the band’s usual poppy material – there’s nothing to sing along to
and it probably won’t get any radio airplay, but I’m digging it (and my opinion
is all that matters).
‘Don’t
Forget About Me’ – Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Totally
Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs is an awesome band name – I’m glad they’re not a totally
enormous disappointment and that they’ve got an awesome sound to match. After a
slow and ethereal build-up of sparkling synths and ghostly vocals, the song starts
to warp in pitch at the three-and-a-half-minute mark before breaking into a defiantly
feelgood groove.
‘FOA’ – wwoman
Pittsburgh
artist wwoman is actually a mman (I think). A slinky bass riff and glossy
chords make up the hypnotic instrumental, which is topped with reverb-soaked wistful
vocals. It reminds me of a more intimate Tame Impala.
‘Don’t Think You Wanna’ – Star The Moonlight
New York
based group Star The Moonlight deliver this slice of delicious future soul. The
instrumental is an amalgamation of squelchy synths, deep bass, funky clarinet
and other jazzy sounds, offering a number of exciting twists and turns. Vocalist
Hattie Simon meanwhile delivers some classic smoky soul singing over the top. It’s
an impressive debut single that has me hungry for more.
‘You Said’ – False Advertising
I’ve
featured these Manchester rockers on my blog a good few times – they’ve grown
in popularity since I interviewed them, which I’m happy to see. Their
latest single ‘You Said’ features their signature mix of scuzzy grungy guitars
and belting anthemic vocals. They’re
one of the few rock bands that I hope will never change their formula, because it’s
so reliably good.
THE WORST:
‘TOOTIMETOOTIMETOOTIME’ – The 1975
Well,
for starters, whoever came up with that obnoxious track title deserves to be
slapped. As for the song itself, The 1975 are no longer ripping off INXS and now
sound like Maroon 5 with a vaguely dancehall-flavoured beat and a bit of
autotune slathered on top. It’s the sound of a band letting go of all
authenticity and selling out to the zeitgeist. They’ll be teaming up with Drake
or Cardi B next, mark my words…