This week I decided to travel the
cosmos (if you look closely enough at that picture of the black hole released
this week, you can just about see me in my spaceship), and having scoured every
galaxy I can confirm that Music Related Junk is still the greatest music blog
in the universe. Don’t believe me? Then you're clearly an idiot.
THE BEST:
‘Aperture’ – Omar Addis
This genre-bending mix of psychedelic
guitars, slow-grooving synth bass and sighed-out vocals is absolutely captivating.
In fact, it doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before. The 20-year old
producer/singer has a recently released EP out titled Double Digits, which you can listen to here if you’re craving more of
these moody groovy tunes.
‘Numb’ – Men I Trust
Montreal band Men I Trust deliver
this gorgeously melancholy ballad set to somnambulic synths and slinky bass. I can
just picture a lonely couple slowdancing to this at the end of an 80s high
school prom. It’s the kind of dreamy indie sound I hoped from Tame Impala’s new single ‘Borderline’, also released this week (which I found pretty disappointing
- but not enough to feature it in my worst songs).
‘Paralyzed’ – Jong SL
It’s all been a bit gloomy this
week, which may lead people to believe I’m depressed or something, but I assure
you I’m not. ‘Paralyzed’ sounds a bit like ‘Numb’ (even the titles both have
similar meanings), but gives me more of a Radiohead vibe. South-Korea-born
singer-songwriter Jong SL has a beautiful voice and I love the way it soars off
in the chorus.
‘Post-op’ – Miki Montebello ft.
Dallas James
The rapped verse at the beginning seemed
to suggest that this was going to be a pretty standard hip hop track. I
certainly wasn’t expecting the song to launch into a house beat with bouncy
pianos and soulful singing. Lyrically, it centres around healing from a breakup
– the sharp change of direction in the song reflects the switch from focusing
on one’s ex to focusing on oneself. The vibrant track comes straight off the Brooklyn-based
artist’s breakup-themed album Blanco Tigre.
‘Solou’ – tourdefrance
I couldn’t find out much information
about this Vancouver duo – they don’t even seem to have a Facebook page. I hope
they do get down to doing some marketing because their lo-fi house sound
deserves more attention (just wait until those chords come in around the fifty
second mark). It’s the type of music that they play in swanky London bars that sell cocktails I
can't afford.
THE WORST:
Chopstix – Schoolboy ft. Travis Scott
‘CHHHOPSTICKS! CHHHHOPSTICKS! CHOP! CHOP! CHOP!’ This hook is
absolutely dreadful. It pains me to think how much Travis got paid for this.