FORGET AVENGERS ENDGAME. FORGET GAME
OF THRONES. IT’S TAYLOR SWIFT SEASON!!!! #SpellingIsFun
THE BEST:
Homicide - Logic ft. Eminem & Chris D’Elia
This is largely what I expected
from a Logic and Eminem collaboration – a huge diss-fest delivered at hyperspeed
with little actual artistic value. But hey, it’s still enjoyable! Both Logic
and Eminem are in their element when they treat rap like a sport instead of
trying to be soppy or political. The spooky beat is also fun and I appreciate
the hilarious verse from comedian Chris D’Elia at the end (it’s clearly a piss-take
of rappers like Logic and Eminem and the fact that its included shows an
endearing level of self-deprecation).
‘New Behaviour’ – Vola Tila
Swedish duo Vola Tila deliver this
captivating alt-pop song, which they’ve self-described as a ‘personal
apocalypse’. The vocals are truly emotive and the lashings of synth effects are
so cool you’ll barely notice how conventional the chords actually are. I also
love that punchy clap/snare that comes in during the chorus, adding extra power
to an already powerful song.
‘Wasting Time’ – Warming
If Bob Dylan were to embrace
synthpop, I imagine this would be the result. The creative sound is in fact the
work of Winnipeg singer and multi-instrumentalist Warming, whose new album
(including this song) was written whilst living out of a van. The driving pace
of the instrumentation and the lyrics recounting his life’s journey definitely capture
this nomadic ‘living out of a van’ feel.
‘Second Guess’ – TARA
There’s nothing quite like a
soaring shoegaze song - and this track from New York band TARA takes soaring to
new levels, heading high up into the mesosphere where even Ruppell’s vulture fails
to ascend. Just when you think it can’t get any more beautiful the band even
bring in some twinkling synths to drain the last reserves of endorphins from
your pituitary gland.
‘Kintsugi’ – Jake
When the thudding house beat came
in, I worried that this may not be as dynamic as his last single ‘Shoganai’. However,
that’s certainly not the case – at the one minute mark the track breaks away into
an whirlwind of swirling pianos and synths that pan from one headphone to the
next. It’s both anxiety-inducing and oddly peaceful.
THE WORST:
'ME' - Taylor Swift ft. Brendan Urie
‘Spelling is fun!’ Is this a CBeebies song? Taylor Swift has gone
from being tryhard edgy to nauseatingly cute and bubbly, and I honestly don’t
know which is worse. That said, the music video is quite impressive, although I’m
sure it cost the GDP of a small country to produce.