Miley Cyrus and The 1975 have both
released new songs. And neither of them are terrible. In fact, they’re both
quite good. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE???
By the way, there are no ‘worst’
tracks this week.
‘People’ - The 1975
1st listen: Well, this
is unexpected. I thought they were a pop band?
2nd listen: They’re
trying too hard to be edgy.
3rd listen: Oh, who am
I kidding? I LOVE THIS. The guitars are nasty. The vocals are mental. I haven’t
heard a rock song this raw and urgent all year. Matt Healy’s new emo look is, well, tolerable.
‘Juicy’ - Doja Cat
Look, okay, I’m not going to lie,
a big part of this track’s appeal in the video. But the song itself is a lot of fun too. The tinkling trap beat is cool and Doja Cat’s vocals are incredibly catchy. Lyrically,
it’s a dumb twerk anthem, but it’s not like it's trying to be anything else. Tyga’s verse
meanwhile isn’t as lewd as usual. I’m also pretty convinced this is the first
real pair of butt cheeks Tyga has ever seen.
‘Old Hitler’ – BATS
These riffs are so ridiculously
fun. Shifting from groovy dance-rock to mean-ass metal, Dublin rock groups BATS
take the listener for one hell of a ride. The title is apparently a reference
to a legendary giant hammerhead shark spotted by US naval officers in WW2 that was nicknamed 'Old Hitler'. The
song poses the question ‘what would happen if the shark showed up at the
sinking of the USS Indianapolis in 1945?’. All in all, it's pretty grisly stuff. BATS will be releasing a new album Alter Nature in October.
‘Spanners for Hands’ – Roxy Girls
This song somehow manages to channel
both the simplicity of punk and the complexity of prog. It’s both rugged and
technical - like The Jam meets Battles. I particularly love the syncopated
instrumental part towards the end. The track comes off the Sunderland group’s
upcoming album A Poverty of Attention.
‘On To The Next One’ – Katmaz
'On To The Next One' is a love song for the Tinder generation that delves into the inability to settle down. It's accompanied by a fascinatingly creative instrumental that starts off as a funky collage of sounds before making way for an epic horn section.
‘Slide Away’ – Miley Cyrus
I can usually depend upon Miley
Cyrus to release something dreadful that I can hate upon. But not this time. ‘Slide Away’ is a
sincere breakup song with some exciting production that mixes psychedelic guitars,
twinkly pianos, crisp digital drums and some cool lightly phasered strings at
the end. It's got a great soaring hook and there isn’t a single obnoxious lyric in sight. It’s
the first time Miley has sounded both creative and mature at the same time.